This third day of October, 1942, is the first of a new era in transportation, that of space travel."
Walter Dornberger
The history of rocketry dates back to around 900 C.E., but the use of rockets as highly destructive missiles able to carry large payloads of explosives was not feasible until the late 1930s. War has been the catalyst for many inventions, both benevolent and destructive. The ballistic missile is intriguing because it can be both of these things; it has made possible some of the greatest deeds mankind has ever achieved, and also some of the worst.
German Waiter Dbrnberger (1895-1980) and his team began developing rockets in 1938, but it was not until 1944 that the first ballistic missile, the Aggregat-4 or V-2 rocket, was ready for use. V-2s were used extensively by the Nazis at the end of World War II, primarily as a terror weapon against civilian targets. They were powerful and imposing: 46 feet (14 m) long, able to reach speeds of around 3,500 miles per hour (5,600 kph) and deliver a warhead of around 2,200 pounds (1,000 kg) at a range of 200 miles (320 km).
Ballistic missiles follow a ballistic flight path, determined by the brief initial powered phase of the missile's flight. This is unlike guided missiles, such as cruise missiles, which are essentially unmanned airplanes packed with explosives. This meant that the early V-2s flew inaccurately, so they were of most use in attacking large, city-sized targets such as London, Paris, and Antwerp.
The Nazi ballistic missile program has had both a great and a terrible legacy. Ballistic missiles such as the V-2 were scaled up to produce intercontinental ballistic missiles with a variety of warheads, but also the craft that have carried people into space. Ballistic missiles may have led us to the point of self- destruction, but without them man would have never been able to venture beyond our atmosphere.
