Aggregat-4/Vergeltungswaffe-2 | |
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Type | Single-stage ballistic missile |
Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
Service history | |
In service | 1944–1952 |
Used by | |
Production history | |
Designer | Peenemünde Army Research Center |
Manufacturer | Mittelwerk GmbH |
Unit cost | 100,000 RM January 1944, 50,000 RM March 1945 |
Produced | 16 March 1942 – 1945 (Germany) Some assembled post-war |
Specifications | |
Mass | 12,500 kg (27,600 lb) |
Length | 14 m (45 ft 11 in) |
Diameter | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) |
Warhead | 1,000 kg (2,200 lb); Amatol (explosive weight: 910 kg) |
Detonation mechanism | Impact |
Wingspan | 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) |
Propellant |
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Operational range | 320 km (200 mi) |
Flight altitude |
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Maximum speed |
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Guidance system |
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Launch platform | Mobile (Meillerwagen) |
The V-2 rocket (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2) was the world's first ballistic missile and first human object to fly in space. All modern rockets are based on the V2 design.
The first successful launch was from Peenemünde on 3 October, 1942, reaching a height of 192 km.:7 The V2 was designed by Nazis to bomb London, Antwerp and other European cities. It travelled at four times the speed of sound so was impossible to shoot down.