V-2 A4v4 Prototype

Scale 1:96 Published: August 27, 2006

History 
On the third day of October 1942 the first truly ballistic missile was launched from Peenemünde in Germany watched by it creators Werner von Braun and army General Walter Dornberger.

It was the fourth attempt (v4 = Version 4) to launch a A4 (V-2) rocket, and this prototype was decorated with a drawing of “Der Frau im Mond” (The Lady at the moon) – inspired by the movie of the same name. 

The V-2 was a major step towards space, and cannot be underestimated. It carried out the ideas of other pioneers like Tsiolkovsky, Obert and Goddard. But it was also done at a very high price.

The cooperation with the Nazi-regime casts long shadows over the V-2 story. Von Braun’s role in this is still under debate – especially in Europe. The fact is, that the manufacturings of the rockets were done by workers in the concentrations camps Dora Mittelbau or Nordhausen. It has been estimated, that for each operational V-2, 6 inmates were worked to death. This model is dedicated to the memory of these slave workers.

At the end of the war Von Braun and most of his team, was captured by the US, and as part of “Operation Paper Clip” was moved to USA. The captured V-2’s were also send to USA, were it was used as a sounding rocket. USSR captured a lot of technicians and carried out, their own V-2 programme.

Note: 
This model is my own original design based entirely on my own research. I created it, because were are many modellers, who builds models in 1:96 or 1:100, and because I wanted a model of this specific V-2. 

If you are interested in a larger and more detailed model, I recommend you to take a look at Ralph Currell's  model in 1:32. You will find it in  two different paint schemes:
Ralph Currell's free models   

Sources:

Books and articles:
Germany's Secret Weapons by Roger Ford

V-2 Ballistic Missile 1942-1952 by Steven J. Zagola

Dawn of the Rocket Age by Joachim Engelmann

The Rocket - The History and Development of Rocket and Missile Technology  by David Baker.

Rockets of the world by Peter Alway,

Le V-2 arme stratégique by Gérard Hartmann

Sources on the web (some of them).

www.airventure.de/peenemuende.htm

www.v2rocket.com

www.v2rakete.de/

www.jirzy.webzdarma.cz

http://www.raketenspezialisten.de/

www.raumfahrtgeschichte.de

Rymdraketer från Peenemünde

Nazi V-2/ A-4  Rocket  Technology

Nordhausen.html