Скачать или смотреть What Happened to Germany's V-2 Rockets After WW2?

The V-2 rocket, Germany's Vergeltungswaffe 2 (Vengeance Weapon 2), was the world's first long-range ballistic missile, representing a technological leap of over fifteen years. Developed by Wernher von Braun and his team at Peenemünde, the missile, launched operationally from September 1944 to March 1945, traveled up to 320 kilometers at Mach 5.2 (1,790 m/s), carrying a 975-kilogram warhead with no warning.

Upon Germany's collapse, the V-2 became the ultimate prize, setting off a desperate intelligence race between the US (Operation Paperclip) and the Soviet Union. The goal was to secure V-2 hardware, technical documentation (14 tons were seized by the US), and, most critically, the scientists themselves.

American forces, led by Colonel Holger Toftoy, captured the main underground production facility, Mittelwerk (where 20,000 concentration camp prisoners died manufacturing the rockets), and evacuated roughly 100 complete V-2s and all associated equipment before the territory fell to the Soviets. Von Braun and 500 key engineers strategically surrendered to the Americans.