Rockets for the Third Reich. Report from the Underworld
In 1944, the inevitability of the defeat of Nazi Germany was already apparent. The last hope of the Nazis was the Wunderwaffe - "a miracleweapon"The latest military technology, ahead of its time. The most impressive of the achievements of the designers of the Reich were the Fau-2 rocket (from him. V-2 - Vergeltungswaffe-2," weapon of retaliation ").
The first launch took place in March 1942, and the first combat launch - 8 September 1944.
In July, the Minister of Armaments Albert Speer sent 1944 to photograph photographer Walter Frentz, who was close to Hitler, to make a photo report at the underground military factory of the Dora concentration camp, where the first batch of missiles was frantically assembled. The report was intended for the Fuhrer himself.
As stated here, these unique slides were found by Frentz’s son in 1998 in the attic of his old father’s
suitcase.
Tragic irony stories lay in the fact that the world's first ballistic missiles built slaves. Of the 2000 prisoners of Dora, about half did not live to see their release.
Despite the strict supervision of the SS, prisoners managed to engage in sabotage. Perhaps for this reason, many missiles never reached London.
To hide from the Allied bombings, German factories buried deeper and deeper into the ground, in this case rock:
This is Walter Frentz himself:
By the way, in 1939, he did color photography of Moscow (not yet posted on the Web).
German engineers are debugging the missile flight control unit:
Same:
Build "electronics":
Housing assembly:
Engine assembly shop:
Rocket engine:
Tail assembly:
Looking at these frames, Khrushchev’s words “we make rockets like sausages” involuntarily come to mind:
Assembly line:
The assembled rocket is displayed for final testing:
Rocket launch:
The number of missile launches made was 3225. It was used for the purpose of intimidation, striking mainly the civilian population (about 2700 people died, mainly the territory of England, especially London) came under fire. The military significance of the V-2 rocket was negligible.
After the capitulation of Germany, all the equipment, ready-made rockets, and a team of engineers led by Von Braun were taken by the Americans. For them, it was a ready-made rocket industry, saved years of work and billions of dollars.
And the USSR got only the crumbs: some of the components of the missiles, secondary designers. All this was also exported, and after a year of hard work, the Soviet version of the V-2 was somehow assembled.
The first launch took place in March 1942, and the first combat launch - 8 September 1944.
In July, the Minister of Armaments Albert Speer sent 1944 to photograph photographer Walter Frentz, who was close to Hitler, to make a photo report at the underground military factory of the Dora concentration camp, where the first batch of missiles was frantically assembled. The report was intended for the Fuhrer himself.
As stated here, these unique slides were found by Frentz’s son in 1998 in the attic of his old father’s
suitcase.
Tragic irony stories lay in the fact that the world's first ballistic missiles built slaves. Of the 2000 prisoners of Dora, about half did not live to see their release.
Despite the strict supervision of the SS, prisoners managed to engage in sabotage. Perhaps for this reason, many missiles never reached London.
To hide from the Allied bombings, German factories buried deeper and deeper into the ground, in this case rock:
This is Walter Frentz himself:
By the way, in 1939, he did color photography of Moscow (not yet posted on the Web).
German engineers are debugging the missile flight control unit:
Same:
Build "electronics":
Housing assembly:
Engine assembly shop:
Rocket engine:
Tail assembly:
Looking at these frames, Khrushchev’s words “we make rockets like sausages” involuntarily come to mind:
Assembly line:
The assembled rocket is displayed for final testing:
Rocket launch:
The number of missile launches made was 3225. It was used for the purpose of intimidation, striking mainly the civilian population (about 2700 people died, mainly the territory of England, especially London) came under fire. The military significance of the V-2 rocket was negligible.
After the capitulation of Germany, all the equipment, ready-made rockets, and a team of engineers led by Von Braun were taken by the Americans. For them, it was a ready-made rocket industry, saved years of work and billions of dollars.
And the USSR got only the crumbs: some of the components of the missiles, secondary designers. All this was also exported, and after a year of hard work, the Soviet version of the V-2 was somehow assembled.
Information