A Bit About The War
The reason for Germans developing and introducing the two V-Rockets was not just as a new piece of machinery, it was largely down to the British's reaction to the Blitz. After the Blitz, the British launched their own air offensive which was very much the same as the German one; lots of bombers, lots of bombs, lots of cities, and even though nothing could compare to the number of bombs dropped and lives taken by the Luftwaffe, the British still managed to be thorn in Hitler's side. The Germans, now deep in a war they were loosing, needed a way back into the fight... And along came the V-series rockets, the V standing for vengeance . Although they were built by totally separate designers, they were built at the same center- the Army Research Centre Peenemünde. This was where the Germans came with and made all there horrific war machines. As the Germans were running low on pretty much everything by now, with most of their trade routs being cut, an unmanned low maintenance long range weapon would have been appealing to Hitler. In total, after the V1's introduction in June 1944, a total of about 15000 V1's and V2's were sent across the channel and other various places in Europe, and when the two were introduced, it was named the second blitz but civilians of Allied cities. It is widely said that the V1 was a more cost effective weapon than the V2, but click here to view them side by side.
A primary source
Experiences of war time London in the 1940's
As a young child I lived in Epsom near London from 1940-1947. I have four abiding memories.
• The terrifying whine of the siren (and the relief of the all-clear klaxon).
• The threatening groan of the doodlebugs (flying bombs).
• The large metal table at school under which we all squeezed when we heard the siren.
• The gloomy Anderson’s shelter in our living room into which we huddled at night when we heard the siren.
The doodle bugs came over fairly low – I do not remember seeing one – hearing them was bad enough. We listened, holding our breath that it would not stop. When it stopped it meant that it was about to plummet down to the ground. Only one came down near to our house. There was an ominous silence and then a muffled thud. Luckily it dropped about half a mile away. My father worked in the city and often stayed in London overnight. There were two camp beds and two chairs in the Anderson’s shelter. Mother would wake my sister and I up and we stumbled downstairs. Mother followed (and then our cat – who seemed to know the best place to be!)
This was written by Margret Whitehead, my grandmother. As she said, she lived in Epsom in the 1940's, and she distinctly remembers the buzzing sound of the "Doodlebug". She is in her late seventies and still remembers the sound like it was yesterday.
As a young child I lived in Epsom near London from 1940-1947. I have four abiding memories.
• The terrifying whine of the siren (and the relief of the all-clear klaxon).
• The threatening groan of the doodlebugs (flying bombs).
• The large metal table at school under which we all squeezed when we heard the siren.
• The gloomy Anderson’s shelter in our living room into which we huddled at night when we heard the siren.
The doodle bugs came over fairly low – I do not remember seeing one – hearing them was bad enough. We listened, holding our breath that it would not stop. When it stopped it meant that it was about to plummet down to the ground. Only one came down near to our house. There was an ominous silence and then a muffled thud. Luckily it dropped about half a mile away. My father worked in the city and often stayed in London overnight. There were two camp beds and two chairs in the Anderson’s shelter. Mother would wake my sister and I up and we stumbled downstairs. Mother followed (and then our cat – who seemed to know the best place to be!)
This was written by Margret Whitehead, my grandmother. As she said, she lived in Epsom in the 1940's, and she distinctly remembers the buzzing sound of the "Doodlebug". She is in her late seventies and still remembers the sound like it was yesterday.