The V-2 was launched from hiddenwooded areas or even vacated city streets. Seen above is the entrancetothe Duindigt area in Wassenaar and a city street Stadhouderslaan in DenHaag, 1945.
Triangulation marks on trees, theDuindigt Estate entrance, and steel sleepers used for launch tablestabilization.
Rockets arrive by railway, wherethey are met by the Technical Troop at the transfer point. Two rocketsoccupy3 flatcars. The mobile crane is positioned to lift the rocket from theflatcar to the Vidalwagen road transporter.
The Technical Troop transports therockets to the field store where the warheads are attached and minoradjustmentsmade. The field store was not usually in the vicinity of the firingareas,but some kilometers away.
The mobile crane is later towedto a prearranged spot where the Technical Troop meets the Firing Troop.This was usually done in another secluded location, so as to not drawattentionto the field store or firing locations. The Vidalwagen pulls under thecrane, and the Meillerwagen pulls next to it. The V-2 is hoisted andmovedto the Meillerwagen vehicle.
With the rocket secured in the clampsof the Meillerwagen, the Vidalwagen pulls away. The Meillerwagen ish*tchedto the towing vehicle, in this case a Hanomag SS-100, and then driventothe firing location.
Back at the railhead, the liquidoxygen railway tanker is approached by members of the SupplyDetachment.Using a small gasoline-powered engine to run an external pump, theyattachthe hoses and tow the Betriebstoffanhaenger liquid oxygen road tankeralongsidethe rail tanker.
The super-cooled liquid oxygen sooncreates frost on the hoses and attachments. The white vapor is exitingcondensed water vapor. Meanwhile, the Firing Troop tows theAbschussplattform(firing table) onto the launch site.
The legs of the Pfaff-manufacturedAbschussplattform are screwed down to lift the weight of the platform.The towing dolly is then removed. The dial-sight is adjusted, and thenthe Meillerwagen is wenched backwards to the firing table.
The extending supports are swungout and screwed down at the rear of the Meillerwagen for the supportneededwhile raising the rocket. A small Volkswagen gasoline engine operates(2)hydraulic rams, which, are controlled by one man to raise the arm oftheMeillerwagen into the vertical position. The Meillerwagen is thenrolledback about 96 cm after the V-2 is resting upright on theAbschussplattform.Also shown is the electrical cable mast that is mounted at one cornerofthe Bodenplatte. These cables travel to the Feuerleitpanzer launchcontrolvehicle and the Steyr power supply vehicle..
Soon the Supply Detachment or FuelingTroop was moving quickly to the location of the firing site. In thiscase,we see a Hanomag towing an alcohol bowser, followed by the Opel Blitzalcoholtanker towing a trailer pump, followed by a Hanomag towing the liquidoxygentrailer and finally, (the small truck in the distance) is the OpelBlitzt-stoff tanker.
At the firing site, the survey crewis busy measuring to make sure the rocket is level. The protectiveenginejet covers are removed from the venturi in the combustion chamber.
The fragile carbon graphite exhaustrudders are carefully bolted in place. Fueling started with the alcoholbowser being pulled up to the rocket. The Meillerwagen arm was built toalso act as a servicing tower, with built-in plumbing for permanentdeliveryof alcohol and liquid oxygen when fueling. The hoses were connected tothe Meillerwagen at the tanker and at the top of the V-2 fuel tanks.
The towed trailer pump in action.Alcohol fueling took about 10 minutes. When alcohol fueling was almostcompleted, the liquid oxygen tanker was towed to the other side of therocket.
The bevey of vehicles surroundingthe V-2. Directly infront of the rocket is the t-stoff tanker (hydrogenperoxide). The liquid oxygen was always pumped into the rocket no morethan one hour before firing to prevent the internal valves fromfreezing.The sodium permanganate was kept heated to quicken the reaction witht-stoffwhen powering the steam turbine. The alcohol bowser is finished andpullsaway. This bowser shown was not used by the V-2 troops—it was aLuftwaffe piece of equipment.
During the liquid oxygen fueling,the hydrogen peroxide is manually pumped into a pre-measured containermounted to the Meillerwagen, which, is emptied into the t-stoff tank bygravity. A technician climbs up to the midsection joint and adjusts thetension created by 8 tons of added fuel. The z-stoff is removed fromitsheater, and emtied into the rocket manually. Fueling completed, theliquidoxygen tanker pulls away.
The support vehicles retreat toa safe distance. The igniter is prepared to be inserted in thecombustionchamber and the rocket is oriented by using a dial sight on theAbschussplattform.The arm of the Meillerwagen comes down.
Meillerwagen heads away from thearea. The members of the Firing Troop take cover in slip-trenchespreparedearlier. The Feuerleitpanzer (Sd.Kfz.7/3) firing control vehicle islocatedabout 100-150 meters away from the rocket, usually down in a protectivetrench that was dug when the site was prepared. The launch controlofficerand crew enter the Feuerleitpanzer. Inside, the launch control officerasks the man on the steeringtable, "Steuerung klar?"—"Steuerungklar!"is the answer. Everything is quiet. The soldiers are only whispering.Thelaunch officer calls, "X1" (t-minus one minute).
The officer steps on a small perchin the Feuerleitpanzer. He is able to see the launch site,"Schlüsselauf Schießen!," he orders. "Ist auf Schießen, Klarlampeleuchtet!,"says the man behind the propulsion controls. The fuel ignites, flowingunder gravity, burning at 1.5 to 2.5-tons of thrust.
After a precisely established sequenceof commands, the last order of the officer is barely heard over theroarof the engine, "Hauptstufe!" After that, the man at the propulsioncontrols pushes the button and the fuel pumps and steam turbine begintoscream. The earth is shaking and vibrating under the pressure of25-tonsof thrust. The rocket goes straight up and turns itself slow to thetarget.A man at the propulsion table jumps to the table and turns the spannerof the high pressure bottles down. The soldiers slowly go to the launchsite, that ironically, looks very empty.
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