Chapter 416 V-1 Launch

The "big gift" Wilhelm prepared for London was the V-1 missile.

The V-1 missile was a cruise missile developed by Germany during World War II, also known as the ancestor of modern cruise missiles. It was the first missile to be used in actual combat in human history. The reason for its development was the significant losses of German pilots and aircraft during the Battle of Britain. To reduce these losses, the German military had to seek a cheaper method of warfare. At that time, the development of the V-2 missile had encountered difficulties. To change the course of the war more quickly, they began the development of a new type of missile, which led to the birth of the V-1.

However, compared to the advanced cruise missiles of later generations, the technology of the V-1 at that time was relatively simple, with the core components being the guidance system and the jet engine. The guidance system consisted of a gyro compass, an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, a mechanical timer, and a fuel cut-off device.

Before launching the missile, the launch personnel would first calculate the missile's flight direction and the required flight time based on the map coordinates of the launch site and the bombing target. After the missile's launch, the gyro compass would start to function, ensuring that the missile flew in the predetermined direction. The airspeed indicator and altimeter would maintain the missile's speed and altitude during flight, preventing it from being intercepted or crashing due to low speed or high altitude. The mechanical timer would calculate the missile's flight time, and when it reached the predetermined time, the timer would activate the fuel cut-off device. This device would cut off the fuel supply, causing the missile to lose power, and at the same time, the airbrake would open to significantly reduce the missile's speed. At this point, the missile would dive downwards and explode upon hitting the ground.

Overall, the V-1 at that time did not have GPS navigation or target recognition capabilities, not to mention advanced technologies like autonomous route planning. From the outside, it looked like a bomb with wings or a small airplane, essentially an unmanned kamikaze aircraft.

Over the years, Wilhelm had not been involved in the production of the V-1 until the day before yesterday when Dr. Oberth reported on the progress of rocket research and asked whether to continue production since the inventory of V-1 missiles had reached 30,000 units. This startled Wilhelm, and he decided to clear the inventory. He ordered all the V-1 missiles to be fired at London.

That night, next to the V-3 cannon base, a new launch site was constructed, where soldiers from the X unit of the Guard Corps were busy preparing for the launch. They fueled each missile, installed batteries, and filled them with compressed air. Afterwards, they moved them to a degaussing area, adjusted the missile's flight compass to ensure it aligned with the predetermined target direction set in the navigation system.

Finally, they placed these missiles on the catapult launch rails.

The V-1 used a pulse jet, which was characterized by its simplicity, practicality, and low cost.

The basic principle of its power generation was that the air drawn into the combustion chamber would burn and then eject a stream of air backward. The air drawn into the engine mixed with fuel and was ignited by a spark plug. Before the mixture burned, the intake valve would close rapidly, generating a large pulse thrust from the exhaust. After this, the intake valve would open again to draw in air. The engine could complete 42 such cycles per second.

In fact, this was a rather rudimentary engine that was almost scrapped by the weapons bureau. It could only operate at lower altitudes, and maintenance was difficult. Additionally, the intake valve would quickly wear out and break through. However, for a missile, a one-time-use weapon, this engine had significant advantages: it was simple in structure, inexpensive to produce, and provided strong thrust. Moreover, it could use low-grade gasoline as fuel instead of precious high-octane aviation fuel.

However, such thrust was not enough to launch a missile weighing over two tons, so an accelerator was used during launch.

The catapult launch rail was a 48-meter-long inclined launch frame that used a steam catapult system. There was a piston slot on the launch frame, into which a dumbbell-shaped piston was inserted during launch. The missile was placed on a small trolley and positioned on the piston slot, which had a safety pin to prevent the missile from sliding out. During launch, the dumbbell-shaped piston would propel the small trolley forward rapidly, launching the missile.

Additionally, the V-1 could be launched from vehicles and bombers. The original German He 111 bomber was used as a mother ship to launch missiles at Britain. This modified mother ship removed the bomb racks and associated fuel tanks from the He 111 bomber. A V-1 missile launch transmission mechanism and missile rack were installed under the left wing of the bomber. After the modification, the bomber was renamed He 111H-22.

However, bomber launches were quite risky. The V-1 missile was heavy, and it was easy to cause destruction and loss of life during launch. A total of 1,200 V-1 missiles were launched in this way. This also resulted in the crash of 77 bombers, including one mission where just two V-1 missiles exploded prematurely after the plane left the runway, resulting in the loss of 12 bombers.

The Germans also considered using the Ar 234 bomber to launch V-1 missiles. The plan was to launch from a temporary rack installed on the back of the bomber. However, this plan remained only on paper.

Nevertheless, the use of bombers for launching was due to the pressure of Allied bombing, and now the German army was openly using ground launch methods.

"Report, ready!"

"Launch!"

With the press of the launch button, bursts of compressed air sent gasoline containing octane from the missile's fuel tank to the pulse jet engine located above the rear of the missile. Then the spark plug began to ignite, the fuel was lit, and the engine roared, emitting a dazzling flame from the rear.

When the engine reached full operating speed, the launcher suddenly activated, pushing the two-ton missile into the sky. When the missile left the launch frame, its speed reached 400 kilometers per hour.

Several Mosquito bombers already circling in the sky immediately followed, closely recording every move of these missiles.

"Altitude 900 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters, 2000 meters, reaching the designated flight altitude."

"The engine is normal."

"The flight is normal, the flight speed is 640 kilometers."

Soon, the V-1 missile formation flew over the Channel.

"One V1 engine has shut down, it's falling." Due to some immature technologies, the missile occasionally experienced mechanical failures.

When the remaining nine V-1s reached the middle of the Channel, Britain's radar also detected these uninvited guests. Dowding, who had been gloomy all day, received the report. "What? Nine enemy aircraft spotted?"

In fact, there were also six following Mosquito bombers, but as mentioned earlier, this not-so-advanced radar had difficulty detecting the Mosquito bombers, which had a wooden frame structure, and only detected the nine V-1 missiles.