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Remains of Hitler’s ‘wonder weapon’ found in village field

Developed by Hitler’s scientists to attack Allied cities in retaliation for their bombings of German cities, the V-2 rocket dubbed ‘Hitler’s Wonder Weapon’ was discovered in the village of Mokre in eastern Poland.
Bundesarchiv, RH8II Bild-B0788-42 BSM / CC-BY-SA 3.0/ Muzeum Fortyfikacji i Broni „Arsenał” w Zamościu

The remains of the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile used by the Nazis as a ‘vengeance’ weapon against Allied forces has been found in a field in Poland.

Developed by Hitler’s scientists to attack Allied cities in retaliation for their bombings of German cities, the V-2 rocket dubbed ‘Hitler’s Wonder Weapon’ was discovered in the village of Mokre in eastern Poland.

Andrzej Maziarz from the Museum of Fortifications and Weaponry in the nearby city of Zamość said: “A resident of Mokre village came to us claiming that something had fallen on his field during WWII.”Muzeum Fortyfikacji i Broni „Arsenał” w Zamościu

Travelling at supersonic speed, over 1,400 struck British cities with at least 1,350 of them bombing London.

The V-2 was also the first missile to travel into space.

When archaeologists arrived they found that the pieces of metal were the remains of a Nazi V2 rocket.Muzeum Fortyfikacji i Broni „Arsenał” w Zamościu

Andrzej Maziarz from the Museum of Fortifications and Weaponry in the nearby city of Zamość said: “It all started when a resident of Mokre village came to us, claiming that something had fallen on his field during WWII. 

“The oldest residents remembered that the Germans surrounded the crater and were examining it. 

The discovery has been described as ‘a very rare find on a national scale’.Muzeum Fortyfikacji i Broni „Arsenał” w Zamościu

“It was believed that it could have been a Luftwaffe plane that did not make it to the nearby airfield.”

But when museum archaeologists turned up they were stunned to find the ‘plane’ was actually a V-2 rocket. 

Maziarz said: “This is a very rare find on a national scale. In the spring of 1944, the Germans were testing the new weapon next to the frontline. 

Developed as a “vengeance weapon” and travelling at supersonic speed, over 1,400 struck British cities with at least 1,350 of them bombing London. Bundesarchiv, Bild 141-1880 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

“The rockets were being launched from a testing ground in Blizne, in the Podkarpacie region, and aimed at terrains at the bend of the Bug river. 

“At that point the missiles were far from perfect. 

“Many of the rockets did not reach the target, many hit the ground shortly after being launched, some fell in random places. 

The rocket was developed by SS officer Wernher von Braun (pictured in civilian clothes) and constructed by slaves at the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in Germany where between 12,00 and 20,000 prisoners died.Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1978-Anh.023-02/CC-BY-SA 3.0

‘Most likely, this also happened in this case.”

On 22 December 1942, Hitler ordered the missile’s production as a “vengeance weapon” to target London.

Developed by SS officer Wernher von Braun and constructed by slaves at the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp in Germany where between 12,00 and 20,000 prisoners died, the first successful test flight was carried out on 3 October 1942, reaching an altitude of 84.5 kilometres (52.5 miles).

Polish resistance fighters provided crucial intelligence to the Allies on the workings of the V2 rocket.CC BY-SA 3.0

Already aware of its existence because of Poland’s AK resistance suppling them with intelligence, and desperate to stop the attacks and gain more knowledge of the technology, the Allies again turned to the Poles for help. 

As a result, two test launches were recovered by Polish resistance on 30 May 1944 from Blizna and sent to the UK during Operation Most II.

Known as Operation Wildhorn III in British documents, the operation provided the Allies with crucial intelligence about the V2 rocket. 

Von Braun later joined NASA where he was chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon.Public domain

At the end of the war, a race began between the United States and the Soviet Union to retrieve as many V-2 rockets and staff as possible.

German engineers including von Braun were taken to the United States, the United Kingdom and the USSR, where they continued to develop the V-2 rocket for military and civilian purposes.

Von Braun later joined NASA where he was chief architect of the Saturn V super heavy-lift launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon

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