Hitler's Vengeance Weapons: V-1, V-2 and V-3 Launch Sites

When Nazi Germany invented long-range missiles, the world entered a new era of warfare. In a desperate bid to turn the tide of the Second World War, Hitler pinned his hopes on a terrifying arsenal of so-called Wunderwaffe – ‘wonder weapons’ – designed for mass destruction and psychological terror.

This richly illustrated Images of War book offers a comprehensive look at the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 ballistic missile, known collectively as the Vergeltungswaffen or ‘retaliatory weapons’. With 150 rare and previously unpublished photographs, alongside in-depth analysis through supplementary text and detailed captions, it chronicles the development of these groundbreaking weapons, the construction of launch sites and missile manufacturing with the use of slave labour from concentration camps like Mittelbau-Dora.

From the initial V-1 static launch sites of northern France, particularly in the Pas-de-Calais region, to the shift toward mobile V-2 launchers that rained destruction not only on London and other cities in England but mainland Europe, principally in France and Belgium, this book reveals the full story behind Hitler’s technological last stand. Though these weapons failed to alter the outcome of the war, they marked the dawn of a new and deadly era in military history and were responsible for 18,000 deaths, mostly civilians.

A gripping and meticulously researched photographic account of ambition, cruelty and the race for technological supremacy, V-1, V-2 and V-3 Launch Sites is essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War, military innovation or the dark legacy of Nazi science.