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The V-2, known as the A4 to its developers, was the basis for most of the rocketry that exists in the world today. It was ineffective as a weapon of war, but represented a quantum leap in technology. The A1, A2, A3, and A5 were steps in the development of the missile. Later versions - the A6 through A12 - were planned to take the Third Reich to the planets.
A1 First in series of rockets leading to V-2. Exploded at Kummersdorf during a test run. Considered aerodynamically unstable (a stabilising flywheel was mounted forward) and no launch attempts were made....more.
A2 First flight test rocket in the series that led to the V-2. Two were built, dubbed Max and Moritz. Both were successfully flown....more.
A3 The A3 was the first large rocket attempted by Wernher von Braun's rocket team. It was equipped with an ambitious guidance package consisting of three gyroscopes...more.
A4b Winged boost-glide version of the V-2 missile. The A4b designation was used to disguise work on the prohibited A9 program....more.
A5 Subscale test model of A4 (V-2). Replaced the A3 in this role after its unsuccessful test series. The A5 used the same powerplant as the A3, but had the aerodynamic...more.
A6 The A6 designation was applied to a version of the A5 subscale V-2 using alternate propellants. It also seems to have been applied to a manned, ramjet-powered version of the A9 winged V-2....more.
A7 Subscale test model of the A9 rocket. Considered for use as a weapon as well....more.
A8 Planned stretched version of the V-2 with storable propellants. Never reached the hardware stage, but design continued after the war in France as the 'Super V-2'....more.
A9/A10 The A9/A10 was the world’s first practical design for a transatlantic ballistic missile. Design of the two stage missile began in 1940 and first flight would have...more.
DF-1 Chinese version of Soviet R-2....more.
  Ghauri Derivative of North Korean No Dong. First fired April, 1998. Payload is about 700 kg. Managed by A Q Khan Research Laboratories....more.
Hermes Hermes was a major US Army project to implement German rocket technology after World War II. Development started in 1944 with award to General Electric as the prime...more.
  Nodong Single stage vehicle, basis for Iranian Shahab 3 and Pakistani Ghauri....more.
R-11 First Russian ballistic missile using storable propellants, developed from the German Wasserfall SAM by Korolev's OKB. The design was then spun off to the Makeyev...more.
R-17 The final refinement of the R-11 design, the R-17, was exported widely and became infamous around the world by its ASCC reporting name - "Scud". It was perhaps...more.
  R.04 French post-war surface-to-air missile based on the German Wasserfall....more.
Redstone Redstone was the first large liquid rocket developed in the US using German V-2 technology. Originally designated Hermes C. Redstones later launched the first US...more.
Shahab Iranian derivative of North Korean No Dong 1 intermediate range ballistic missile, evolved incrementally with Russian assistance into a longer-range missile and...more.
Super V-2 Developed version of German A9 studied by the German team in France in 1946-1948. Cancelled as too ambitious, but led to the Veronique of the 1950's, the Diamant...more.
Taepodong North Korean long-range ballitic missile and satellite launch vehicle consisted of a No-Dong 1 IRBM as the first stage, and a derivative of the Scud-C SRBM as the second stage....more.
Tamouz Iraqi space launch vehicle/ICBM based on clustering of Scud tactical missiles. Canadian rocket scientist Gerald Bull was allegedly killed by Israeli agents not...more.
V-2 The V-2 ballistic missile (known to its designers as the A4) was the world's first operational liquid fuel rocket. It represented an enormous quantum leap in technology,...more.
Wasserfall Seminal German surface-to-air missile, tested during World War II, but never operational. The V-2-configuration rocket was copied in the USA as the Hermes and...more.

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© Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.