![\"A](\"https:\/\/secondbysecondworldwar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Wv2rocket2-300x242.jpg\")
<\/a>A man inspects the propulsion unit of a V-2 rocket that has devastated a neighbourhood in Limehouse, East London, March 1945 [Public domain]<\/p><\/div>This week in the war, on the night of 17\/18 August 1943, planes from RAF Bomber Command attacked the German Army Research Centre at Peenem\u00fcnde on Germany’s Baltic coast.<\/p>\n
The aim of the attack, which involved almost 600 planes, was to disrupt German plans to develop a long-distance rocket, the V-2.<\/p>\n
After the\u00a0failure\u00a0of the Luftwaffe’s 1942 bombing campaign\u00a0against British cities, the so-called Baedeker Raids<\/a>, the Germans were planning to strike back with their \u2018V-weapons.\u2019<\/p>\n The first of these, the V-1 \u2018flying bombs\u2019\u00a0(sometimes called\u00a0\u2018buzz bombs\u2019\u00a0or \u2018doodlebugs\u2019) were pilotless rocket-propelled planes that were designed to be launched from ramps. The V-1s did not become operational until June 1944, after D-Day. Although they flew straight and level, they were difficult to stop because of their high speed. They could sometimes be brought down by barrage balloon cables or shot down by anti-aircraft guns or intercepted by specially modified Spitfires.<\/p>\n V-2 rocket on its transport trailer [Public domain]<\/p><\/div>The V-2s were first\u00a0launched against\u00a0London in September 1944. They\u00a0could not be intercepted.\u00a0They were\u00a0liquid-oxygen powered rockets\u00a0which, once underway, would arrive at\u00a0their destination. They travelled faster than sound. Hence there would be no sirens, no warning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week in the war, on the night of 17\/18 August 1943, planes from RAF Bomber Command attacked the German Army Research Centre at Peenem\u00fcnde on Germany’s Baltic coast. The aim of the attack, which involved almost 600 planes, was … Continue reading ![\"V-2](\"https:\/\/secondbysecondworldwar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Wv2rocket3-300x117.jpg\")
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