Weapon of the Week: V1 "Buzz Bomb" news - Weapons of World War II

The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as the V-1 'Buzz Bomb', (German: Vergeltungswaffe 1, retaliation weapon), also colloquially known in Britain as the 'Doodlebug', was an early pulse-jet-powered example of what would later be called a cruise missile. The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde Airfield by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. The first of the so-called Vergeltungswaffen series designed for terror bombing of London, the V-1 was fired from "ski" launch sites along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Allied landing in Europe. At its peak, over a hundred V-1s a day were fired at southeast England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. This caused the remaining V-1s to be re-targeted on the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last site was overrun on 29 March 1945. In total, the V-1 attacks caused 22,892 casualties (almost entirely civilians).
The underground V-1 storage depots at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, Nucourt and Rilly-la-Montagne, as well as the launch sites, were bombed during Operation Crossbow.

In service
1944-1945

Used by
Luftwaffe

Wars
World War II

Production history

Manufacturer
Fieseler

Unit cost
5,090 RM^[1]

Specifications

Weight
2,150 kg (4,750 lb)

Length
8.32 meters (27 feet 3¾ inches)

Width
5.37 meters (17 feet 6 inches)

Height
1.42 meters (4 feet 8 inches)

Warhead
Amatol-39

Warhead weight
850 kg (1,870 lb)

Engine
Argus As 109-014 pulse jet engine

Operational
range

250 km (150 miles)^[2]

Speed

640 km/h (400 mph) flying between 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft)

Guidance
system
gyrocompass based autopilot