posted 08-12-2024 02:32 AM               

1942 March 18 - V-2, s/n 1 explodes during engine test run

The missile was being tested on Test Stand VII; no launch had been planned. G Harry Stine noticed that the German rocket scientists at White Sands were very reluctant to talk about the details of the failure, but finally managed to get the real story from Konrad Dannenberg:

"The first A-4 missile was a hand-made job. Motor tests preceding the first flight were to be carried out in a huge, mobile test stand, which held the entire missile. However, this first A-4 never flew; it found its end in the test stand.

"In order to clamp the missile into the stand without attaching the thrust mounts to the missile structure, a large steel corset was built. Unfortunately, the builders of this corset did not take into account the shrinkage of the missile components when the frigid liquid oxygen was pumped aboard. The first A-4 shrank, dropped out of the corset, and was a total wash-out.

"The test was to have examined the behavior of the guidance system and the graphite steering vanes in the exhaust flow. The corset had pivot mountings on it to allow the missile to be deflected while its motor was being fired, to see how fast the steering vanes responded, and what amount of corrective force they developed. After the failure, the Peenemunde team was embarrassed by the fact that they had overlooked something as obvious as the fact that cold things shrink."

posted 08-12-2024 05:19 AM               

My own notes (amalgamated from various sources) give this timeline:

• 18Mar42 Peenemunde A4 s/n1 test stand vii failure
  
• 23Mar42 Peenemunde V-2-4001 1st full scale static test
  
• 13Jun42 Peenemunde first V2 launch -4002 [Failure]
  
• 16Aug42 Peenemunde V2-4003 [Failure]
  
• 3Oct42 Peenemunde V2-4004 success [range 190km]

• 25Feb42 Peenemunde V-2 first test model ready
  
• 18Mar42 Peenemunde launch attempt failure
  
• 29Apr42 Peenemunde launch attempt failure
  
• 13Jun42 Peenemunde 2nd A4 model launch failure
  
• 16Aug42 Peenemunde 3rd launch attempt failure
  
• 3Oct42 Peenemunde V2 success

Neufeld "The Rocket and the Reich" p158-160, published 1995, has 18th March 1942 for when A4/V1 exploded on test stand VII at Peenemunde East.

The only source I can find that states 16th March 1942 is the German Wikipedia page. If you search the past histories tab you will note that the date has been edited from 18.3.42 to 16.3.42, with a reference to "Raumfahrtforschung" by Heinz v. Diringshofen and Rolf Engel published 1952.
However when I have accessed a digital copy of that it clearly states 18.3.42.