V-2 ROCKETS

Grey River Argus, 20 June 1945, Page 8

V-2 ROCKETS

INVENTOR’S STATEMENT. LONDON, June 18. Thirty-four years old, Doctor Warner Von Braun, interviewed at Gar-misch-Partenkirchen by the “Daily Express” correspondent, told the whole story of how he invented V-2 rockets, which bombarded Britain. Von Braun made it clear that his one passion in life was to perfect rockets. It was immaterial to him whether they were fired against the moon, or little homes in London. He first started experimenting in 1930 with the idea of developing a ’plane capable of reaching America from Europe in one and ahalf hours, but realising the military potentialities, he in 1932, appealed' for help from the German General Staff, which he found had already established a rocket-research station. Concentrating on rockets propelled by gunpowgr, Von Braun persuaded army scientists that liquid fire was preferable. The first secret tests of his design were carried out at Borkum one year after Hitler came to power. Hitler was sceptical, but the Chief of the High Command, Von Brauchitsch, encouraged Von Braun and established the Peenemunde research station, where the V-2 was evolved. „ • t Von Braun in 1942, felt confident enough to visit Hitler to whom he showed a film demonstrating rockets and their capabilities. Hitler w r as astonished and delighted. He ordered their mass production. Von Braun claimed the Germans were able to keep track of 70 per cent, of the missiles directed against London, partly from reports of agents, and partly by radio device. The maximum range of the rockets that were used against Britain was 225 miles, but the best experimental types were capable of 340 miles. Von Braun attributed V-2 failure to achieve decisive results to the R A.F’s. bombing supply lines, also to the fact that production was insufficiently accelerated before the end or the war. z. The Germans, he said, fired oft a total of 3,800 rockets, mostly against Antwerp. "I always thought and still believe, rockets will in future, be the means of high speed travel.”