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Hitler's Rocket Sites
Explores the Nazi bases used to launch V1 and V2 rockets at England from northern France and speculates on the real goals of the V2 program, including the possible use of chemical or nuclear warheads
221 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1985
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July 1, 2018
Hitler was a madman, but had a genius for war. He could not sustain his dream when he fell to the temptation of the conqueror - not knowing when to stop. He thrived on power and destruction to the extent that I wonder what he would have done had he not a war to conduct. Is his suicide the answer?
Germany had plenty of manpower, technical expertise and production capability when WW2 began. Nothing could stop the Nazi war machine on land though the RAF in the sky and the British fleet on water saved Britain from invasion. With control of the sky lost, Germany became subject to Allied bombing attacks. Hitler put a high priority on his V (for vengeance) rockets the V1, a drone aircraft and the V2, a ballistic missile.
I am always attracted to ruins. I find military sites particularly fascinating. When I was in college in Texas in 1969 I made a sustained ultimately successful effort to get into the recently abandoned Atlas ICBM silos near Abilene. There is something quite unsettling about being in a place that was designed to end tens of thousands of lives in one stroke, to look at a kitchen table where the men in a hole underground who would push the button for armageddon would eat their daily meals waiting for an order that they would carry out without hesitation with the turn of a key.
Philip Henshall, whose background in missile work informs his text, took plenty of time to visit most of Hitler's rocket sites in France not only to find out what remained in 1985, but to explain to his readers how these places were intended to operate and to draw maps of the layout for each installation should a reader care to visit.
There are several photos of some of the ruins. The most impressive sites never saw action because Allied advances in the war either overran them or the money to continue with them was taken for more pressing needs. Even Hitler had a budget and neither the V1 or V2 carried more destructive power than a single bomber. Interestingly, in no case was Allied bombing, employing anywhere from 200 to over 1000 bombers on a given day, able to stop the program. The most impressive V2 site at Watten was designed to withstand direct hits from the most powerful bombs made, and it did. It still stands. The Germans were nothing if not thorough with their engineering.
The wealth of detail in this book and the amount of information will satisfy the most avid reader. I am an insatiably curious person, yet I finished the book with no questions unanswered. Henshall tells not only of the process of preparing the missiles for launch and how they were stored and arrived at the sites, but also of the background planning for the entire rocket program. I found out about the launching methods right down to the characteristics of liquid oxygen and the way steam was generated to drive the V1 over a launching ramp by catapult. in the 1940's it was no small task to move a 4500 pound drone aircraft over an inclined rail from zero to 200 mph in only 70 feet. This steam catapult solution to reaching flight speed is used today on aircraft carriers.
It being only 40 years since the war had ended when he visited, Henshall on occasion would run into French citizens who had been drafted by the Germans to work on the sites, allowing him to get firsthand information that could aid him in what might otherwise be speculation about the function of this or that foundation remaining on site. Most of the sites used local labor, though the largest site at Watten required thousands of slave laborers on 12 hour shifts working every minute of the day for over 4 months.
Today, in 2018, WW2 is twice as far behind us as it was when this book was published. I was curious to see if any of the sites remain. Many do, though not in the condition they were when Henshall visited and made his hand-drawn maps. I recommend you use Google Maps to find the tiny town of Siracourt, France. You will find a road called Rue du Blockhaus (Blockhouse Street). Switch to Google Earth view and you will see a 600 foot long dark rectangle. Go to Street View to look right at this ugly monument to National Socialism, once a complete underground complex for launching V1's off of a ramp on the roof. Compare the appearance of the cold, bleak concrete you see to what you see when you turn around and view neat, bright single family homes on the other side of the same street. The contrast is astounding. If you take a look, I'm sure you will join me in being glad Hitler was defeated.
Any techie like me will enjoy this book. In a few cases, Henshall is driven to speculation that is always tricky. He claims that two never completed German built structures found right on the French seacoast (and still there) were silos intended to be used with special purpose (chemical or nuclear armed) V2's, the silos making them invulnerable to attack. Though possible, it is more likely these were for the installation of heavy artillery, made moot by the Normandy invasion.
Hitler's Rocket Sites is long out of print, though I found that copies are available on Amazon.
Thank you, Mr. Henshall, for doing the kind of thorough work that I would love to have available for every ruin that I have explored!
Germany had plenty of manpower, technical expertise and production capability when WW2 began. Nothing could stop the Nazi war machine on land though the RAF in the sky and the British fleet on water saved Britain from invasion. With control of the sky lost, Germany became subject to Allied bombing attacks. Hitler put a high priority on his V (for vengeance) rockets the V1, a drone aircraft and the V2, a ballistic missile.
I am always attracted to ruins. I find military sites particularly fascinating. When I was in college in Texas in 1969 I made a sustained ultimately successful effort to get into the recently abandoned Atlas ICBM silos near Abilene. There is something quite unsettling about being in a place that was designed to end tens of thousands of lives in one stroke, to look at a kitchen table where the men in a hole underground who would push the button for armageddon would eat their daily meals waiting for an order that they would carry out without hesitation with the turn of a key.
Philip Henshall, whose background in missile work informs his text, took plenty of time to visit most of Hitler's rocket sites in France not only to find out what remained in 1985, but to explain to his readers how these places were intended to operate and to draw maps of the layout for each installation should a reader care to visit.
There are several photos of some of the ruins. The most impressive sites never saw action because Allied advances in the war either overran them or the money to continue with them was taken for more pressing needs. Even Hitler had a budget and neither the V1 or V2 carried more destructive power than a single bomber. Interestingly, in no case was Allied bombing, employing anywhere from 200 to over 1000 bombers on a given day, able to stop the program. The most impressive V2 site at Watten was designed to withstand direct hits from the most powerful bombs made, and it did. It still stands. The Germans were nothing if not thorough with their engineering.
The wealth of detail in this book and the amount of information will satisfy the most avid reader. I am an insatiably curious person, yet I finished the book with no questions unanswered. Henshall tells not only of the process of preparing the missiles for launch and how they were stored and arrived at the sites, but also of the background planning for the entire rocket program. I found out about the launching methods right down to the characteristics of liquid oxygen and the way steam was generated to drive the V1 over a launching ramp by catapult. in the 1940's it was no small task to move a 4500 pound drone aircraft over an inclined rail from zero to 200 mph in only 70 feet. This steam catapult solution to reaching flight speed is used today on aircraft carriers.
It being only 40 years since the war had ended when he visited, Henshall on occasion would run into French citizens who had been drafted by the Germans to work on the sites, allowing him to get firsthand information that could aid him in what might otherwise be speculation about the function of this or that foundation remaining on site. Most of the sites used local labor, though the largest site at Watten required thousands of slave laborers on 12 hour shifts working every minute of the day for over 4 months.
Today, in 2018, WW2 is twice as far behind us as it was when this book was published. I was curious to see if any of the sites remain. Many do, though not in the condition they were when Henshall visited and made his hand-drawn maps. I recommend you use Google Maps to find the tiny town of Siracourt, France. You will find a road called Rue du Blockhaus (Blockhouse Street). Switch to Google Earth view and you will see a 600 foot long dark rectangle. Go to Street View to look right at this ugly monument to National Socialism, once a complete underground complex for launching V1's off of a ramp on the roof. Compare the appearance of the cold, bleak concrete you see to what you see when you turn around and view neat, bright single family homes on the other side of the same street. The contrast is astounding. If you take a look, I'm sure you will join me in being glad Hitler was defeated.
Any techie like me will enjoy this book. In a few cases, Henshall is driven to speculation that is always tricky. He claims that two never completed German built structures found right on the French seacoast (and still there) were silos intended to be used with special purpose (chemical or nuclear armed) V2's, the silos making them invulnerable to attack. Though possible, it is more likely these were for the installation of heavy artillery, made moot by the Normandy invasion.
Hitler's Rocket Sites is long out of print, though I found that copies are available on Amazon.
Thank you, Mr. Henshall, for doing the kind of thorough work that I would love to have available for every ruin that I have explored!
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