page_title: V-1 flying bomb facilities
section_title: Production
hierarchical_section_title: V-1 flying bomb facilities / Production
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. V1 vor dem Start Aus guter Deckung wird "V1" an die Abschußstelle gerollt. Der Start erfolgt durch eine Pressluftanlage. Mit Hilfe eines Fernlenkverfahrens trifft die "V1" das befohlene Ziel. Die gleichbleibend hohe Geschwindigkeit, die von keinem Feindjäger erreicht wird, erhält "V1" von einem Raketenantrieb. Diese erste deutsche Vergeltungswaffe ist eine hervorragende Schöpfung unserer Luftrüstung.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: The unpiloted aircraft was assembled at the KdF-Stadt Volkswagenwerke (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, Flak-Regiment 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 first week in December. Aircrews were billeted five miles away at Grossenkneten for secrecy.
caption: V-1 rolled-out by German crew
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