V-2 rocket launch. False-colour image of the German V-2 rocket during launch. The V-2 rocket (Vergeltungswaffe,Vengeance Weapon),initially known as the A-4,was the world's first ballistic missile,and the first to achieve sub-orbital flight. It was designed by Wernher von Braun and Klaus Riedel as part of a German military research team and first flew in 1942,during World War II. It measured 14 metres in length,carried nearly a tonne of explosive,and could reach a height of 80 kilometres. From September 1944 to March 1945,over 3000 V-2 rockets were launched at London,Antwerp and Liege and are estimated to have killed 9000 people |