We analyse five photos of a V2 rocket explosion in London's East Ham on the 17th of September 1944. We reveal the hidden technical details of the A4 / V2 missile's development and combat history and the darker secrets long buried - quite literally - in these five pictures from 1944. You can jump to sections from the index below.
00:00 Introduction to V2 rocket images
03:34 Remembering the casualties
04:12 Why Operation Market Garden halted V2 rocket operations
05:53 The Big Ben code name explained
06:46 Picture 1 - The St Stephen's Road explosion
14:58 Damage to Washington Road (off St Stephen's Road)
20:00 Picture 1 - details in the street (US Lend-Lease Program)
23:20 Who pressed the shutter button?
25:12 Understanding St Stephen's road from photos
30:30 The story of the stretchers
32:45 The secret buried in Picture 1
34:28 The launch site of Big Ben 22
39:05 Picture 2 - the thrust chamber
46:18 Picture 2 - the engine cooling system explained
1:13:05 Picture 2 - slave labour - murder in the V2 factory
1:14:48 Picture 3 - the turbopump
For more information about the A4/V2 missile's turbopump see • A4 / V2 Rocket in deta...
1:25:03 Picture 4 - the small debris pile
1:33:17 Picture 5 - the larger debris pile
1:39:19 Picture 5 - the secret in plain view that explains the nature of Big Ben 22
1:55:00 Picture 5 summary
1:56:24 Conclusions and our request for feedback
1:59:03 Credits and our position statement
For more information about the combat history of the V2 missile, and for general information about the V2 visit: www.v2rocket.com/
In remembrance of those who died in the attack:
EMMA ARNOLD aged 82
ELIZABETH BURRELL aged 49
FRANCIS BULLOCK CURTIS aged 78
KATHLEEN MACMILLAN aged 20
KATHLEEN MACMILLAN aged 4
DOREEN ELIZABETH TODD aged 19
Written and presented by Robert J Dalby FRAS
Produced by DB Video Services and V2RocketHistory.com for Astronomy and Nature TV