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Rockets and Missiles
V1 Rocket (Vergeltungswaffe 1) - The "Flying Bomb"  [4] The V1 rocket has been hailed as the most effective German secret weapon of the second World War. Developed and perfected primarily in 1943, it was first launched on June 13th, 1944 and rained down terror on Allied targets until March 29th, 1945, when the last V1 fired during the war fell on London. Throughout the war over 34,000 V1 rockets were produced while roughly 10,000 were actually launched. Of those launched, around 25% reached their targets and caused extensive casualties. Over 12,000 people were killed outright and many more were injured, with most of the casualties occurring in London and Antwerp, which were the main two targets. What made the V1 so successful was its relatively simple design and low cost in terms of both money (5000 Reichsmarks, compared to 100000+ Reichsmarks for a Panzer tank) and materials. The V1 was basically an unmanned jet powered aircraft with a 830kg amatol warhead and a self contained guidance system. Using a form of jet propulsion known as a pulse jet, the force of the air rushing into the engine at operational speed opened spring controlled flaps that allowed a low grade, low octane fuel to enter the combustion chamber. The valves then closed as the mixture was ignited. The exhaust gases then exited the rear of the engine, providing the thrust necessary to propel the rocket froward. To reach its operational speed, the rocket was launched from a steam powered catapult. The sound made by the jet engine earned the V1 the nickname "buzz bomb" by the residents of Britain. Because of limited size of the pulse jet engine, the rocket only had a range of around 240km. The engine also limited the top speed of the rocket to 800km/hr. At the time, British fighter planes were capable of flying well in excess of this speed and therefore could effectively shoot down V1 rockets in mid flight. 
[5]
Due to its limited range, in order to reach London and other parts of Britain the V1 was launched from bases in the Pas de Calais region of northern France and also from sites in Holland. The guidance system was comprised of several interconnected components, including a gyroscope that kept the rocket traveling toward a preset compass direction, a barometer that was used to control altitude, and an air screw in the nose that recorded the distance traveled. When the proper distance was reached, the engine cut out and the rudder locked in a position that forced the rocket into a full dive. Upon impact with the ground, there were three different detonation mechanisms responsible for exploding the amatol warhead. The redundancy of this detonation system resulted in only a handful of V1 rockets failing to explode on impact. While the guidance system of the VI rocket was for the most part reliable, it also made the rocket vulnerable to attacks from air defenses. In flight, the rocket flew at a fixed speed and direction so it was easy to target with anti aircraft fire. Fighters were also capable of shooting it down or altering its flight path by actually bumping into it via direct wing to wing contact. This vulnerability resulted in about 3 out of 4 V1 rockets being shot down, but despite the low rate of rockets reaching their targets, it was still a huge success in terms of war economics. Some historians figure that every $1 spent on the V1 cost the allies $4 in damage, making the rocket a highly effective weapon of economical warfare.
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