V-2 (A4/A4b) experimental rocket launches

The V-2 (Vergeltungswaffe 2), with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings against German cities. The V-2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944.

0:00 shows the failed G-1 launch on December 27th 1944 of the first A4b model which added wings to enable the missile to glide, potentially doubling its maximum range.

1:57 shows the successful and last G-3 launch of the A4b model on January 24th 1945. This reached 80 km altitude and 1200 m/s maximum velocity, then flew stably in supersonic flight. The automatic guidance system was designed to keep the missile on course in both supersonic and subsonic flight regimes. However, the wing broke off shortly after the beginning of the glide. This concluded work on the A4b; the increasingly chaotic situation in Germany prevented further flight tests.