V-1 flying bomb

The V-1 flying bomb (also called the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug) was a World War II weapon.^[3][4]

V-1 flying bomb Fieseler Fi 103 Flakzielgerät 76 (FZG-76)
Type	Guided missile
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	1944–1945
Used by	Luftwaffe
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Robert Lusser
Manufacturer	Fieseler
Unit cost	5,090 RM[1]
Specifications
Mass	2,150 kg (4,740 lb)
Length	8.32 m (27.3 ft)
Width	5.37 m (17.6 ft)
Height	1.42 m (4 ft 8 in)
Warhead	Amatol-39
Warhead weight	850 kg (1,870 lb)
Engine	Argus As 109-014 Pulse jet engine
Operational range	250 km (160 mi) [2]
Maximum speed	640 km/h (400 mph) flying between 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft)
Guidance system	Gyrocompass based autopilot

It was a flying bomb, an early cruise missile. Its jet engine made it travel at 350 mph (600 kmph). The Luftwaffe aimed it at London, and also Antwerp in Belgium. V-1s destroyed nearly as many houses as the Blitz did but killed fewer: 22,892 people were killed by the weapon.

The Allies tried to stop these attacks by bombing their launching places, by shooting at them in the air, and by flying fast planes close to them and nudging them off course using their wings.

They had a fairly crude guidance system. Overall, only about 25 per cent of V-1s hit their targets. Most were lost lost by defensive measures, mechanical unreliability or guidance errors.

Related pages

• V-2 rocket