Wasserfall Credit - © Mark Wade

German surface-to-air missile, tested during World War II, but never operational. Single stage vehicle, V-2 configuration. Copied in the USA as the Hermes and in the USSR as the R-101. The name translates as 'Waterfall'.

In 25 September 1942 Goering authorised development of four types of surface to air missiles: unguided rockets (Taifun), target-seeking guided rockets (Enzian); operator optically-guidedockets (Rheintochter and Schmetterling); and radar-guided rockets (Wasserfall).

Work had already begun on this seminal Wasserfall missile in 1941, originally as an anti-aircraft version of the A4 surface-to-surface missile. The final specifications of 2 November 1942 called for an interceptor missile with a top speed of Mach 2, able to hit airborne targets flying at up to 900 kph at 5 to 20 km altitude within a radius of 50 km. First versions were to use radio command guidance, to be followed by a self-guiding radar system in later models. The pressure-fed engines used Nitric acid/Tonka propellants. Orders were placed for 5,000 rockets, but production was never even begun due to protracted development.

Manufacturer: Wehrmacht. Launches: 2. Failures: 1. Success Rate: 50.00%. First Launch Date: 1944-02-29. Last Launch Date: 1944-03-08. Apogee: 18 km (11 mi). Liftoff Thrust: 78.000 kN (17,535 lbf). Total Mass: 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). Core Diameter: 0.89 m (2.90 ft). Total Length: 7.70 m (25.20 ft). Span: 2.34 m (7.67 ft). Standard warhead mass: 300 kg (660 lb). Maximum range: 26 km (16 mi). Boost Propulsion: Storable liquid rocket, 1850 kg propellant. Guidance: Radio command. Maximum speed: 760 kph (470 mph). Ceiling: 18,300 m (60,000 ft).

1944 February 29 - Launch Site: Peenemuende. Launch Vehicle: Wasserfall. LV Configuration: Wasserfall 2. FAILURE: Failure.

• Test mission Nation: Germany. Agency: Wehrmacht. References: 733.

• Test mission Nation: Germany. Agency: Wehrmacht. Apogee: 1.00 km (0.60 mi). References: 733.

• Wasserfall test Nation: Germany. Apogee: 18 km (11 mi). The Wasserfall surface to air missile was launched from a table, as was the V-2. The missile was optically steered to its target, and had a potential range of 26 km and ceiling of 18 km, with a flight speed of 600 m/s. Goering observed the first launch from Test Stand IX. He was immensely fat, wearing a fantastical outfit, downing pills every five minutes, and uninterested in the proceedings. Dornberger ruefully noted that the Reich is losing the war due to the leadership's shortsightedness. They had not accepted Von Braun's rocket plans in 1939 or the Panzerfaust in 1942. They only became interested in the latter when the first American bazooka fell into German hands in Tunisia.References: 693.

• Peenemuende rocket team faces the New Year Nation: Germany. It was for them a depressing time. The V-2 came too late to affect the outcome of the war. The years 1939-1942, when Hitler had blocked development and production of the V-2, were lost years. By this time, the Peenemuende staff was allocated as follows: 135 were working on Taifun anti-aircraft barrage rocket; 1940 were working on the V-2; 1220 were working on the Wasserfall surface-to-air missile; 270 were working on the A4b winged V-2; and 660 were in administrative positions. Meanwhile Kammler was constantly underway, trying to deploy the wonder weapons he believed would save the Reich. He could only be met at one-hour meetings at autobahn intersections, on his way from one place to another.References: 693, 727.

• First meeting of Arbeitstab Dornberger in Berlin Nation: Germany. The group's first priority was to evalute the prospects for rapid development of an effective surface-to-air missile to combat the incessant Allied bombing raids. It had to be beam-riding instead of optically guided, in order to be effective at night and in bad weather. The group found there was no single 'wonder weapon' that would end the war in a few months. But Kammler still believed the Reich still could hold out for six months, enough time to develop and deploy a new weapon. Dornberger's team disagreed, but they had to try nevertheless. Therefore the Schmetterling, Wasserfall, and X4 missiles went into simultaneous final development and production. But realistically none of them could be mature enough to be sent to the front until early 1946. If the Reich could hold out that long, then it was possible it could slowly win back territory.References: 693.

• Yeftifyev, M D, Iz istorii sozdaniya zenito-raketnovo shchita rossii, Vuzovskaya kniga, Moscow, 2000. Comprehensive history of development of the development of surface-to-air and anti-ballistic missiles in the Soviet Union, with summaries of work in other countries as well. Accessed at: http://www.eastview.com/xq/ASP/sku=A2010232/f_locale=/Evtif'ev/MD/Moskva/Russia/Russian/qx/russian/books/product.asp.