1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:12,040 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: show that believes there's no time like the present to 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,159 Speaker 1: learn about the past. I'm Gabe Luesier and in this 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: episode we're talking about the twin legacies of the V 6 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: two rocket, a wartime innovation that increased the thrust capabilities 7 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: of missiles and accelerated the space age in the process. 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:43,599 Speaker 1: The day was October third, nineteen forty two. Nazi Germany 9 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: successfully fired the world's first long range guided ballistic missile. 10 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:53,279 Speaker 1: The experimental rocket, dubbed the V two, was developed by 11 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: German engineer Werner von Braun and was part of a 12 00:00:56,720 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: last ditch effort by the Nazis to alter the course 13 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: of World War Two. That attempt ultimately failed, but not 14 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: before the deadly V two rocket claimed tens of thousands 15 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: of lives in Europe. The V and V two rocket 16 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: stood for Vergeltung's Vaffel or vengeance weapon in German. The 17 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: development of such a weapon began in nineteen thirty six 18 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: and was carried out in secret at a research facility 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: in Pina Munde, a small island village off Germany's Baltic Coast. 20 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: The V two was a frightening advance in modern warfare, 21 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: far more sophisticated and lethal than any explosive ordinance built 22 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: before it. Unlike powdered missiles or aerial bombs dropped from aircraft, 23 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,480 Speaker 1: the V two had its own on board guidance system, 24 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: which could be pre programmed to target a specific location, 25 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: and if the missile started to drift off course while 26 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: in flight, the rudders and its fins could automatically adjust 27 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: to get it back on track. But the V two 28 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: improved accuracy wasn't even its main advantage. The true breakthrough 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: was its built in motor, which was fueled by liquid 30 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: ethanol and oxygen. This gave the rocket the potential to 31 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: fly a distance of up to two hundred miles, granting 32 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: a much greater range than any other weapon in use 33 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: at the time. The V two was also nearly impossible 34 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: to intercept, as it didn't fly in a straight line 35 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: toward its target. Instead, the missile would launch fifty miles 36 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,440 Speaker 1: above the Earth and then shift into an arcd course 37 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: toward its destination. After traveling the correct range, the missile 38 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: would then cut off its own fuel supply causing it 39 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: to tip over and fall onto its target at a 40 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 1: speed of nearly four thousand miles per hour. The resulting 41 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: impact was so powerful that the missile would be driven 42 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:53,519 Speaker 1: several feet into the ground before exploding, and while air 43 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: raids could be predicted to some extent by the appearance 44 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: of enemy planes overhead, V two missiles were to dispatched 45 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: from portable launch pads and took just five minutes to 46 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: reach their distant targets. That meant they could crash and 47 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: explode in target cities with no warning at all. Three 48 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: test launches of the V two rocket were held in 49 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: the spring and summer of nineteen forty two, with each 50 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: of them failing for one reason or another, but the 51 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,400 Speaker 1: fourth in the series proved successful. The twelve ton rocket 52 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: was launched from Pina Munda, Germany, on October third, nineteen 53 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: forty two, and traveled one hundred and eighteen miles before 54 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: crashing into the Baltic Sea. Because the rocket reached a 55 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: vertical height of fifty two and a half miles during 56 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: its flight, it's widely considered to be the first man 57 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: made object to ever reach outer space. It's worth noting, though, 58 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: that the US interpretation of the space boundary line is 59 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: sixty two miles, so to Americans it was close, but 60 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: no cigar. That said, Whether you credit the V two 61 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,280 Speaker 1: with that miles sie stone or not, there's no denying 62 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:04,800 Speaker 1: that it ushered in the space age as we know it. 63 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: Before that happened, though, the missile was used to inflict 64 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: untold devastation on cities such as London, Norwich, Paris, Leal 65 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: and Antwerp. The rocket was first deployed as a weapon 66 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: on September sixth, nineteen forty four, when two V twos 67 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: carrying one ton warheads were fired at Paris. In the 68 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: six months that followed that initial attack, well over one 69 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,719 Speaker 1: thousand more V twos were fired at England, Belgium and France. 70 00:04:34,480 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: The exact number of deaths caused by the attacks is unknown, 71 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: though more than twenty seven hundred people are known to 72 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: have died in Britain alone, and as tragic as that 73 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: statistic is, the death toll related to the manufacturing of 74 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: the V two is actually far greater because while German 75 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: scientists designed the deadly rockets, the actual construction was carried 76 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: out by their prisoners, many of whom had been taken 77 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: from concentration camps and forced to work around the clock 78 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:08,039 Speaker 1: in an underground factory. Many of those prisoners tried to 79 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: sabotage the rocket's production, and when they were caught, they 80 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:16,040 Speaker 1: were hanged from cranes above the assembly lines. At least 81 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: twenty thousand concentration camp workers died building the V two rocket, 82 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: but the engineers who were complicit in their suffering were 83 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: later hailed as heroes of the space race. Werner von Braun, 84 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: for example, surrendered to American forces on May second, nineteen 85 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: forty five, one day after learning of Hitler's suicide. He 86 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: eagerly shared his knowledge of the V two rocket in 87 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: hopes of continuing his research for America's budding space program, 88 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: and once the war was officially over, he got his wish. 89 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: Von Braun in about one hundred and twenty other German 90 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,480 Speaker 1: scientists were brought to the US under Project paper Clip 91 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,599 Speaker 1: and tasked with altering their liquid propellant technology to produce 92 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: a rocket that could stay in see rather than plunge 93 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,039 Speaker 1: to the Earth. They eventually achieved that goal with the 94 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: development of the Saturn five rocket, the vehicle that carried 95 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: the first astronauts to the Moon in nineteen sixty nine. 96 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: All these years later, the features pioneered by the V 97 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: two rocket remain the standard for space launches, from their 98 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: gyroscopic guidance systems to their reliance on liquid fuel. So 99 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: while it's all but certain that humans would have gotten 100 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: to the Moon eventually without enlisting the aid of Nazi scientists, 101 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: it's important to remember that we didn't, and that mankind's 102 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: journey to the stars left a bloody trail in its weight. 103 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little 104 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you'd 105 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: like to keep up with the show, you can do 106 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: so by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 107 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: TDI HC Show, And if you have any comments or suggestions, 108 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: you can always send am my way by writing to 109 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 110 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll 111 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: see you back here again tomorrow for another Day in 112 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: History Class.