V-2

Quick Facts: Who was V-2?

Subject:

V-2

Known for:

The world's first practical, modern ballistic missile and suborbital launch vehicle.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The V-2 rocket (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit. 'Vengeance Weapon 2'), with the development name Aggregat-4 (A4), was the world's first practical, modern ballistic missile and suborbital launch vehicle. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities.

Career & Major Achievements

After an altitude of 100 km was selected to define the edge of space, the V-2 rocket also became retroactively the first artificial object to travel into space with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. Research of military use of long-range rockets began when the graduate studies of Wernher von Braun were noticed by the German Army.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

A series of prototypes culminated in the A4, which went to war as the V-2. Beginning in September 1944, more than 3,000 V-2s were launched by the Wehrmacht against Allied targets, first London and later Antwerp and Liège.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1944: 1944 Milestone — After an altitude of 100 km was selected to define the edge of space, the V-2 rocket also became retroactively the first artificial object to travel into space with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: V-2

True or False: “The V-2 rocket was the first weapon system to achieve the status of an object traveling into outer space.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): The V-2 rocket achieved this status retroactively with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on June 20, 1944, establishing a key milestone in space history.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abdülmecid II — Historical peer (Died in 1944) (1944): Last Ottoman Caliph and prominent Turkish aesthete, head of the Osmanoğlu family.
• Agustín Barrios — Historical peer (Died in 1944) (1944): Paraguayan virtuoso classical guitarist and composer, celebrated for his prolific works.
• V. C. Andrews — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: American novelist celebrated for Gothic family sagas and forbidden romance.
• Vāchaspati Misra — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Ninth-century Indian philosopher of Advaita Vedanta, known for commentaries and grammar.
• Václav Havel — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Czech statesman, author, and dissident who led Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
• Víctor Erice — Chrono-Wiki Encyclopedia Entry: Pioneering Spanish film director, celebrated for symbolic works like The Spirit of the Beehive.

Frequently Asked Questions about V-2