Germany's Unstoppable Hidden Secret Weapons

On the morning of 8 September 1944, Germany introduced a new secret weapon to its already deadly WW2 arsenal. It came out of nowhere and caused a massive explosion in Paris. There was nothing to compare it to.
The weapon was part of Germany's Wunderwaffe, its miracle weapons program, created in a last-ditch effort to shift the war's balance in the Third Reich's favor.
The V2 rocket, nicknamed the Retribution Weapon 2, was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. No defensive systems of the time could do anything to counter the weapon, and V2s rarely failed to reach their targets. They were extremely fast, powerful, and precise.
The Allied forces, desperate to find an effective way to counter the V2's sheer effectiveness, realized that there was only one way to avoid further destruction. The solution was destroying the secret German military bases where they were assembled.
Operation Crossbow's objective was simple. Find the enemy bases where the V2s were located and blow them to smithereens. But things weren't going to be that easy.
The Allies soon realized that there were not two, or four, or 10 research facilities, but more than 50 scattered all over Europe. A race against time was undertaken to destroy them all before the bombs could disrupt American supply lines in France.
Everything seemed lost to the Allies until an innovative method created by the British Intelligence seemed to offer hope. Cutting-edge 3D photography would reveal where the V2 launch sites were hidden...
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Dark Docs brings you cinematic short military history documentaries featuring the greatest battles and most heroic stories of modern warfare, covering World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and special forces operations in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@HailAnts]

For those that don’t know, that early shot of a V2 plunging nose down into the ground was NOT a normal descent. That was a missile that failed very early in its boost phase, tipped over, and fell back near their launch site at merely terminal velocity (i.e. 150-250 mph). The successful V2s that hit their targets were traveling faster than a rifle bullet, around 3000 mph! You didn’t see or hear them coming, just all of a sudden there was a huge explosion. The very first V2 that hit London was blamed on a gas main explosion so as not to panic people whilst they tried to figure out what to do about them..

[@michaelfisher7170]

true. I've read that the V1 could be heard on its approach with a distinctive put put sound from its engine. It was said it wasn't the sound that scared you, it was when the put put silenced, and that's when the V1 descended. The V2 just arrived without warning and exploded.

[@davidk2628]

Thanks for the info, I was wondering why it was falling so slowly.

[@HailAnts]

It kind of annoys me, because most documentaries will use that failed launch footage and imply that it is a rocket hitting London, because there is no footage of a V2 hitting London, because it's impossible for there to be! And it's wrong for another reason, namely that those test failures did not include a live warhead. The explosion you see with them is just impact damage. And not supersonic impact damage..

[@paulhunter6742]

Can you imagine how terrifying it must have been for civilian populations as a V2 rocket came Silently out of nowhere. This was beginning of urban warfare at most destructive. Now we have even more accurate mobile launch vehicles which can fire series of rockets. The Israeli can testify to those Sent by Hamas in Jerusalem.

[@sharonrigs7999]

@@paulhunter6742 Multiple lauched rockets existed in WW2, the Soviet Katyusha most famously. The Hummus rockets are virtually identical to the WW2 Katyusha

[@onionhead5780]

Ahhhhhh the good old days. When you could walk around a fueled rocket about to launch and smoke a cigarette.

[@travissmith2056]

Ahh yes, fond memories of the good 'ole days. Haha!

[@travissmith2056]

@tvercetti1 Correct! To "light" the rocket all we did was make a little trail of gunpowder, from the wood barrel we kept it in & hide behind any nearby boulder. The ACME brick company was the standard back then. *mbeep, beep. Back then, you wouldn't even fall off a cliff, until you looked down. I miss those days. Haha!!

[@------837]

Could think of worst ways to go in ww2

[@allangibson2408]

The rockets were more likely to kill you than the cigarette... (regardless of the cigarette being lit). Half the V-2’s detonated during launch or early flight.

[@allangibson2408]

@tvercetti1 The V-2 was more likely to just blow up spontaneously (many did). The liquid oxygen and 75% ethanol water fuel in tanks built by slave labourers were their own cause for concern.

[@keithweiss7899]

The stereo photography is quite amazing if you ever get a chance to see it. Altitudes of terrain and heights of building can be accurately measured. I used to see it as a youngster working for a mapping agency decades ago.

[@sophierobinson2738]

I learned how to see 3D as a small child. My grandmother had a stereoscope and a pack of photos. She would only take it out when my cousins visited. Being youngest, I was always last as my cousins wouldn't share. My father showed me how to hold the picture close to my face and then slowly pull it away until I saw 3D. Soon I could to it without holding the picture close.

[@Olkv3D]

Cooool. My Great Granma had one, too, but not many pictures had remained. ~ If the military were taking celluloid photographs with the intention of being viewed as 3D, why not take entire filmstrips as well?

[@sparky6086]

The V2 was not an evolution of the V1. They were two different weapons developed independently of one another by two separate groups.

[@av_oid]

I think mistakes like this are intentional to increase “engagement”...

[@travissmith2056]

The V1 quickly lost it's effectiveness when the allies learned how to detect them on their way to target. First by sound, they're loud then warn defenses. They were essentially aircraft that flew straight & level but didn't defend itself. They were shot down, like any other aircraft. They had pulse jets. They weren't supersonic or anything crazy.

[@empireoflizards]

Perhaps in a more general sense, they were an evolution of unmanned self-guided flying bombs.

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

@@empireoflizards Neither was a guided weapon. They were gyroscopically stabilized, but not guided. ‘Guided’ means they have the ability to change direction mid-flight, ie computer, laser or GPS guided and actively respond to their surroundings.

[@stillsalty947]

-_- this kind of stuff is exaclty why nobody likes history nerds. With you guys everything is probably somewhat wrong. Pay for a subscription to a non fiction streaming site if you expect no mistakes. The B1 is an evolution of the liberator. Just as the V1 is a evolution of the V2. Some data somewhere from the V1 probably went into the development of the V2. Either way the V1 certainly paved the way for rocket design and experience for the germans. And guys does it matter is it's not guided... Use stabilized instead if its bothers you that much...

[@ReflectedMiles]

01:38 Just one note: Research facilities are not the same as production facilities, despite the implication. V2's were not being assembled in 50 locations all over Europe. Those places simply had some kind of contributory role.

[@travissmith2056]

Yes, they were assembled underground by concentration camp prisoners. More than 3,000 V-2s were launched but more people were killed building the rocket than those hit by it.

[@CuttySobz]

@@travissmith2056 did u really just say that more people were killed building the rocket than those hit by it?? You sir, are a ridiculous jackass.

[@Fractured_Unity]

@@CuttySobz Slave labor bro. Lots of the workers died

[@Nastyswimmer]

@@CuttySobz Estimated 9000 casualties from V2 hits and 12000 deaths in the forced labour producing them

[@lukezeiolf6977]

@@CuttySobz eyo delete this unless you love getting made fun of

[@MostlyPennyCat]

The thing about calling v2 a desperate last ditch wonder weapon project, is that the A4 rocket was designed in 1939 and the large technology blocks complete and working in 1941 They were building this long before they were losing _deploying_ it was last ditch vengeance

[@steelths1781]

What annoys me is that it's framed like the V2 was doing huge amounts of damage and they had to be stopped but in reality 2750 killed for 50% more expense than the manhatten project en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket#:~:text=The%20German%20V%2Dweapons%20(V,that%20produced%20the%20atomic%20bomb.

[@the_1_person696]

Well, nobody likes a weapon that they can't stop.

[@ianrowland1893]

The V2 rockets were not precise, they landed in random target areas. But they were powerful.

[@cb3609]

a 1000 bombers raid could do 10 time more damage each night than all V2 + V1 ever launched

[@fowletm1992]

Gotta remember thos was 1940s For non piloted rockets they may as well have been lazer amd GPS guided They were way ahead of anything else out there The only way the allies ever managed to catch up was by winning the war and stealing the tech To think if they'd stayed friendly with the Russians and not run out of resources Alot of their inventions might have come to fruition and it could have been a differant situation

[@CHIL2903]

It's a little known fact that more people died in its development and manufacture than there were killed in its deployment.

[@kameronjones7139]

@@cb3609 yeah and then you potentially loose several hundred valuable airmen (that took years to train) and dozen of aircraft

[@mmabri]

One of the main reason for them not being precise was because they used slave labor to manufacture the V2. The laborers sabotaged them any chance they got.

[@obsidianzarok2361]

Al Murry is probably the last person i would of expected Dark Docs to have mentioned in his videos.

[@brianartillery]

Despite being known as a stand up comedian, he's also well known as a World War 2 historian - and he is serious about that.

[@TurboMountTV]

@@lucajoey4224 Better question is WHY?

[@andyharding1514]

Wernher von Braun ... beautiful British name.

[@tornagawn]

Al Murray...

[@AdmiralJT]

Imagine how different the world would be in the Germans had perfected the atomic bomb first and put it on a V2

[@komerwest3748]

We all would be German citizens.

[@dellawrence4323]

If they had finished the "Amerika rocet" an wiped out Ney York perhaps he wouldn't have been regarded as "A great American".

[@dougvw9394]

I recall they were well on the way to start initial development and were well aware that it was possible.

[@joeyjamison5772]

You wouldn't be here on KZbin reading about it right now, I'll bet.

[@getredytagetredy]

Yeah...we wouldnt have zionist bankers ripping us off with their central bank the fraud fed or their extortion agency IRS

[@wernervanderwalt8541]

The V2 fuselage shape was taken from the German 7,92mm Mauser round. The Germans concluded after extensive tests that the shape was the most aerodynamic.

[@tapeesa2866]

Yet it killed more nazis than civilians

[@johngilbert7359]

Saying Belgium declared war when France and the UK did is a bad bad error.

[@esdeekay4344]

Indeed. Belgium declared war on Germany in 1914 but King Leopold 3 wisely declared neutrality in 1936. He only mobilized it's troops (between 600 and 650 thousand men) as a defensive force and gave up after 18 days of fierce fighting. The cowardice government fled to Paris and later to London. But the King choose to stay with it's citizens. While in captivity, He even managed to save about 500.000 women and and children from forced labor in Germany.

[@lencac7952]

As a side note I happen to know that Von Braun was not only a brilliant engineer but was a very likeable guy who had a way of getting the very best out of the people under him. Von Braun cared greatly about his people and was a very generous and gracious man with an infectious smile. He was greatly grieved by the bombing raids that killed many of his associates and friends. A man of terrific wit and character, he was a natural leader who in reality was no more a Nazi that Goddard. Von Braun just wanted to embrace his passion and progress the science of rocketry. Had he been an American during the war he would have been doing the same work for American.

[@allensacharov5424]

thank you

[@lencac7952]

@@petermclelland278 Brilliant comment. You must be a historian. 🙄

[@Xyzabc998]

except of course all the thousands of slave labourers who died whilst making the weapons he developed...which he knew very well about. He was also a member of the Nazi party of which only about 15% of Germans were. The US knew this very well but decided to ignore all of that.

[@lencac7952]

@@Xyzabc998 That's because the Nazis are here now as a result of Operation Paperclip. It's called the deep state. That's why the deep state supports the card carrying Nazis in the Ukraine. That's why we now see, openly the Nazification of the alphabet agencies of the US. So yep, you are correct. I also hear that Ted Bundy was a very charismatic person. Human beings are wonderfully and fearfully made. So the Third Reich wasn't destroyed .................. it simply moved to Washington DC 😉

[@danielh9844]

"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun -Tom Lehrer

[@stevefox3763]

Never expected the comedian Al Murray to be in a Dark Docs episode lol

[@Davey-Boyd]

I was going to say the same thing!

[@philbyd]

Me too

[@ricksheard1093]

He is a Serious history student, and has done a slew of shows about WW2 and the Cold War

[@RobertSeviour1]

@@ricksheard1093 Al Murray may be a history student, but there is no need to call him "S"erious.

[@ricksheard1093]

@@RobertSeviour1 anyone that can talk for an hour on the T-34 vs Panzer Debate and not send you to sleep is a Serious fellow

[@charlesholmes3623]

Most important weapon of the future would be ballistic missiles. V2 was the first of it's kind. So Allied powers had to charge in and get those engineers and scientists and data at all costs. At all costs...

[@marquisdelafayette1929]

Wehrner Von Braun and others like him were nothing but pawns to every side. He actually went through a lot to make sure he surrendered to the US including hiding the research in an abandoned mineshaft. With Operation Paperclip (innocuous name) they brought over scientists and engineers just so the Soviets didn’t get the info . Most surrendered willingly to the US because they knew we would keep them alive and give them a life.. the Soviets wanted the research and after to kill them .

[@getredytagetredy]

The most important weapon of the future are peoples naive minds and Stockholm syndrome

[@steelths1781]

The V2's were far worse than the V1's more inaccurate, extremely expensive. 1400 fired with an estimated 2750 killed en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2_rocket#:~:text=The%20German%20V%2Dweapons%20(V,that%20produced%20the%20atomic%20bomb. 2750 killed for 50% more expense than the manhatten project

[@allangibson2408]

@@steelths1781 Far more were killed during the manufacturing of the A-4 than in its use.

[@steelths1781]

@@allangibson2408 yeah and I get really pissed at people framing late war "advanced" German weapons as potentially war changing when in reality all of them were worse than nothing or not even close to enough to carry the war

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

The cost of the V programs were massive and did relatively little damage in terms of death. Once the Germans were successful with their border wars, they were bound to bog down and they never developed longer range 4 engine bombers, or aircraft carriers. While the V2s were technical marvels, they were too late in the war and a Germany was running out of resources. Essentially, they consumed dollars that could have been spent on more relevant and effective armaments. They were moved underground and used massive amounts of slave labor to dig them underground. I worked at Bell Aerospace in the early 1980’s and there were old timers there who worked on the space programs with the German engineers. They said that the German scientists were arrogant pricks and that the Americans didn’t hide their feelings about them.

[@slavabtomat]

German engineers are brilliant to a fault, and they tend to over-engineer/over-complicate things. They lost the war for many reasons, but one of the biggest underlying reasons was their over-engineering of everything, even something that should have been a simple design.

[@joangratzer2101]

THEY HAD GOOD REASONS TO BE ARROGANT. THE AMERICANS STOLE THE GERMAN AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY, NOT VISA VERSA

[@jamesdellaneve9005]

@@joangratzer2101 No. The Americans captured the hardware and the scientists…..instead of shooting or hanging them.

[@densealloy]

@@jamesdellaneve9005 win/won, loss/lost, captured, conquered & Victori spolia : vae victis....terms and concepts lost on too many nowadays. But I fear, history is cyclical and these concepts are universal. The lesson will be hard learned; because our enemies understand and desire it.

[@hkiller57]

@@joangratzer2101 America didnt steal it, America took it as reperations from germany

[@daguard411]

Thank You. The image of the children playing in the rubble really hits the heart.

[@tomwareham7944]

I was one of those children who played in the bomb sites we thought it was fun ,we didn't know any better

[@daguard411]

@@tomwareham7944 In my mind the images didn't show they kids were doing anything wrong, and I have been in some VERY stressful situations, and when going about after the danger passed, you always see kids playing. It always made me feel good in that our job was to make them safe.

[@top-secret996]

I love when all the experts chime in and make corrections to the technical stuff. If MIT or JPL ever wanted to improve the quality of their staff they could certainly recruit some of the genius physicists and Thesaurus Captains found here!

[@RobertSeviour1]

'Thesaurus Captain' - finally the recognition I deserve.

[@chudthug]

We do a little trolling

[@peterhall6656]

About 50 years ago an actuarial firm in Australia posted an advertisement for some young person to be paid to train as an actuary. In order to contact the firm you had to solve a mathematical puzzle to get the digits for the phone number in the correct order. For the internet comments why not have a Captcha box that goes: "Calculate the length of the trajectory of a V2 rocket launched from x given the following data. The answer is (a),(b), (c)..."

[@lutze5086]

i cant tell if this is sarcasm or not i truly appreciate the corrections this channel is great but is in great need of an editor

[@marktreissman3244]

“Thesaurus Captain” ? Lol - I prefer “Synonym Sargent”

[@gaylordpantamime]

Remember everyone Warner von Braun was the main inventor of the v2 and he also LED all six Moon missions after Operation paperclip

[@kadevohn]

ok yes

[@demonoids2217]

And then?....

[@Kieran0]

You skipped the part about the work camps.

[@Kieran0]

@@jackengineer4089 that he was a Nazi?

[@logandeathrage6945]

You had to be a Nazi to do any goverment wotk including being a secretary. Not all Nazis were evil people.

[@TheKirksh1]

In comparison to the Crossbow Project from the film Real Genius. "There's no defense like a good offense."

[@sulufest]

Just like shooting ducks in a barrel!

[@dx1450]

I hate popcorn!

[@scottconcertman3423]

General George Patton's military defense was all offense, and fox holes were only for pissing in.

[@scottconcertman3423]

@@sulufest, I never seen ducks in a barrel. Maybe Daffy Duck hunters came up with that one.

[@buchelly8047]

“The best defense is a swift and decisive offense”

[@TheGrrrudy]

Belgium didn't declare war on Germany, it was invaded while still holding on onto neutrality. Our eastern neighbours had a habit of driving over us to reach the coast...

[@patjohn775]

Now they run over you with EU legislation 😂

[@TheGrrrudy]

@@patjohn775 not really, I'm not one of those "Oh noes, my pillows can't be flamable anymore, the horror!!!!!"-guys... there's peace in Europe's favorite battleground now

[@Inception1338]

@@TheGrrrudy Europe is never at peace and times like these are especially worse than usual.

[@TheGrrrudy]

@@Inception1338 I look outside the window and they are not rounding up up people in trucks...

[@georgebarnes8163]

@@Inception1338 What wars are going on in Europe?

[@Groovy_Bruce]

I very highly doubt that “everything seemed lost” and that v2 rockets were able to almost destroy allied supply lines. That is an outrageous claim.

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

Very true... the videos on this channel make some straight out bullshit claims A LOT.

[@stillsalty947]

Well I believe he said. Before they could distupt american supply lines. And yes everything indeed seems to be lost if your enemy has so many bases from which they can launch a weapon against which you cant defend yourself. And I believe "everthing seemd lost" referes to rhe effort to stop the V2 launches. But yea kind of drmatised, pretty common for documentaries....

[@Groovy_Bruce]

@@stillsalty947 not with limited production and resources. The v2 was never an existential threat to the allied war effort. Look at the body count in this video from the v2 in London. Compare that to just the fire bombing of Dresden, which was one of many. It was never a serious threat.

[@Groovy_Bruce]

@@alfrede.neuman9082 yeah. It becomes almost comic when he mentions the death count from the v2. But hey, people like drama and extremes, so plenty of folks will like it no matter how heavy the bullshit is piled on.

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

@@Groovy_Bruce you’re right, it just annoys me because now 99% of people who watched this (and don’t know better) now think that the V1 and V2 were war winning, pin-point accurate destroyers of worlds, when they were in fact a white elephant. A very interesting and technologically advanced one, but not a war winner at all. Probably did far more harm to the German war effort than the allied one, given the resources the V2 used!

[@jesterlogic6886]

That's amazing that stereographs had such a imperative use to the success of this operation. Grandpa had a stack of books with these illusions and it took me awhile to get it but it really blew my mind. Really eye opening to know about this.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Those are worth a lot of money if originals and worth more to history.

[@nicolek4076]

The V2 was an evolution of the V1 in the same way that a modern computer is an evolution of a slide rule, that is, not at all.

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

He also describes them as ‘guided’ and ‘precise’... neither of which is true. They were ‘set and forget’ (so not guided), although they had some ability to compensate directionally via gyroscopic stabilization, but that’s it. Secondly, I don’t really consider it ‘precise’ when you are limited to throwing it at city sized targets en mass and hoping for the best. I do enjoy these videos, but they are riddled with errors and are pretty sensationalist at times.

[@suprememasteroftheuniverse]

@@alfrede.neuman9082 all of them. Welcome to KZbin.

[@stevesmith2171]

@@alfrede.neuman9082 guided : directed by remote control or internal equipment. Oxford dictionary. His use of the term is correct

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

@@stevesmith2171 That’s cute. In munitions, specific terms carry very specific meanings. For example, Armour Piercing (AP) is not the same as shaped-charge, or even squash head (HESH) rounds EVEN THOUGH they all do the same thing: defeat armour. I was referring to “guided” in the munitions sense of the word, since a V2 is a exactly that. And in that sense, “guided” has exactly the meaning I described. Better luck next time.

[@aceofcheems7685]

This video is bringing so many memories of medal of honor European Assault when you had to destroy the V2 rocket hulls and you had to go to North Africa to destroy one that was getting reading to be shipped off

[@shadowopsairman1583]

If this event hadnt taken place MOH-EA wouldn't exist

[@epicallyeverything1872]

You need to make a podcast with all these fun history studies. I would totally listen to the podcast daily. Keep up the great work.

[@Olkv3D]

they are fun, aren't they

[@epicallyeverything1872]

@@Olkv3D I'm a huge history nerd that loves to keep learning about the past. Learning what happened in the past can lead to a better future.

[@Olkv3D]

I can't disagree.

[@dylanharris5067]

This man blows history Channel out of the water in a 3rd of the time

[@panda4247]

5500 V2s, 5000-9000 deaths, 30000 injured? That seems like a pretty ineffective stuff. 1-2 killed people per rocket..

[@panda4247]

@Alenas Kvasninas well, it was still an incredible feat of engineering for those days, we can't deny that. It just proved ineffective for the intended war use... But I guess these super projects were also a moral boost, since the Germans were outnumbered (once all the allies joined in and Germans made a mistake of attacking Russia)... They had to believe they have a chance... Perhaps it is similar to some of today's projects... like Elon's plan to colonize Mars.. sure, his reusable rockets are an incredible feat of engineering, but Mars will not become Earth 2.0

[@geneo1976]

Another great video. It is amazing to think of all of the inventions that came out of WWII. Great improvements in technology that were started, planes, tanks, ships. We saw the atomic bomb, the V1, the V2, radar, the jeep, the jet, the microwave, the computer, duct tape and I know there are many more.

[@187mrsmith]

I'm pretty sure the V-2 and that whole research is the whole reason we were able to go into outer space and make it to the moon

[@RidinDirtyRollinBurnouts]

It was definitely the springboard for space research, we hit the ground running because of it. The first US rocket tests were converted V-2 rockets.

[@Aengus42]

Us Brits nearly beat everyone into space. Wit a manned, beefed up V2 called "Megaroc"! Here you go, the wonderful Mark Felton has a video on it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYipd62Ca5qXe7M We could've been 15 years ahead of where we are now!

[@Reuter6795]

Yes. The lead engineer on the V2, wernher von braun, ended up as a lead NASA engineer

[@itsa_possum]

They were hardly ahead of the times as all three allied nations had rocketry research in universities/Aviation Bureaus utilising the same basic tech, bipropellant liquid fuel kerolox/methalox engines. The technological advantage boils down to maybe six months of a dedicated team with adequate funding ironing out the problems of scaling up what is essentially explosive plumbing. It is quite disingenuous how crap documentaries tend to overhype this as "hyper advanced alien supernatural Übertech that could have won the war and wiped out all life on earth". Some of them became prominent members of the moon missions but to claim it to be the "whole reason" is beyond ridiculous. There is a huge difference between breakthrough scientists like Einstein who revolutionised entire scientific fields and people like Von Braun who while arguable being capable engineers did not contribute more than the sum of the teams

[@exsappermadman25055]

Just be mindfull, it's because of this we got a man on the moon.....

[@joshschneider9766]

Yeah be mindful thousands of war criminals that worked people to death for a free pass while the via directly lied to the U.S. Public about it while busy overthrowing democracies under ike.

[@exsappermadman25055]

@@joshschneider9766 C.I.A?....A lot of shit went down on both sides, that's what happens in WW''s......

[@xcofcd]

A lot of people know this, but what a lot of people don't know was that there was something like a German SpaceX in the 1970s. One of the reasons they killed the project is because a lot of countries were nervous about Germans playing with rockets again. It's a really fascinating and very little known story though...

[@exsappermadman25055]

@@xcofcd Yeap, I would be a bit shaky knowing that!.....Imagine if they continued it on since the 1940's though...

[@mikeoconnell4108]

Wernher Von Braun

[@xcofcd]

First man made object in space!

[@sixstringedthing]

That depends on your definition of where space starts, but essentially you are correct. ;)

[@brunopimenta8204]

@@sixstringedthing The V2 climbed 393 kilometers (244miles) well beyond the 80 to 200km disputed atmosphere boundary.

[@sixstringedthing]

@@brunopimenta8204 Thank you for that info. I knew they flew high but I didn't know they got up to ISS sort of altitudes, thought they topped out around 150km. In any case, obviously well above the Kármán line (both the early 80km definition and the current 100km line). Cheers for the correction.

[@jakepeters4370]

The narrator speaks so fast, he almost swallows his words.

[@WeffkeGaming]

exactly my thoughts

[@markxfarmer6830]

Recon photos are not “taken with a stereoscope.” They are taken with the images overlapping each other and then are viewed with a stereoscope in order to produce a stereoscopic 3D effect.

[@sixstringedthing]

It was semi-explained in the video, I assume that the voice-over was written with brevity in mind. A lot of these little "glitches" appear in the scripts, I think they mostly result from trying to compress a lot of detailed technical stuff into a 10-minute format, rather than poor research or misunderstanding the content. The narrator simply reads what he is given.

[@BobbinMcferry]

"taken for a stereoscope" fine, moving on!

[@mercator79]

Yeah not 3d photos. The stereoscope is essentially like a pair of glasses that sits on the table on top of two regular photos taken at the offset angle as mentioned. This offset tricks the human eye into "seeing in 3d"

[@travissmith2056]

Yes, the 3D effect was perceived as 3D because of the stereoscope device used to view the photos. It wasn't a new film or fancy camera that did this. They became kids toys later on. I had one growing up. I bet almost everyone has. This sould look familiar. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/View-Master

[@alibizzle2010]

@@sixstringedthing if it was one you could forgive it but it happens in so many videos that contain such basic errors

[@MostlyPennyCat]

The results of crossbow were crazy. We dropped bombs that caused Earthquakes under the targets. Which is anime as fuck.

[@EncrypticMethods]

😂😂damn

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@@EncrypticMethods It was called, _"Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb_ _(Grand Slam)"_ And it was an _earthquake bomb_ 10 tonnes of hardened cromoly steel and explosives, it span like a rifle bullet. Dropped from 13,000 ft they hit at Mach 0.93, penetrated 40m and detonated by their 11 second fuzes This caused an earthquake, and destroyed the foundation of anything you wanted gone, such as the hardened V2 silos they built into hills in France. They were known for succeeding where everything failed because you just didn't need to hit it, in fact your were _supposed_ to miss! That way, with uneven damage to foundations, the buildings slid sideways, making repair impossible. The designer, Barnes Wallace was an absolute madlad.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(bomb)

[@F4GRAPHICS]

The Drunken Landlord was such an offshoot lol

[@JohnBedson]

The most effective defence the British had against both V1s and V2s was to report on the radio news large numbers of hits on farmland north of London, even though the hits were actually on London. This caused the German engineers to alter their gyroscopes to guide their rockets to hit at shorter ranges and consequently most of them hit farmland south of London! The British then announced that the rockets were landing in London, even though they were not. This caused the Germans to intensify their attacks on empty farmland south of London.

[@andreasschulz4086]

They were way ahead its time but one thing they aren't > precise!

[@Wallyworld30]

No shit. What an assinine statement. "They rarely missed their target!". ME: Yeah, the target was a massive fucking island. It was bloody useless in battle because it's just as likely to hit your guys as it is theirs.

[@sixstringedthing]

Posted a similar comment myself. You could be reasonably confident that the thing would land somewhere in the vicinity of the city you were aiming at, which was accurate enough for a terror weapon but it certainly wasn't precision guidance.

[@loganholmberg2295]

@@sixstringedthing You're right. For the time it was reasonably accurate. Especially when comparing too high altitude bombing at the time. It took massive formations to possibly destroy a target. Sometimes they missed the target completely or hit the wrong target or city as well. Yeah not exactly accurate but compared the cost of building a few thousands of these to a few thousand bombers, their bombs and aircrew and you can see why governments were terrified of these weapons, Imagine if the US and the commonwealth had the v2 or even the V1 in 42? With their resources who Germany have even stood a chance?

[@sixstringedthing]

@@loganholmberg2295 Japan certainly didn't. Tragic that such weapons had to be developed at all. Perhaps, in another timeline where such destructive technology was developed even earlier, the mere threat of it may have prevented WWII from occurring at all. Sadly the pace of human technological development was not that fast.

[@itsa_possum]

They also were hardly ahead of the times as all three allied nations had rocketry research in universities/Aviation Bureaus utilising the same basic tech, bipropellant liquid fuel kerolox/methalox engines. The technological advantage boils down to maybe six months of a dedicated team with adequate funding ironing out the problems of scaling up what is essentially explosive plumbing. It is quite disingenuous how crap documentaries tend to overhype this as "hyper advanced alien supernatural Übertech that could have won the war and wiped out all life on earth"

[@James-nl6fu]

V2s apparently had a signature double blast when they exploded. The first being the explosive warhead and the second being the sonic boom as it fell breaking the sound barrier

[@tommyg5095]

Ahhhhh, still that cold war mentality,,, and the ol landing on the moon bit....

[@Music-lx1tf]

When they landed on the moon I was slogging through the mud in Vietnam I remember the landing well how proud I was to be an American

[@basedpatriot4982]

Not so sure we did.

[@Music-lx1tf]

@@basedpatriot4982 I'll bet you think the world is flat.

[@dingdong2103]

Von Braun went from nazi warcriminal to hero in one night lol.

[@BoggWeasel]

A missile is either guided or ballistic, it cannot be both. The V2 was a ballistic missile as it had no actual guidance system.

[@alfrede.neuman9082]

Thank you! I’ve been saying the same thing in other comments... I’m glad that someone here actually understands the difference, cos clearly dark docs don’t lol

[@neilcheng4429]

Another brilliant documentary upload thank you cool narrator too cheers love all the dark channels Whats the background soundtracks please

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

*Thank you for posting all of your videos. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!*

[@VaporeonCompilations]

A thoroughly well put together video, DD. Thank you for your work!

[@jackd1582]

It was crappola

[@philipnahrgang4445]

He said they were accurate. Per the Smithsonian: The V-2 was to be an even more decisive terror weapon, but the rocket was neither accurate, reliable, nor cost effective.

[@kennyj4366]

Von Braun and his team gave the world in WW2 a peak into the future and what the world would look like in years to come. They were remarkable people, extremely intelligent and true visionary’s. Thank you for the video and intelligent narration.

[@johnharrop5530]

My dad was a desert rat of Tobruk ,he said the Germans had the best equipment and should of won the war ,that's him in my profile pic behind a Vickers machine gun he survived 1007days in combat during WWII

[@narti7670]

I really enjoyed this one. One of the best Dark Docs.

[@lukaszwawrzyszczuk6591]

I would like to remind that the first whole unexploded V2 rocket was taken over by the Polish army in a village of Sarnaki, dismantled and transported to the UK by the Poles.

[@cocacola4blood365]

Long live Poland! A very underappreciated nation.

[@lukaszwawrzyszczuk6591]

@@cocacola4blood365 best greeting my friend

[@zzy09azy]

Not to mention that Polish intelligence made significant strides toward decrypting the German Enigma machine. This made possible later breakthoughs in Britain that finally broke the code years later.

[@chuckschillingvideos]

That "unstoppable secret weapon" did more harm to Germany's war effort than good. It consumed vast amounts of Germany's best scientists, raw materials, and production labor, and yielded minimal (to be VERY generous) damage to the Allies war effort. The Germans' fascination with "secret weapons" like the V--2 to the detriment of production and deployment of its actual, and useful, weapons systems played a significant part in Germany's losing the war.

[@delvinrequena8014]

Everybody gansta till rocket start falling

[@Godwillsortyou]

You spelt gangster wrong

[@travissmith2056]

Werd.. Tru-dat. Das-fo realz right dair yo. Eyz just keeping it reals. Haha!

[@Godwillsortyou]

@@travissmith2056 Wuckin' Figger

[@bobthompson4319]

The thumbnail is of the v2 rocket nozzle. The things that the guy is touching are the spray nozzles that mix the fuel and oxidizer.

[@mkashay]

Some of the one-day allied bombing raids exceed the casualty toll of the whole V2 program. The V2 was nothing more than a terror weapon, that really had no bearing on the war.

[@stb301]

Germany: bombs shit out of the UK Allies: later bomb the shit out of Germany Germany: *surprised pikachu*

[@paulreed6822]

Germany had already had the shit bombed out of it by this time.

[@erebostd]

The germans did their fair bit on bombing, but what later happened was pure revenge. Google the bombing of dresden, the leveled the city and killed the population without winning something, there were much better targets around the city, with military significance...

[@confusedkemono]

First time I've ever heard about these 3D scanning operations. Great video as always.

[@David35687]

This should be a movie!!! Showing the strategies and suffering on both sides...

[@briangreen6602]

It is, just not a very good movie.

[@BSimon-bu1kx]

Hey man, great vid as always :D But if I may, your narration pace lately is somewhat odd, extremely fast talking followed by quite long pauses, which does more harm than good I think. Maybe you are going for a dramatic style, but just please consider talking a bit slower and shortening the pauses a bit. Cheers Mate :D and keep up the great content!

[@pierrebuffiere5923]

V2s were manufactured underground. A good example is Mittelbau Dora near Nordhausen. It is open to visitors on a guided tour and well worth a visit, if you have a strong stomach.

[@Doomannater]

faster then the notifications

[@Th3Hum4nEl3m3nt]

Faster THAN the notification, 😒😭

[@messumup]

🤓☝️

[@Simon_2020]

I would love to see one of these about the USS Laffey. It survived several hits from kamikaze planes and a fight with Japanese battleships.

[@hongkongbeat2164]

while the allies had little in the way of physical deterrent, disinformation about landing sites and casualties was spread via the Double-Cross system that resulted in a large number falling short or wide of intended targets in London.

[@noelblack8159]

The Vengeance Weapon V-2, Such a Fascinating Weapon

[@Mungobohne1]

Let's call it a4

[@noelblack8159]

@@Mungobohne1 Ze Aggregat Null Vier, Verstehe!

[@Wolvieonepunch]

Love your channels by the way

[@neilsheppard6673]

Excellent documentary. Many thanks.

[@lordsteppergod7269]

V-2 Rocket is also a 30 kill nuke in COD: WW2

[@bubiruski8067]

4:30 This is the best point of the narrative !

[@prayformojo1117]

The Germans put one of these into space, or what we technically consider space in 1942.

[@charletonzimmerman4205]

Correct, 1st above the "KARMEN LINE" 100 km. surprised , It was mentioned. But who wants to admit- "NAZI'S in SPACE.

[@TheRussellStover]

@@charletonzimmerman4205 That would be Walt Disney... Iron Skys. (LOL.. movies..) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

[@alwoo5645]

They all went into space( sucessful launches that is)

[@derekbowbrick6233]

@Driftwannabe 10 Operation Paperclip.

[@travissmith2056]

Many failed, especially in the early months & they all fell on German territory. Van Braun started launching them in a specific direction, with German scientists below their planed path, all knowing they would eventually fall somewhere along the path they were actually located. They had cameras to get as much info as possible regarding why the were failing. 00:51 is one of these videos. That's why there is such a close recording of it. If it had been armed, with explosives, the video might not exist. This one wasn't damaged too bad. Most came down looking like they had been shot down & were in pieces when they fell. It was realized, the V2's were breaking the "sounder barrier". As this wasn't a known limitation at the time, they had to redesign the rocket to take the extra stresses involved.

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

When anybody arrives late to an important event I always say, "glad you could make it, Germany."

[@RobertSeviour1]

You say zis and ve reply: 'for you ze event is over'.

[@user-ej2xz3lx2e]

@@RobertSeviour1 lol

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

The V2 was not an evolution of the V1, it was a wholly different approach. Think cruise missiles and ICBMs.

[@craftpaint1644]

1)V2 fuel was made in part with millions of potatoes. 2) they were the first man-made object to reach the edge of earth's atmosphere. 3)It's rocket also powered the decent, a power dive that exceeded Mach 2. 4)a launch tube for U-Boats to tow behind them for the East coast of America was designed but never built because a wing-boost glide warhead was part of the three stage A3 Amerika Rocket version. 5) In rare cases, the V2 also hit targets inside Germany in an attempt to cut bridges that demolition teams failed to destroy ahead of the Allies.

[@johnevans6474]

Brilliant video, thank you.

[@toyotacorolla-kq9kt]

Never clicked so fast.

[@theafro]

Let's hear it for our right honourable landlord! a wise man, clearly in possesion of his wits (and he's bloody funny too, which helps)

[@supergeek1418]

Interestingly, the "lack of scruples" charade actually had a military purpose: Britain was being *SEVERELY* hurt by German raids on its military targets - especially its airfields, and air support facilities. By causing Germany to shift from military to civilian targets, it freed up military assets (especially airfields and infrastructure) to better attack Germany.

[@jsl151850b]

I kept hearing that that was a happy accident from a bad air raid by the British against Germany. Hitler went crazy about it and switched to attacking cities.

[@supergeek1418]

@@jsl151850b I read that it was an actual plan. In any case, it very likely helped win the war.

[@rayoflight6220]

As you say, the V2s rocket came too late in the war to be of any real advantage to the Nazi. The fact is, if the V2 would have been ready one year earlier, the outcome of the war could have been different. The V2 - on the other hand - were so expensive and difficult to build, that the manufacturing effort used up many industrial resources that the Germans could have used much more effectively to build more aircrafts. Thankfully, they decided that vengeance and the fear factor were more important, which contributed heavily to their downfall. Seventy-five years later, current liquid - fuel rocket engines, those based on a gas - generator cycle, still use the same components and the same design of the V2 rocket engine, including the regenerative cooling of the combustion chamber. One note: The V2 was powered by liquid oxygen and ethanol (pure alcohol). Toward the end of the war, there was a shortage, and the Germans begun confiscating all the available potatoes - which were necessary to produce the fuel. Various anecdotes also tell of how the workers were helping themselves at drinking the fuel, reducing further the already short supplies. Thank you for the video...

[@iillest0909]

It's like you speak into the mic then, you touch your toes then, back on the mic. Keep the words steady.

[@Reuter6795]

A few people have said this.. I dont have that issue. Are you using headphones/earbuds ?

[@nigeldepledge3790]

A nice film, but there are s few errors. Vergeltungswaffen is the plural of Vergeltungswaffe. The V-2 was Vergeltungswaffe-2. Except that, before its first deployment, it was known as the A-4, or Aggregat-4. The V-2 was most definitely *not* a development of the V-1. Although they had consecutive Vergeltungswaffe numbers, they were otherwise completely different. The V-1 used a pulse jet motor, whereas the V-2 used a liquid-fuelled rocket motor. The V-2 built on pre-war liquid-fuel rocket development, and this continued through 1939 - 42, often at the risk of losing funding altogether. In fact, a strong case can be argued that Germany *should* have directed the resources elsewhere, and that the A-4 thus helped the Western Allied war effort more than that of the Axis. The A-4 killed more people in the slave-labour factories that built it than in the cities that were its targets. The V-2 was also nearly impossible to intercept, but nearly is not completely. If the radar operators were able to get enough of a track to predict a V-2's trajectory, the tactic of filling the air in its path with anti-aircraft artillery fire would destroy about 1 in 60. Finally, it's a bit of a stretch to call it "highly accurate". Yes, it could guide itself to a specific city, but you couldn't programme where exactly in that city it would hit.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Few rockets hit Paris; most hit London, several hit Dutch ports.

[@dagandreassen8446]

They was sent from several locations in Holland. I live here now and have seen many of their launch sites because the Dutch coast was so close to UK, London.

[@francisbacon7738]

What we did to German cities was absolutely terrible, all the civilian casualties. My Father-in-Law was a very caring and loving man. He was in Bomber Command during the war. He was on many raids including Dresden. But he also became a casualty even though he survived the war without getting a scratch. The knowledge of what he had been apart of deeply affected him. When the world at war documentary covered the bombing campaign was first shown on TV. He went as white as a sheet and was visibly trembling. My wife (a child then) thought he was having a heart attack.

[@adventussaxonum448]

I suppose the Luftwaffe pilots who previously bombed London, Coventry, Southampton, Portsmouth..... would have felt the same..... if they survived the war.

[@rosesprog1722]

@@adventussaxonum448 Coventry was bonbed 11 times, it was Britain's main weapon industry center. The others 1 or 2 times and military targets, ports, industries only, all after Churchill had started bombing city centers. Berlin was bombed 314 times, day and night, non stop and 60 other German cities were reduced to rubble. In Britain, 60,000 dead, Germany, 600,000.

[@MsDboyy]

Fascinating video the and way you edit the video makes it really exciting also 💯👏☯️

[@edwardcnnell2853]

While there is much criticism of Allied bombing hitting civilian targets in WWII the critics fail to look at the technology of the time. I will use the American B-17 because it is so well known. It could bomb from a high altitude. If it was flying at 20,000 feet ( actually they usually bombed from 25,000 feet, it had to hit target almost 5 miles below it. Cruising at 180 mph it had to release it bombs about 36 seconds before the plane was over the target. That is about 1.8 miles before you were over the target. The bombs trajectory is not straight down. If the plane is not truly flying straight a one degree variation would but the bomb off target but about 45 feet and the angle may be more than one degree. Additionally in the 36 second 1.9 mile forward travel and the 5 mile drop winds at various altitudes will cause additional deflection. The Norden bombsite contained an analog calculator that told the bombardier when to drop the bomb. It calculated the airspeed for how soon before over the target to drop the bomb. But if that was different than the ground speed the bomb would be off target. Air speed is how fast it is traveling though the air which includes headwinds and that is different than ground speed. While this by itself offers a seemingly great degree of accuracy there are significant additional factors. The bomber flew to the target area and the pilot got he craft generally headed for the target. It was the bombardier that told the pilot that they were over the first aim point. Then the pilot turned on an auto pilot and slaved the autopilot to the bombsite. Now the plane was guided to the target by the bombardier. But these panes were flying in formation and individual embroiderers did not guide the planes of the target. Only the bombardier in the lead plane would decide when to release his bombs. Then the bombardiers in the other planes would release their bombs trying to match their release with the lead bomber's release. All this at 5 miles high in temperatures of -40F, antiaircraft fire bursting around them, the lead bombardier trying to see the target through smoke and clouds. Bombs often landed not 50 feet from the target but miles away. The Allies called this precision bombing but that was only relative to the technology of the time. Precision daylight bombing was the term they gave to it and precision really only meant the effectiveness they were trying to obtain. And this was a decryption of daylight bombing. Night bombing accuracy was even worse. As the war progressed area carpet bombing that did target civilian populations did occur. The bombing of Dresden is just one example. It was not just to kill civilians in and effort to break their will to fight. The idea was to put refugees onto the roads to hamper transportation of war materials. To deprive war material factories of labor. Sherman was correct with “war is hell”.

[@alucardhellsing1037]

Built without the aid of computer software. Nazi Germany was way ahead of technology development than any other nation before the start of WW2. Then their inventor was poached by the USA to help build NASA's most powerful space rocket. This begs the question from the German who invented a flying winged aircraft, what else did the German engineers invent during WW2. Also how much of that knowledge was seized by the US military and still being used to develope future weapons, aircraft etc.

[@joshschneider9766]

Operation paperclip brought over eleven thousand over. History researchers have proven at least three thousand would have been hanged for their war crimes of not scooped up. All so the USA could Dismantle south America for corporate gain.

[@johndeerekid167]

A lot

[@steelths1781]

A lot in rocket technology due to the treaty of Versailles which didn't limit rocket weaponry but calling them way ahead is a huge stretch, they were behind in radar, nuke's, semi auto rifles, medicine just to name a few things not to mention their jet development is hugely overstated considering the brits have the first air to air jet kill

[@Sportsr4lyfe93]

I love this channel so much

[@xxDOTH3DEWxx]

Love the channel, have for awhile. But the speech cadence is a bugger

[@MrJLCharbonneau]

I think this one is one of your best pieces.👏

[@mickthomassen2887]

Love the vids but I think you may be wrong about the max speed of the V2. 5760kmh is around Mach 4.5. Nothing was even capable of those speeds until around 1960s. Maybe 576kmh?

[@TrySomeFentanyl]

No lol, 5500 kmh was the cruising speed of the v2 while high in the atmosphere.

[@TrySomeFentanyl]

Its a rocket propelled missile, it was faster than anything ever made until the time

[@chromiumphotography5138]

A Hawker Hurricane could fly at 547kmh so its reasonable to guess that a rocket could fly much faster.

[@sixstringedthing]

About 80 percent of the V2's flight profile was way up in the stratosphere where the air density is much lower than sea level. It's a lot easier to get something moving that fast up where the air is thin.

[@krapeevids6992]

00:58 I heard elsewhere that they were not that precise, but still effective

[@DOI_ARTS]

Targeting wasn't really accurate but to rain it to London was the goal

[@aga080]

How are you speaking like this? I am honestly asking. Are you recording your voice, speeding it up, and adding spaces in between sentences now? Is this a computer generated voice? For the love of god man your channel is so good, please pay a professional voice actor. Your voice and whatever effects you do make the videos literally unwatchable.

[@brunopimenta8204]

Voicing is great, it's just a little of in this video, to much speed in the sentences sometimes, but it's what makes the documentaries feel imersive as he gives us the narrative, he has the same ability of David Attenborough to catch your attention.

[@aga080]

@@brunopimenta8204 you are NUTS.

[@jimweed7269]

Our son goes to the University of Alabama in Huntsville which has has at least one building named after Wernher Von Braun since he spent much of his time at the Nasa facitlies in the area. The United States Space and Rocket Center has a good sized exhibition about what he did during this time as well. When visiting the center I had a opportunity to talk with a docent who was in his 90s and had worked with many of the German rocket scientists. I know its a touchy subject for some, but I've always been interested in the rehibilitation of people like Van Braun by the United States which allowed him and others to work in the country.

[@BA-rh5hy]

Wait.. so this is why you can call in a v2 rocket in battlefield 5 ... *Mind blown*

[@noelblack8159]

I think you only can call in a V-1

[@mikeoconnell4108]

In BFV, you call in variations of the V-1 rocket (there is both a German and correct Japanese model).

[@jessehordesky3472]

This is good going to show it to my kids as a history lesson

[@markrowland1366]

A missile is either ballistic, as were the German V2 rockets or guided as the V1, with it's autopilot. Balls are ballistic. They fly as far along the line they are thrown but might carry in flight by wind etc.

[@AussieCarsRule]

"V2s were threatening American supply lines in France" - yes, because only the Americans were fighting in Europe in WW2.

[@phyllisfager6689]

And brits,canadians

[@suzannehartmann946]

Wow we use similar technology today. Platforms pulled by trucks, computer guided missiles. Some things do not change much. That was what roughly 80 years ago?

[@magapickle01]

Makes yall warm and fuzzy thinking about fast and explosive . Pretty intelligent work back then if you think about the technology back then ! Surprised we are not farther ahead yet ..

[@dodoubleg2356]

If Hitler wasn't such an egotistical narcissist, & used the V2 more effectively, the V2 could've easily shifted the war in Germany's favor.

[@persistentapparartionkitty5830]

If Hitler had listened to his Generals they either would have won the war or it would have been a Stalemate. His invasion into Russia mirrored what Napoleon did which ironically he said he wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of Napoleon and proceeded to do the exact same. Even after Stalingrad the Germans could have been more effective defending the eastern front had he allowed tactical retreats. Also had he prioritised Jet Fighters, more semi auto rifles, etc, he could have dominated. Adolf was insane and a poor battlefield commander and the world is very lucky he was.

[@Davey-Boyd]

nah, the Russians would of still flattened them.

[@mckenr07]

The shit you make scientists build after a Crystal meth binge

[@Davey-Boyd]

@@mckenr07 Yeah, sorry mate. I'm trying to give it up.

[@persistentapparartionkitty5830]

@@mckenr07 Adolf was one of the OG Tweakers 😂

[@haraldpettersen3649]

A good video, with a lot of old film and pictures, thanks.

[@1989TS..]

"the time Germany nuked Paris"

[@Great_America]

Times have changed again. Over 80% of all operational missiles in the world today are classified as non-ballistic. In fact, the Missile Defense Agency removed the word “ballistic” from the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) last year. It’s now called the Missile Defense System (MDS). The newest types of missiles incorporate hypersonic flight and/or post boost maneuvering guidance technologies.

[@davidhull1481]

And I’m sure that Von Braun never regretted a thing. Not using slave labor, not the deaths of civilians. Nothing was more important than his desire to reach space.

[@johnharris6655]

Hitler "How dare the English do our cities what we have been doing to theirs for 3 years."

[@Jere-iy2yv]

Not really true, the first bomber attack against civilian targets was actually by britain and even after that, german bombing raids never even almost reached the scale of allied bombing

[@Reuter6795]

Jere^ is right and also allied specifically sought out hospitals, churches, major civilian gathering areas. Honestly if you go deep into WW1 history you will find that the allies were just as bad if not worse than the Nazis in many ways, without the genocide part.

[@trailguyw9271]

World War I is a different war entirely

[@gmaacentralfounder]

@@Jere-iy2yv Not true. Hitler specifically directed Nazi armed forces to target civilians in 1939 in Poland. It was there that first bomber raid levelled a city. In fact, the Hospital, being in the center of it and having LARGE RED CROSS PAINTED ON THE ROOF, was chosen as a target/landmark for the pilots to look for... Hitler was just offended that Brits treated Germans exactly the same way Germans were treating Poles: like barbaric, uncivilized people who can only be subjugated by force. It's just the scale was different, that's all.

[@allangibson2408]

@@Reuter6795 Germany bombed civilians from day one of WW2. Refugees were an official high priority target to block roads.