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During World War II, the Nazi regime in Germany funded an unprecedented effort to build rocket weapons. Capitalizing on the experience accumulated by German rocket enthusiasts since the second half of the 1920s, a group of engineers at the secret center in Peenemünde developed a ballistic missile of incomparable size and range. Officially dubbed Vergeltungswaffe-2, or "vengeance weapon-2," the cigar-shaped rocket could reach targets some 300 kilometers away. (169)

A-4 technical overview:

The V-2 rocket, originally named A-4, grew out of several previous projects conducted in Peenemünde, including A-3 experimental rocket with estimated range of 50 kilometers.

Test launches of the A-4 started in 1942 and from September 5, 1944, the missile was used by the German Army to attack England and a number of allied targets in Europe. The last German A-4 rocket was launched from Peenemunde on February 19, 1945.

After the war, the British military with the help of German specialists launched three A-4 rocket from Germany. A significant number of A-4 rockets was launched in the United States.

Total eleven A-4 rockets were launched from Kapustin Yar by a Soviet-German team in the fall of 1947. The A-4 also became a base for the Soviet copy, designated R-1.