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During World War II, Peenemünde was the location of the Heeresversuchsanstalt, an extensive rocket development and test site established in 1937. Prior to that date the team headed by Wernher von Braun and Walter Dornberger had worked in Kummersdorf , south of Berlin. However, Kummersdorf was too small for testing. Peenemünde, located on the coast, was chosen as rockets could be launched and monitored across about 200 miles of open water.
From 1937 until 1945, the Peenemünders developed many of the basics of rocket technology and two weapons, the V-1 and the V-2. Test firing of the first V-1 occurred in early 1942 and the first V-2 (then called the A-4) on October 3, 1942, from Prüfstand VII. The V-1 cruise missileA cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. Cruise missiles are, in essence, unmanned aircraft. They are generally designed to carry a large conventional or nuclear warhe experiments were run by the German LuftwaffeThe Luftwaffe (literally, "air weapon", prounounced looft-vaaf-fa) is the air force of Germany. World War I Founded during World War I with the emergence of military aircraft, the Luftwaffe utilized a wide variety of aircraft. After the war ended, it was in Peenemünde west whereas the ballistic missileA ballistic missile is a missile, usually with no wings or fins, with a prescribed course that cannot be altered after the missile has burned its fuel, whereafter its course is governed by the laws of ballistics. In order to cover large distances ballisti development (V-2) was a project run by the HeerThe Heer is the German equivalent of the Army. It is one of the three parts of the German Bundeswehr as well as previously the Wehrmacht the others are the Luftwaffe and the Marine. Armies. (army).
A number of heavy air-raids targeted the site, including an attack by almost 500 RAFThe Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF is the air force of the United Kingdom. History Formation and Early History The Royal Flying Corps was formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912 superseding the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. The Royal Na heavy bombers on the night of 16August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 137 days remaining. Events 1777 American Revolutionary War: Battle of Bennington British forces are defeated by American troops. 1780 American Revolutionary- 17 August, 1943 ("Operation Hydra"). This raid killed some 700 staff, including Walter Thiel, the head of engine development. This raid prompted production of the V rockets to be moved underground.
At the end of World War II, von Braun and most of the scientists fled to be captured by the Americans while the site and most of the technicians were captured by the Soviets. The actual site was, in accordance with an agreement, destroyed with explosives by the Red Army.
There is much controversy about how the allies found out about Peenemünde. The official British version is that all information was collected by air reconnaissance. However there are witnesses and documents which state that Peenemunde was discovered thanks to Polish underground army ( Armia Krajowa or AK) intelligence and some information from others (including Danish pilot who photographed something looking like a V rocket near Peenemünde). English intelligence for years denied that it received any information about Peenemünde from Poland. However copies of reports were found after the war in Poland. R. V. Jones contradicted himself, first denying that fact, and later in his book The Wizard War writing that many bombs fell on camps of foreign workers who gave the allies information (he failed to mention that these workers were Poles and were from AK). Within the last few years Polish politicians and historians have demanded access to British archives (since most if not all AK reports were stored in England). So far the British authorities have answered that all AK reports were destroyed.
Peenemünde was not the only site in Germany where remarkable rockets were launched. There were also rocket launches in Germany between 1957 and 1964 at Cuxhaven and between 1988 and 1992 at Zingst.