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In retaliation for Allied bombing raids, Hitler ordered the development of the V1. The first cruise missile, it changed the face of war forever.
In retaliation for Allied bombing raids, Hitler ordered the development of the V1. The first cruise missile, it changed the face of war forever.
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00:00Hidden in forests across France and Germany lie the remains of one of the most ambitious
00:07weapons projects of World War II.
00:10This is just missile.
00:14Top secret Nazi testing centers.
00:17Subterranean missile factories.
00:19You can see here this amazing large tunnel.
00:22Looks like they left in a hurry.
00:25A vast network of deadly launch sites.
00:28He's hoping that this new terror weapon will bring Britain to its knees.
00:32We have a job and we will retaliate with all our power.
00:36This is the incredible story of the world's first cruise missile.
00:40Evacue!
00:41A terror bomb that would change the face of history and lead to a revolution in military
00:48hardware.
00:49That machine could be falling on you with a ton of explosives on board.
00:57The V1.
01:02The biggest construction projects of World War II, ordered by Hitler to secure world
01:08domination.
01:09Now they survive as dark reminders of the FĂŒhrer's fanatical military ambition.
01:14These are the secrets of the Nazi megastructures.
01:28It's the 13th of June, 1944.
01:34One week after D-Day.
01:37Colonel Max Vaktel is about to launch the Nazi's newest secret weapon, the V1 missile.
01:49Across northern France, regiments are primed.
01:53Among them is teenage airman Joseph Esser.
01:58His unit and 54 others like it are ready to fire the unmanned flying bombs at London.
02:05Hitler is relying on them to turn the tide of war for Nazi Germany.
02:09Stand back everyone!
02:24Today, the relics of the V1 programme still litter the French countryside.
02:37Battlefield archaeologist Dr Tony Pollard is exploring their ruins.
02:43It's across iron rails that would have sat on top of these plinths that a V1 missile
02:48would have been launched.
02:50Taking off back there, its engines sputtering into life.
02:58And you can imagine the thing rocketing over my head, careering off this thing and shooting
03:02out over those fields directly towards London.
03:09The V1 is the prototype of two of the most lethal weapons in today's arsenal.
03:15The cruise missile.
03:20And the unmanned drone.
03:26What we have for the first time in military history is the ability of one nation to launch
03:30missiles at another across a very long distance without causing themselves any risk whatsoever.
03:47The story of the V1 begins before the war in the summer of 1939.
03:56Hitler has been in power for six years and is intent on expanding the Third Reich.
04:02A massive rearmament programme is underway.
04:12One of Hitler's plans is a revolution in military technology.
04:17He gives his forces free reign to develop groundbreaking weapons.
04:27In Berlin, the Luftwaffe turned to the pioneering work of one man.
04:34Eccentric engineer Fritz Goslau.
04:37He's working on the revolutionary concept of unmanned planes.
04:46What a success!
04:51His remote controlled aircraft provides the Luftwaffe with an ingenious training tool.
04:57The plan is to use this drone as target practice for anti-aircraft gunners.
05:04They can shoot it down with no risk to human life.
05:07An idea ahead of its time.
05:12In 1939, Fritz Goslau is working on what we today would call a UAV, an unmanned aerial
05:17vehicle.
05:18It's a pilotless drone.
05:20I mean, amazingly highly advanced idea.
05:24Germany's status in world engineering is absolutely a complete powerhouse, particularly in terms
05:29of aviation.
05:30So there is an environment, an atmosphere there in which kind of sort of madcap, off
05:34the wall ideas are absolutely encouraged.
05:40Goslau's timing couldn't be better.
05:43War is on the horizon.
05:44On the 1st of September 1939, Hitler invades Poland and World War II begins.
05:59German forces sweep eastward.
06:02Their blitzkrieg tactics are winning the war.
06:07Goslau's drones are training Luftwaffe gunners, but he's eager to play a bigger part in the
06:12war.
06:15He has an idea to turn his training tool into a lethal weapon.
06:24Goslau is starting to realize that actually he's onto something here.
06:28He's got an unmanned aircraft, but why not fill that aircraft with explosives and actually
06:34send it over as a weapon?
06:36So it completely changes his way of thinking about what he's got.
06:42My generals, many thanks for coming.
06:46Goslau pitches the idea of a combat drone, codenamed Deep Fire.
06:53Operated by a chase plane, this unmanned aircraft would travel deep behind enemy lines,
06:58carrying a one-ton bomb.
07:04Once it's delivered its payload, it can return to base and load up again.
07:12Deep Fire is very enthusiastically received by the Luftwaffe, who are very excited by
07:16projects such as these, that super-advanced and no other competent in the war has.
07:27On the 9th of February, 1940, Hitler sends out a decree.
07:31All experimental programs must be stopped immediately.
07:36The war has started well for the Nazis.
07:40Hitler believes it won't last long, so there's no need for expensive, unproven ideas.
07:47Goslau's design is officially scrapped by the Luftwaffe.
07:52Goslau may have been knocked back with his unmanned aircraft, but he very quickly turns
07:56his attention to another exciting project the Luftwaffe is keen to back, and that is
08:00the development of pulse jet technology.
08:09Planes are vital to the Nazi war machine, but their piston engines are expensive and
08:13time-consuming to build.
08:16They ask Goslau for a cheap and fast alternative.
08:21On his radar is the pulse jet.
08:35Data jet expert Dr Mike Pavelek is exploring a Nazi weapons workshop in northern Germany.
08:45The remains of Goslau's inventions can still be found there today.
08:51This is fantastic.
08:53This is the old pulse jet.
08:56It doesn't look like much now.
08:57It's all rusty and broken apart, but in 1939, this was actually very, very high technology.
09:02This pulse jet works on very simple principles of combining fuel and air to produce thrust.
09:10Fuel is injected into a spherical compartment.
09:15Here it mixes with air and ignites.
09:18The resulting explosion creates a jet of hot gases.
09:23When directed out of the exhaust tube, this creates the thrust needed to drive an aircraft
09:27forward.
09:28The Argus pulse jet engine was very appealing for two reasons.
09:33First off, it was incredibly powerful.
09:35Secondly, it was very cheap and easy to build.
09:39Pulse jet engines represent a sea change in military aviation technology.
09:43April 1941.
09:47Goslau has a working pulse jet engine, but with a major flaw.
09:52It self-destructs after a few hours, so it's no use in piloted aircraft.
09:57But Goslau thinks it may be perfect for his unmanned drones.
10:03The combination could create his dream, a flying bomb.
10:11Goslau is primarily an engine designer at Argus, and what he lacks is the know-how on
10:15airframes.
10:16He needs that combination of airframe technology and engine technology, bring them together,
10:20and that's how he's going to realize his dreams and ambitions for an unmanned flying bomb.
10:28Fate would step in, in the form of flying champion turned engineer, Robert Lusser.
10:35Robert Lusser, who is an airframe designer from the aircraft manufacturer Fieseler, visits
10:40Argus, and by chance happens to come into conversation with Goslau.
10:46And Goslau starts telling him about his plans for this unmanned flying bomb.
10:50Dr. Lusser, this is new, completely new.
10:55Goslau draws him this little sketch of how he imagines his flying bomb's going to look
10:59like with two engines on the wings.
11:02And Lusser looks at it and goes, hmm, yeah, maybe, but actually, what about this?
11:05And puts the engine straight into the fuselage.
11:07Just one.
11:09Why not try this?
11:11It's this marriage of the two, of the airframe designer with the engine designer, that really
11:16gets the V-1 project going.
11:18This chance meeting results in the design of the V-1, and an engineering partnership
11:23that would change the face of war forever.
11:32Wider events in Europe soon turn the idea into a reality.
11:38The 28th of March, 1942.
11:41The German city of LĂŒbeck is carpet bombed by the Allies.
11:47The city is the first in Germany to face the full force of the RAF, who specifically
11:52target civilian areas.
11:56Over a thousand Germans are injured or killed.
12:01The bombing of LĂŒbeck, an ancient German city that has its heart destroyed, is a real
12:05shock to both Hitler and the German high command.
12:08Hitler is incensed and demands an immediate response.
12:15Hitler orders retaliatory strikes on Britain.
12:17But after a series of defeats to the RAF, the Luftwaffe lack the bombers to give the
12:23FĂŒhrer the revenge he demands.
12:28The Luftwaffe are immediately kind of wondering what they can do, because they simply don't
12:31have the bomber force.
12:32But actually, the answer lies right underneath their noses.
12:34And of course, it's the unmanned flying bomb that LĂŒbeck and Goslau have been developing.
12:43On the 19th of June, the weapon is given high priority by the Luftwaffe.
12:50They order construction of a secret prototype.
12:54The flying terror bomb is on the brink of becoming a reality.
13:08August, 1942.
13:11Testing of the V1 missile is officially relocated to Peenemunde West, the Luftwaffe's top
13:17secret research and development center.
13:21Concealed from the Allies on a remote island in northern Germany, it's the perfect place
13:25to develop the missile.
13:34In 1942, the V1 missile project is moved here to Peenemunde.
13:40Hitler's other vengeance weapon, the V2 rocket, is already under development.
13:44So there are thousands of engineers and scientists already working here under the strictest secrecy.
13:54Goslau and LĂŒbeck are still working on a prototype V1, but there's a glaring problem.
14:00How to launch a flying missile without a pilot?
14:06The team begin work on a ramp to try and catapult the missile into the air.
14:11This is the platform for the launch system.
14:14I find it interesting that the metal and concrete is still here from 70 years ago.
14:20Right here was where the ramp started.
14:24The final design uses a steam-propelled piston.
14:28When fired, it'll shoot through the ramp.
14:33The V1 is attached directly to the piston.
14:36Finally, a steam generator, rigged to produce a high-pressure gas explosion, is locked into
14:43position.
14:44They'd flip the switch, and the steam would be generated.
14:48The catapult plug would force the V1 off the end of the ramp toward the vault.
14:57In under a second, the piston accelerates the V1 to a staggering 250 miles per hour.
15:05This gives the missile the momentum it needs to take off.
15:09But there's still a way to go before the V1 is fully functional.
15:21January 1943.
15:25The tide of war is turning against Nazi Germany.
15:30They're losing to the Allies in North Africa.
15:34And in the east, the invasion of Russia has ground to a halt.
15:39Hitler is looking for a miracle, and the V1 might just be the answer.
15:50Dosslau and Looser believe their new invention is exactly what the FĂŒhrer needs.
15:55Now it's time to prove it.
15:59Hurry up!
16:03Is everything okay?
16:06Air pressure?
16:07Check!
16:08Gyroscope?
16:09Check!
16:10Ignition?
16:11Check!
16:12Good.
16:13Prepare for firing.
16:14Hitler himself comes to PeenemĂŒnde to watch one of the next tests.
16:26The tide is just beginning to turn against the Germans, and what he's hoping is that
16:30this new terror weapon will bring Britain to its knees.
16:34For Dosslau and Looser, it's a one-off chance to show the FĂŒhrer their amazing invention.
16:41Three, two, one, go, go!
16:58The V1 launch is a disaster.
17:02The missile crashes immediately.
17:11Looser and Dosslau's V1 test couldn't have gone worse.
17:16But Hitler desperately needs new technology to turn the tide of the war.
17:21He gives the missile his seal of approval.
17:24The pressure is now on Dosslau and Looser to get the V1 missile operational.
17:31That means men need to be trained to operate it.
17:36Every weapon needs manpower to launch it, and so a new regiment is instigated specifically
17:41to man and operate the flying bomb.
17:45June 1943.
17:47Troops are drafted from across the Luftwaffe to join a new secret regiment.
17:53The man chosen to lead them is hardened war veteran Colonel Max Wachtel.
18:00Gentlemen, you are here for a mission of utmost importance to the Fatherland.
18:10And it will be an honor for us to carry out this duty.
18:19Colonel Max Wachtel is a tough, uncompromising artilleryman from the First World War.
18:24He's joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and has made a real reputation for himself.
18:28So he's the perfect choice. He's loyal, he's uncompromising, and they know he's going to get the job done.
18:35Wachtel's regiment is drawn from men from all across Germany.
18:39Veterans, brand-new recruits, some that fought on the Western Front, some that have fought on the Eastern Front.
18:45They're brought here to work on this top-secret project, the V1 missile.
18:50Among them is 18-year-old airman Joseph Esser.
18:54Let me stress that any breach of your oath to secrecy will result in transfer to a concentration camp or death.
19:24Esser's team are among the first to see the secret flying bomb.
19:40He records the moment in his diary.
19:44We were given special security clearance to enter the secret research station.
19:49There I saw it, the machine they called the V1.
19:54I thought we had to fly it, but then we were told that it's a missile, a secret vengeance weapon.
20:10On the outskirts of Peenemunde, Esser and the team begin an intense training schedule.
20:21It was in this forest where Wachtel's regiment trained.
20:25The high-technology weapons system needed highly trained professionals to be able to launch it.
20:31Without the men, the machine was nothing.
20:40They built three practice launch ramps in the forest.
20:45This is one of them. You can see the front end would have been down there where they loaded the V1 on.
20:52Under Wachtel's direction, the team step up their firing trials.
20:58It was extremely dangerous work. They were using very volatile chemicals in the launch process.
21:03The V1s themselves tended to explode on the ramp.
21:08Esser prepares the V1s for launch, but the system still has teething problems, as he recalls in his diary.
21:17After the bomb was prepared, we ran and hid. You just didn't know what might happen.
21:22So let's get back, everyone!
21:25There are no techniques or procedures. They have to invent how they put this thing into the air.
21:32Pressure is rising.
21:35The regiment is expected to be operational within a few months.
21:41Hitler is depending on Max Wachtel.
21:51While Wachtel and the engineers struggle to get the V1 campaign operational, the Nazi war machine receives a huge setback.
22:01In July 1943, the Allies bomb Hamburg.
22:09Over three consecutive nights, more than 3,000 bombers hit Hamburg.
22:13This is one of Germany's biggest cities, not to mention ports.
22:16And the ancient heart of it is absolutely destroyed.
22:22The raid kills over 50,000 Germans.
22:28This is a massive psychological blow for both Hitler and the Nazi high command as well.
22:38Only by air can they terrorize our homeland.
22:47But let me assure you, gentlemen, we are developing ways to end these terror attacks for good.
23:03We will soon retaliate with all our power.
23:11Hitler is relying on Max Wachtel to deliver a revenge strike.
23:16But the V1 is far from ready.
23:19Despite this, he orders 5,000 to be built by the end of 1943 to fire at England.
23:31It's the summer of 1943, and Hitler's first vengeance weapon goes into mass production.
23:38But the V1 only has a range of 130 miles.
23:42They'll need to be launched from northern France.
23:46In September, construction begins on a hundred launch sites across Normandy and the area around Calais.
23:54One of the most impressive is Hasenburg.
24:00Its haunting ruins still survive today.
24:13This is just missile.
24:15This is the business end of the entire operation, the launch ramp.
24:19And there's no mistaking it. It's unbelievable.
24:31And what we're seeing here are the blast walls that would have protected the ramp within.
24:37And that would have been a superstructure coming out towards us.
24:44The key factor is that this has to have that line of sight.
24:48It's like a rifle pointed at London.
24:52It's on a ridge, so it's elevated from the ground around it.
24:56But it's set aside for the purpose of firing.
25:00And it's not just a rifle.
25:02It's a machine gun.
25:04It's a machine gun.
25:06It's a machine gun.
25:08It's on a ridge, so it's elevated from the ground around it.
25:11But it's set aside from the forest.
25:14Everything else, all the support buildings are hidden away in the forest.
25:29The launch site contains everything the V1 regiments need to fire the weapon.
25:36There are nearly 20 concrete structures,
25:39including buildings to store and assemble the missiles,
25:42bunkers to house the detonators,
25:45and blockhouses to support the 65-strong crew.
25:54In late 1943, under pressure to deliver an operational V1 regiment,
26:00Colonel Wachtel moves his men into the top-secret launch sites in northern France.
26:08In their ranks is Joseph Esser, who is posted near Lille.
26:14Throughout the autumn, my job was just boring guard duty.
26:18It was hardly what I signed up to.
26:25It was a site like this that Esser arrived at.
26:28The facilities were all here ready,
26:30but the frustrating thing was that there were no missiles.
26:33There was a problem with supply.
26:35But once they started to arrive,
26:37the plan was initially to store them in this building.
26:54This is an 80-meter-long bunker,
26:57and its function was to store the missiles.
27:00They would have been in here nose to tail,
27:02ten of them, one end to the other,
27:04with their wings folded up before they're assembled.
27:15For most of their length, these buildings are straight as a die,
27:18but when you get to one end, they start to curve around,
27:21and it's said that's to protect from bomb blasts if bombs are dropped on them.
27:28If you see them from above, they look like skis laid on their side,
27:32and they become known as ski structures.
27:42By the end of 1943,
27:44the Luftwaffe has lost control of the skies over France.
27:49All the launch sites are now vulnerable to Allied aerial reconnaissance.
27:54It doesn't take long for the RAF to spot the strange ski-shaped buildings.
28:05So what we're looking at here for the Germans is a major design flaw,
28:08and as soon as the Allies see these structures,
28:11they know that something unusual is happening,
28:13and something potentially very dangerous.
28:15The distinctive missile bunkers give away the launch sites,
28:18but the secrecy of the V-1 program
28:20means the Allies have no idea what they're for.
28:24It takes an aerial recon photo of a launch ramp at Peenemunde
28:28for them to make the connection.
28:31The place we're standing and this photograph
28:34are very significant in the history of the V-1,
28:36because this is where the Allies took a series of photographs
28:40that actually had a picture of the V-1 on the launch ramp.
28:43They finally put two and two together.
28:46The launch ramps were for V-1 aimed directly at London.
28:52Allied air raids on the sites in northern France begin in earnest.
28:57Eighteen-year-old airman Joseph Esser is now in mortal danger.
29:08Incoming!
29:16EXPLOSION
29:24The Allies drop over 120,000 tonnes of bombs
29:28on the Nazis' V-weapon sites.
29:36The impact of those Allied air raids is still plain to see in the forest,
29:40which is pot-marked with huge bomb craters.
29:43Look at the size of this one.
29:45This must be a 500-pound bomb that's landed here.
29:49All over the site there are lumps of concrete
29:52where buildings have been hit by bombs raining down.
29:55Nearly all of the 100 V-1 launch sites are heavily bombed,
30:00long before they become operational.
30:04The V-1 programme is facing catastrophe
30:06and an entire rethink is required.
30:09The crews have to evacuate these sites
30:11and what they need to do is regroup and rethink
30:14and come up with an entirely new strategy.
30:18At his headquarters in France,
30:20the pressure is building on Regiment Commander Max Wachtel.
30:24He has no idea how the Allies discovered the V-1 sites.
30:32Wachtel realises that the secret of the V-1 missile is out
30:35and he's absolutely paranoid that the French resistance are watching his every move.
30:39So he takes some extreme measures.
30:42Wachtel changes tactics,
30:45abandoning the original launchers
30:47and constructing 130 small, carefully concealed launch sites.
30:53The relics of one are buried in the forest of Voie de Saint-RĂ©my.
31:10I could do with a machete and some of this stuff.
31:18One, two, three, four, maybe more over here.
31:23Looks as though it's lined in the right direction.
31:27This is the end of the ramp.
31:30These concrete plinths are all that's left of the V-1 launch pad that was here.
31:35The new sites consist of two or three permanent structures
31:38heavily camouflaged in dense woodland.
31:46The biggest change is the launch ramp.
31:50The plan is to deliver it in prefabricated sections
31:53that are only assembled at the last minute.
31:55This keeps the chances of the Allies detecting the site to a minimum.
32:00We've got the essential ramp, but it's as simple as possible.
32:03Very quickly erected in the days before a launch.
32:15The rest of the site is just dispersed and small-scale.
32:19There'd need to be some sort of storage for the missiles,
32:22but we're not looking at these massive long sheds
32:24where dozens of these things can be kept at any one time.
32:27We're really looking at something more akin to a mobile artillery battery here.
32:36But hiding the launch sites from the Allies isn't enough
32:39for the increasingly paranoid Wachtel.
32:41Concerned that the French resistance are following him
32:44and spying on his top-secret missile programme,
32:47he goes undercover.
32:51For one thing, he changes his name,
32:53ditches his uniform,
32:55feigns a false armour.
32:57He's doing anything he possibly can to get the programme back on track.
33:01Disguising his name and appearance,
33:04Wachtel becomes the one-armed Martin Wolf.
33:14And so the Germans here, I think, have played a blinder.
33:17They're working really intelligently
33:19with what is really a very adverse situation.
33:22With Wachtel and the launch sites undercover,
33:25now only the V1s themselves need hiding from the ever-watchful Allies.
33:31Storage of the missiles is moved to a series of quarries and tunnels.
33:37Across Europe, mass production also moves underground.
33:42In eastern France, the Nazis convert an iron mine
33:45into a top-secret V1 construction plant.
33:49Fortification specialist Arthur Van Beveren
33:52is exploring the subterranean factory.
33:56Fortification specialist Arthur Van Beveren
33:59is exploring the subterranean factory.
34:08Wow. Look at this place.
34:10Huge. Make room, space for trains.
34:14All wiring on the walls.
34:20We're in the basement.
34:22for trains, old wiring on the walls, huge steel doors leading into the tunnel.
34:34The original mine was 220,000 square meters and the Germans used 60,000 for their V1 factory.
34:43And you can see here this amazing large tunnel which leads right into the mountain.
34:48It's about 7 meters high and it was enlarged by the Germans to provide space for trains and trucks and the V-weapon itself.
35:00Before V1 production could begin, the narrow mine shafts have to be widened and strengthened.
35:08The work is carried out by prisoners.
35:19Forced laborers from East and Central Europe were brought in by the Germans to do this work
35:25and it was hard work in a cold, damp environment.
35:29To work here for months on end, it must be awful.
35:36Looks like they left in a hurry.
35:40The Nazis build workshops for the construction of V1 parts deep within the mountain.
35:46Drills, presses and welding stations are installed and full V1 manufacturing begins.
35:53Prisoners were cherry-picked for their special qualities. They were specialists on metalworking.
36:00The prisoners are forced to work day and night to build the missiles Hitler demands.
36:05The amount of metal required for the construction of the V-weapon,
36:10The prisoners are forced to work day and night to build the missiles Hitler demands.
36:14The amount of engineering that went into the V1 project was impressive,
36:19but a lot of people forget the human cost.
36:22Stories go that when about 30 Russian women were working there,
36:27the tunnel collapsed and they are still buried underneath the rubble.
36:33By May 1944, Hitler is finally satisfied that everything is ready for a strike against Britain.
36:39By May 1944, Hitler is finally satisfied that everything is ready for a strike against Britain.
36:46Esser's regiment is in position and awaiting Wachtel's order to fire.
36:51It'll come under the codename Polar Bear, in German, Ice Bear.
36:57The V1s may be ready, but the Allies strike first.
37:00They take Hitler and the Germans completely by surprise by landing on the Normandy beaches.
37:10On the 6th of June 1944, 150,000 Allied troops land on the coast of France in the D-Day invasion.
37:19Hitler needs a decisive counter-strike against the Allies.
37:23The time has come for Wachtel to break cover.
37:32He casts off his disguise and mobilizes his men.
37:38All units to prepare immediately for the attack.
37:41Give me the status of all the Normandy sides.
37:43Launches are to be made ready for action.
37:48Thanks.
37:54Across France, the launch rams begin arriving.
37:58Missiles are moved from the factories and storage depots, arming the sites.
38:07In the hours leading up to the launch, this would have been an absolute hive of activity.
38:12There would have been men everywhere.
38:14They'd have still been building the launch ram.
38:16Last pieces bolted into place.
38:18Esser is busy readying the missiles for launch.
38:21The moment to put his training into action has finally arrived.
38:26The missiles would be arriving at the reception center.
38:29There they'd be prepared, the wings fitted, the gyros would be fitted.
38:33Everything checked for that last final launch.
38:41On the 12th of June, Hitler and the Germans strike.
38:46On the 12th of June, 1944, just six days after D-Day, Wachtell is ready.
38:53After months of waiting, the hour has come for us to open fire.
38:59The FĂŒhrer and the Vaterland look to us.
39:03And it's now down to us to ensure our crusade ends with victory.
39:08It's finally time to fire Hitler's vengeance weapon.
39:12Long live our FĂŒhrer Adolf Hitler. Sieg heil!
39:16Heil!
39:21Across northern France, V1 launch teams spring into action
39:25to begin the aerial bombardment of London.
39:28Airman Joseph Esser is in position.
39:32His job, to fire the flying bomb.
39:43At 4am, Colonel Wachtell gives the order.
39:50EisbÀr!
39:51EisbÀr!
39:52EisbÀr!
39:53EisbÀr!
39:54EisbÀr!
39:56At 4am, Colonel Wachtell gives the order.
40:03EisbÀr!
40:04EisbÀr!
40:05EisbÀr!
40:06EisbÀr!
40:13Get back everyone!
40:25Get back everyone!
40:37Through the night, the regiment unleash missiles at the unsuspecting British public.
40:44Esser's crew do pretty well on the night.
40:46They get two missiles away.
40:48The problem is that across the regiment they only get ten missiles off.
40:52Only four of those missiles make it as far as the English coast.
40:57A single V1 strikes London.
41:01The explosion kills six people, injuring 30.
41:05It's not the decisive strike Hitler was expecting.
41:09After that first disappointing launch, the regiment really gets its act together.
41:13And on the 15th and 16th of June, just a few days later,
41:16they get 244 missiles in the air.
41:1973 of those land on London to devastating effect.
41:22This is what Hitler was hoping for.
41:27The growl of Goslau's pulse jet engine signals the arrival of a V1.
41:32On reaching London, it starts its dive.
41:37This cuts the fuel to the engine, leaving the missile to fall in haunting silence.
41:44But it was when the engine cut out that you knew the danger had really arrived,
41:48because that machine is at that point falling from the sky,
41:51and it could be falling on you with a ton of explosives on board.
42:03In total, 10,500 missiles are launched at Britain.
42:08In the space of ten weeks, over 5,000 Londoners are killed.
42:14By mid-August 1944, two months after the first V1 attacks,
42:19the Allies break out of Normandy.
42:22The Nazis are in retreat, including Wachtel and Esser.
42:29The V1 programme was incredibly ambitious.
42:32It did succeed in raining terror down on London,
42:35but it failed to turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favour.
42:38By the time the first missiles had been fired,
42:40the Allies had already landed in France.
42:43It was just too little, too late.
42:52After the war, Airman Josef Esser returns to Germany
42:56to live a quiet life in a town by the Rhine.
43:02Colonel Max Wachtel becomes the manager of Hamburg Airport.
43:11Lusser and Goslau both continue careers in engineering.
43:15Goslau develops motorbikes, while Lusser designs downhill skis.
43:25It's their work on the V1 that leaves a lasting legacy.
43:31The missile is the prototype for two of the most lethal weapons
43:34in the current military arsenal.
43:37The unmanned drone.
43:44And the guided cruise missile.
43:53In spite of its flaws, the V1 marks the dawn of modern warfare.