V-1 flying bomb (facilities)

V-1 facilities
Part of Nazi Germany
locations in France and Germany
Diagram for Maisoncelle V-1 "ski site"
Site history
Built by	Organisation Todt et al.
In use	World War II
Battles/wars	Operation Crossbow, Operation Aphrodite

In order to carry out the planned V-1 "flying bomb" attacks on the United Kingdom, Germany built a number of military installations including launching sites and depots. Some of the installations were huge concrete fortifications.

The Allies became aware of the sites at an early stage and carried out numerous bombing raids to destroy them before they came into use.

The unpiloted aircraft was assembled at the KdF-StadtVolkswagenwerke (described as "the largest pressed-steel works in Germany") near Fallersleben, at Cham/Bruns Werke, and at the Mittelwerk. underground factory in central Germany. Production plants to modify several hundred standard V-1s to Reichenberg R-III manned aircraft were in the woods of Dannenburg and at Pulverhof, with air-launch trials at Lärz and Rechlin. Flight testing was performed by the Luftwaffe at Peenemünde West and, after the August 1943 Operation Hydra bombing, at Brüsterort. Launch crew training was at Zempin, and the headquarters for the operational unit, FR 155(W), was originally based at Saleux, near Amiens, but was subsequently moved c. December 1943 to a chateau near Creil ("FlakGruppeCreil"), with the unit's telephone relay station at Doullens.

Other V-1 production-related sites included a Barth plant which used forced labor,Buchenwald (V-1 parts), and Allrich in the Harz.

In addition to the storage and launching sites listed below, operational facilities included the airfields for Heinkel He 111 H-22 bombers which air-launched the V-1 from low altitude over the North Sea. The ten-day-long aircrew training was at Peenemünde, and the bases were in Gilze Rijen, Holland for launches through 15 September 1944, and in Venlo for launches after the 1st week in December. Aircrews were billeted five miles away at Grossenkneten for secrecy.