V1 Unguided Flying Bomb

The V1 (known to the Germans as a FZG-76 as it was designed by the Fiesler company) was an unmanned, un-guided, flying bomb (the one above was copied by the Americans). It was a simple concept, but a radical one. The Germans designed a liquid fuelled, pulse-jet drone aircraft that could carry a 2,000 lb warhead to southern England. They overcame the problem of unmanned navigation by simply pointing it in the correct direction, setting some simple gyrocompasses to keep it level and putting just enough fuel in it to get it to their target, typically a city in southern England. They didn't much care what the rocket hit. It was a terror weapon. And it worked. The Germans called it "Vergeltungswaffe" or "retaliation weapon". The remarkable photo shown below is of a V1 just prior to impact on Coventry, England.
V1 falling

The first V1 flew in 1942 at Peenemunde on the southern Baltic coast. A series of fixed launching sites (one shown below) were constructed in France, Holland, Denmark and Germany to allow the Germans to shower V1s on any part of southern England. However, German planning did not take into account a strong bomber and fighter-bomber offensive against the V1 launch sites. This forced the Germans into creating mobile launch sites and launching some from Heinkel 111 bombers. The first offensive launch was on June 12, 1943. Once the Germans got their stride they launched an average of 190 V1 rockets a day. The British quickly became expert at spotting and shooting them down, only some 25% of the V1s hit their target. They established defensive zones, first were the fighters (Mosquitos, Spitfires and Typhoons) over the English channel, then came a thick zone of heavy AA guns equipped with the first radar proximity fuses, then a zone of light AA guns and rocket projectors and finally barrage balloons. Once the Allies captured the launching sites the target of choice switched to Antwerp, the main Allied port. It received a pounding by 11,988 V1s and most of the 1,766 V-2 missiles launched. Fortunately, for the Allies they overran the launch sites that could have deluged the Normany beachhead with these high explosive bombs, interfering greatly with the supply and logistics of an army in Europe.
V1 Sites Before and After Bombing
V1 on ramp. V1 site bombed

Technical Details
The V1 was powered by an Argus-Schmidt pulse-jet that made a characteristic putt-putt-putt sound as it went over. The motor carried them along faster than any of the aircraft at the time, up to 400 mph. They typically flew between 3,000 and 5,000 ft altitude. Their range was only 250 miles, so the launch sites had to be close to the coast to hit southern England. The body was a simple steel tube filled with fuel, a 2,000 lb warhead, and a primitive guidance system. A pulse jet motor was attached above the tube at the back of the rocket. The short, rudimentary wings were made of wood. It was a simple, medium range flying bomb, that was not very effective. Had it been guided to targets things may have been a lot tougher for the Allies.

Canadian Aces Home Page
Images From:
V1 hanging- With permission of the USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB.
V1 falling - From a pictorial history of WWII.
Launch pad - With permission of Phil Callihan, check out his Phil's Military Aircraft Site.
Bombed V1 site - Marshall-Cavendish Encyclopedia of World War II.
Check out Goran Jansson's site V-Missiles of the Third Reich for more technical details.