The German Rocket Scientists at the end of the war.

[Artfuldodger]

This is an interesting article on how Von Braun's group surrendered to US Army Soldiers;

https://www.v2rocket.com/start/chapters/flight2.html

 

[Artfuldodger]

This is an account of how the Russians got theirs;

https://www.airspacemag.com/space/t...ibWxrD9B_W8UvJdFklHAj1a3Q6F5dA6vgViWnH-0qZ4SQ

 

[Artfuldodger]

That he was responsible for both the deadly Nazi V-2 and NASA’s majestic Saturn V makes Wernher von Braun a controversial historical figure.

 

[Artfuldodger]

The German V-2 rockets that bombed Britain were built in underground factories near the central German town of Nordhausen – most famously at Mittelwerk, where construction was done by prisoners from the nearby Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp. Over 60,000 prisoners lived, worked, and died in the damp underground tunnels at Mittelwerk. Some succumbed to disease and malnutrition. Some were worked to death. Others were hanged publicly in group executions. The death rate rose so high that crematoriums became a necessity.

 

[jaybirdius]

My Grandmother was a nurse in London during the war. She had some amazing stories about living there during that time. She said you would be arrested or beaten for lighting a cigarette outside or near a window at night. They did everything possible to make targeting for the bombings as hard as possible and they prayed for heavy cloud cover every night. That's where she met my Canadian Grandfather and uprooted her whole life to return to Nova Scotia with him after the war. She said she could still hear the sound those rockets made into her 90's.

 

[Artfuldodger]

My dad was stationed in England in the Army Air Corp. He said the bombings were every night. Both ways, their bombers flew to Germany every night and the German one's flew to Britain every night.

It was so common they just went about their normal cultural activities such as going to town to drink beer and pick up girls. That you'd see a bomb hit down the street and destroy buildings. Dad telling me this as a young child freaked me out. I said I wouldn't have gone or done anything. I mean that was my thought process as a 10 year old, not a young 18-21 year old male.

 

[Artfuldodger]

Regarding "lights out" Dad said those Blackout head lights were useless. Plus all the fog in England, that at night they would run off the road on the left, cut back over and drive until they ran off the road on the right.

 

[Artfuldodger]

This wiki link on Magnus von Braun covers the underground V2 Rocket factory a bit more;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_von_Braun

 

[Resica]

My dad was stationed in England in the Army Air Corp. He said the bombings were every night. Both ways, their bombers flew to Germany every night and the German one's flew to Britain every night.

It was so common they just went about their normal cultural activities such as going to town to drink beer and pick up girls. That you'd see a bomb hit down the street and destroy buildings. Dad telling me this as a young child freaked me out. I said I wouldn't have gone or done anything. I mean that was my thought process as a 10 year old, not a young 18-21 year old male.

British bombed at night. Americans bombed during the day.

 

[Artfuldodger]

British bombed at night. Americans bombed during the day.

Thanks, I didn't know that.

 

[Resica]

Thanks, I didn't know that.

Probably wasn't an absolute but it was the norm. My cousin( grandpa's cousin) was a left waist gunner and assistant engineer on the B-24 " Flak Alley", 44th Heavy Bombardment Group, 68th Bomb Squadron. Killed during 'Big Week" Feb. 24th 1944. Shot down after getting caught in prop wash from bomber in front of them and falling out of formation. KIA. He was 22 and from Clermont, Ga.

 

[Resica]

Wiley Haynes Jr.