A-4/V-2 Rocket
Royal Engineers Museum (REM) at Gillingham, Kent, UK
(Photos by Catherine Byrne, Murray Barber, John Pridige and Dean Coupar)

The Royal Engineers Museum (REM) in Gillingham, Kent, took delivery of this A-4/V-2 rocket on September 11, 2012. The rocket had been owned by the British Army and housed in depot just down the road near Rochester, at the RSME (Royal School Military Engineering) at Chattenden (on a military base), for more than 40 years, until the recent closure of RSME. The Royal Engineers brought this V-2 home to the UK in 1945 following World War II.    This particular V-2 most certainly was captured in the area of Nienburg or Leese, Germany, where so many excess rockets were ditched or demolished by retreating German rocket troops. On April 10, 1945, British forces discovered several demolished V-2s on railway wagons when they captured a large munitions factory eight miles southwest of Nienburg. This may explain much of the original damage to the rocket. Since 1945 the rocket has been located at various MOD bases since the 1940s; Farnborough; Horsham; Ripon and from the 1960s-70s at Chattenden. Now for the first time the public is able to see this monumental weapon.      During the summer of 2012 the rocket was retrieved from depot at Chattenden in poor condition and transported to the Cambridge workshops of structural engineering company Borley Brothers. The company has done restoration work on several V-2s (Imperial War Museum V-2; Science Museum V-2), and had completed the task on the REM rocket by mid-September. Royal Engineers pose with their prize in 1945.    Immediately after the war the REM V-2 was seen on public display around the UK. (Above: Mansfield Market Place)

BBC video used by permission

Video: REM V-2 moves into the museum September 2012.



Courtesy REM and Catherine Byrne

Photos below show the REM V-2 during final stages of restoration at Borley Brothers Engineering.
Notice the the custom rocket cradle built to resemble the Meillerwagen erector arm.

(CLICK ON THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE)

Photos below show the rocket under inspection at Borley Brothers following the move from Chattenden.

In July of 2012 the REM V-2 was removed from the RSME depot before its closure. It was loaded for transport to Borley Brothers workshops.

Below are photos and video taken in 2010 at Chattenden by Murray Barber and John Pridige prior to restoration work.

Video: Shot by Murray Barber at Chattenden in 2010.




Video: Shot by John Pridige at Chattenden in 2010.