Heidelager (original) (raw)

| HeidelagerCredit - © Mark Wade Type: Suborbital Launch Site. Operator: Germany. Country: Germany. Latitude: 50°12' N. Longitude: 21°48' E. German test range for production V-2 missiles. In use from 1943 to 1944. Heidelager Chronology and Launch Log 1943 May 30 - V-2 firing range to be established in Poland. Launch Vehicle: V-2. It is decided to move testing of production V-2s and training of combat launch crews from the Baltic Sea to the middle of Poland, at Heidelager, near Blizna. German units here operationally test fired over 100 V-2's, launching 10 on one day, only a small number of which were fully successful. 1943 November 5 - Heidelager test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Out of control due to launch table sinking into sand.. Apogee: 1.00 km (0.60 mi). All A4 production test and training launches after November were made from Blizna to either an impact range in Poland or into the Baltic Sea. The first launch made from Blizna was conducted by operational V-2 Battery 444. The launch stand was placed on sand, which the exhaust melted, causing one leg of the stand to tip into the soft surface. The missile ascended at an angle and crashed 3 km from the launch point. After this the decision was made to launch only from concrete surfaces.Two shots of the series that followed went out of control, landing west and north of Golingen, luckily impacting in uninhabited forest. The tests did not use explosive warheads, but still the craters made by the missiles' impact were still 30 m in diameter and 10 m deep. Missiles impacting in the Baltic were provided with green dye so that the impact location could be determined. The SS was responsible for any damage to civilian areas. The Baltic impact area was triangular, extending from Weichsel to Sam. The launches from Blizna were spectacularly unsuccessful - only 10% to 20% of the rockets were reaching the target. There were three categories of failures: thrust was lost just 20 m over the launch stand, causing the missile to fall back and explode, wrecking the stand; the missiles were exploding in the air at 1000 to 2000 m altitude during the burning time of the motor; and they would reach the full 250 km range, only to explode a few thousand metres over the target.No solution to these problems was found for a long time. Meantime three operational batteries were obtaining launch experience, using civilian technicians and engineers in military service. These launch troops got along well with the Peenemuende engineers, and made many practical recommendations for improvement of the missile and launch equipment.This period was the worst in the whole development of the A4. Finally it was determined that the rockets were failing due to an explosive mixture of alcohol forming in the internal spaces of the rocket, due to poor sealing compound used in initial production rockets (as opposed to a better-quality material used in Peenemuende-built prototypes). Improved seals and quality control eliminated the problem, and the crisis passed. 1943 Nov 25 0100? 01:00 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Failure. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). 1943 December 5 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). 1944 Jan - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). First half 1944 - Production V-2's exploding in flight. Launch Vehicle: V-2. The production series of V-2's are exploding in flight, and the engineers cannot determine the reason. Peenemuende engineers sought to recover 30% of the missiles for detailed examination. This showed that re-entry heating did not weaken the missile's structure. There was no scorching of the 0.6 mm thick paint applied to the interior of the missile. Only the outer paint showed signs of scorching. The missile still suffered in-flight explosions - attributed to the re-entry heating of 480 deg C and residual propellant vapours that still escaped despite the better sealing. Dornberger thought the liquid oxygen tank was the problem, while Von Braun suspected the alcohol tank. To try to determine the cause, five V-2's were shot with the engine running until all of the alcohol was depleted. These were followed by six shots with improved glass wool insulation of the liquid oxygen tank, over the objections of Riedel III, head of manufacturing at Peenemuende. Three of these shots were made in one morning, and all went off course. These were in turn followed by a series of highly instrumented launches from Peenemuende. The improvements developed as a result of these tests improved the missile reliability from 30% to 70% immediately, and then the reliability slowly increased to 80% as additional changes were made. Only in the last months of the war was it found that the forward part of the outer hull was failing in flight. Once this was strengthened with a belt of sheet metal, the V-2 achieved essentially 100% reliability.This entire process was going on while production was ramping up at the underground facility at Mittelwerk. There was pressure from the highest quarters to get the missile fielded and attacks on England underway. Every change resulting from these tests and research meant that the production line at Mittelwerk had to be stopped, and retrofits made to undelivered missiles. 1944 Jan - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Jan - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Jan - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Jan 6 0100? 01:00 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Jan 29 2130? 21:30 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Failure. 1944 Feb - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Feb - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Feb - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Feb - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Feb - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 Mar 31 2250? 22:50 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Failure. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). End April 1944 - Around 30 V-2 missiles were launched in test and training missions from Heidelager in April 1944. Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 May 20 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). End May 1944 - Around 30 V-2 missiles were launched in test and training missions from Heidelager in May 1944. Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). End June 1944 - Around 30 V-2 missiles were launched in test and training missions from Heidelager in June 1944. Launch Vehicle: V-2. A-4 Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). 1944 July 24 - Last V-2 launch from Heidelager. Launch Vehicle: V-2. Apogee: 90 km (55 mi). Last launch from Heidelager. Russian advances forced the Germans to move the firing area to Heidekraut. A total of perhaps 24 missiles had been fired in test and training launches from Heidelager in July before it was abandoned. Bibliography and Further Reading McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html. Dornberger, Walter, Peenemuende, Moewig, Berlin 1985.. ISBN: 3811843419. German-language account of the development of the V-2 by the Commander of the Peenemuende rocket development centre. More at amazon.com... © Mark Wade, 1997 - 2006 except where otherwise noted. Please contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments. Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site.. This web site is sponsored by SpaceBank.com | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |