Re-Engineering the Vengeance Weapons

Abstract

Much has been written about the German Vengeance weapons V-1 and V-2, in particular about the design and the designers of the V-2 rocket, which was preferably seen as the first engineering tool for reaching space. But they were meant to be weapons of war for massive destruction of civilians and property. Before the V-weapon offensive started, Polish underground agents had already provided valuable information to the UK and so did Swedish authorities. During the V-weapon offensive, first-hand knowledge especially about V-2 system properties, facilities, launch procedures, and firing timetables became urgently needed. As many V-2 firings took place on the Western coast of The Netherlands, the local underground intelligence around The Hague was called upon by London to help investigate. The key person in the present saga is J.W.H. Uytenbogaart, engineer and research manager, spider in a web. Results from his investigations have been summarized in the book "Ballistics of the Future", which also included substantial results from theoretical investigations carried out by J.M.J. Kooy. It was published in 1946. Documentation and interviews with surviving contemporaries created the picture of a remarkable, quiet, unselfish, crafty gentleman and unassuming hero. The present paper may well be the very first one to provide somewhat more than a glimpse of the secret life of this remarkable man.