V-2 rocket: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Vergeltungswaffen-2 • V-2 missile • A-4

Photos and Videos

A V-2 rocket nicknamed Sandy ascends into the sky, leaving a trail of exhaust, with clouds in the background.

Illustration of the German V-2 rocket, shown upright with camouflage coloring and a vertical scale beside it marking its height in meters, reaching just over 14 meters.

Wernher von Braun: V-2 missile

Diagram of the German A-4 (V-2) rocket from World War II, showing an exterior view above and a labeled cutaway below that highlights internal components such as the warhead, alcohol fuel tank, liquid oxygen tank, turbine and pump, combustion chamber, guidance and control devices, and control vanes.

How World War II led to the invention of the Slinky

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

missile V-1 missile strategic missile Atlas Titan rocket Tomahawk Nike missile surface-to-air missile antitank guided missile smart bomb Peacekeeper missile

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun

German engineer

Yuri Gagarin and Sergei Korolev

Sergei Korolev

Soviet scientist

Dornberger, Walter Robert

Walter Robert Dornberger

German engineer