First V-2 Rocket Attack on London
September 8, 1944 · 20th Century
On September 8, 1944, at 6:43 PM, the first V-2 rocket to hit London landed on Staveley Road in Chiswick. It killed three people: Ada Harrison (63), Rosemary Clarke (3), and Sapper Bernard Browning. This attack marked the beginning of the V-2 campaign against Allied cities and was the first operational use of a ballistic missile in warfare. Initially, the British government concealed the true nature of the explosion, attributing it to a gas main rupture.
Key Figures
Wernher von BraunWalter Dornberger
Locations
LondonStaveley Road, ChiswickThe Hague
Topics
World War IIr-7 semyorkaEnglandGermanyv-2 rocketballistic missile
Connected Events — 5 Connections
The R-7 rocket that launched Sputnik was developed using V-2 ballistic missile technology Sputnik 1 Launched
Soviet engineers studying captured V-2 technology applied ballistic missile principles to develop the R-7 Development of the R-7 Semyorka ICBM
Soviet space program built on V-2 rocket technology transferred after the war through Operation Osoaviakhim First Man in Space
Von Braun applied V-2 rocket principles to develop the Saturn V that carried Apollo 11 to the moon Apollo 11 Moon Landing
Von Braun's successful V-2 test launches enabled the operational deployment that began with the London attack First Successful V-2 Rocket Launch
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