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Topic: On this day in 1944 in Chiswick
Posted by: Kevin Regan
Date/Time: 08/09/19 10:02:00

Details of the incident previously reported on ChiswickW4
http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conhistory05.htm
From http://www.v2rocket.com/start/deployment/denhaag.html
"From their homes in Den Haag (The Hague), Holland, the local residents heard a different kind of sound in the autumn of 1944. Den Haag is located less than 200 miles to the east of London on the Dutch coast. The sun was shining on this day, when a terrible roar rumbled through the streets of the affluent suburb of Wassenaar – just northeast of Den Haag.

Mr. C. van Fliet lived in Wassenaar and in the early evening of September 8; he looked up to see two pointed projectiles, about 10 metres long, rising slowly and majestically above the treetops. A cloud of smoke billowed slowly after reaching a height of about 15 metres. The projectiles gained speed rapidly with a flame emerging at the rear extending to more than half their lengths. At about 300-500 metres a white trail appeared leaving the form of a spiral. The projectiles were now accelerating quickly and their trajectory was flattening out somewhat. They finally disappeared travelling at a terrific speed.

The second battery of the German 485th (Motorized) Artillery Battalion launched both rockets simultaneously from Wassenaar. One from the intersection of the streets - Lijsterlaan / Konijnenlaan / Koekoekslaan and one from the intersection of Lijsterlaan / Schouwweg. Mr. van Fliet recalls that ‘the thunder of the rocket engines was tremendous’. The double launching took place at (18.37 hr.) (Dutch time). Only five minutes would pass before the first rocket slammed into England at Staveley Road, Chiswick (West London), travelling at nearly 3,000 miles per hour. The other hit Parndon Wood, near Epping (27 km north of London) causing no casualties, and a pond marks the impact crater now..

Mr. Van Fliet visited the scene of the launching as soon as possible after the event. Both launching sites were in the middle of roadways passing through the wooded neighbourhood. At each launching place there was a circular patch from which the road had been melted or burned. The burned patch had a diameter of 9 metres and the road was about 10 metres across at the widest point. In the centre of each burned patch was an unburned area in a box form suggesting that some sort of stand had been used. The trees near the edge of the roadway were very badly burned up to a height of about 1 metre and less badly burned near the treetops. There was also evidence of a violent low blast – the grass was flattened out and all the leaves had strangely vanished from the ground below the trees. The thatched roof of a nearby small house had been lifted and blown off."

These mobile launch pads were very difficult to locate and attack, I don't believe any were attacked, even with constant air patrols.


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 07:06:00 Kevin Howard
   Re:On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 08:07:00 Hans Lund-Sorensen
      On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 10:02:00 Kevin Regan
   Re:On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 11:27:00 James Petri
      Re:Re:On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 15:59:00 Jennifer Selig
   Re:On this day in 1944 in Chiswick08/09/19 17:06:00 Valerie Bott

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