Tested new bombs of the Grand Slam type (10 tons) on the bunker in January 1945. The Allies captured the site on September 6, 1944. The effects are visible but the roof had notīeen pierced and no structural damage had been inflicted. Only a single Tallboy actually hit the bunker,Īt the north side. Two bombardments with Tallboy bombs took place on June 19 and They were later removed out ofįear for explosion due to the heavy vibrations caused by the Inside, several liquid oxygen compressors Construction on the oxygen plantįinished in January 1944. Provided for a very effective air raid shelter and made the bunker Gear, while construction of the walls underneath continued. Was built at a low level and then lifted with special lifting It weighed 50000 tons (5 meter thick) and Roof had been built to withstand even the heaviest Allied bombsĮxisting at the time (Tallboy, 6 tons). Construction on the main bunkerĬontinued with a very ingenious method of lifting the roof. That would serve V2 launchings elsewhere in the region (Wizernesĭome and mobile operations). Part, the main bunker, converting it into an liquid oxygen plant Part irremediably lost and decided to concentrate on the southern In a reasonable time span, the Organisation Todt deemed the northern The construction works had also been severely disrupted.Īlthough it would have been possible to remedy most of the damage Had suffered severely as its construction was lighter and largely Station for trains with V2 rockets, and other ancillary buildings) To the main bunker, the northern part of the site (reception Although little actual damage had been inflicted The air raids continuedĭuring September with great losses in aircraft and crew on theĪllied side. The Allies first bombed the site on 27 August 1943 in broad daylight Were constantly working on the site, day and night, every day Them volunteers but most forced laborers. The work was mainly carried out by foreign laborers, some of

On the enormous bunker complex started in March 1943. Hitler's Nuclear Weapons: Fact or Fiction?,Īlan Sutton Publishing Ltd., 1995, I2051 3.Ĭertainly the most impressive site built for A4/V2 rockets. Of in-depth information is set up by enthusiasts in the A4/V2Īn excellent book on these and other developments is by HENSHALL, The main targets of the V1 and V2 were Antwerp (Belgium) and London (UK). It was operated by the Wehrmacht (army) in contrast to the Fieseler Fi-103, relabeled Vergeltungswaffe 1, which was operated by the Luftwaffe (airforce), a flying bomb carrying 850 kg explosives with a maximum speed of 576 km/h and a range of 285 km. The A4/V2 was an unmanned, guided, ballistic missile carrying an explosive warhead of about one ton with a maximum speed of 5400 km/h and a range of 320 km. Instead, A4/V2 rockets were launched from mobile platforms, which were easier to conceal from Allied bombers. The late time of their construction given the general state of Their original purpose due to heavy Allied bombing raids and Neither of those sites could eventually serve The site at Wizernes-Helfaut is a tunnelĬomplex and has been built under a enormous concrete dome overĪ chalk quarry. The site in Watten is a large concrete bunker complex They represent two different ways of constructing a fixed rocket Watten, in the Eperlecques forest, the other at Wizernes-Helfaut. The most impressiveĪnd well-preserved ones are located in Northern France. Rocket launch sites have been built in France. The direct predecessor to all modern rocket developments was the German-built Aggregat 4, later relabeled Vergeltungswaffe 2.

Ww2 v2 rocket