V-1

Also known as Fieseler Fi 103, V-1 flying bomb, V-1 missile, buzz bomb, doodlebug

1944 cruise missile by Fieseler

Key facts

Type: Cruise missile
Place of origin: Nazi Germany
In service: 1944–1945
Used by: Luftwaffe
Wars: World War II
Designer: Robert Lusser
Manufacturer: Fieseler
Unit cost: 5,090 RM
Variants: Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg
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)

Article

The V-1 flying bomb (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1, lit. 'Vengeance Weapon 1') was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was Höllenhund (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and Maikäfer (maybug).

The V-1 was the first of the Vergeltungswaffen (V-weapons) deployed for the terror bombing of London. It was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center in 1942 by the Luftwaffe, and during initial development was known by the codename Kirschkern (cherry stone). Due to its limited range, the thousands of V-1 missiles launched into England were fired from launch sites along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts or by modified Heinkel He 111 aircraft.