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National Museum of the
U.S. Air Force
V-2 & Meillerwagen
Trailer, Dayton, Ohio
(Photos by Phil Broad, Rod
Givens, John Kiever & Tracy Dungan)
The National
Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, recently completed
restoration of its V-2 rocket and Meillerwagen erector/trailer. The beautiful
display is now open to the public in the WWII aircraft building. Being
one of only three Meillerwagen trailers remaining in the world, this is
the only Meillerwagen trailer in the United States.
The NMUSAF (formerly USAFM) acquired (at no cost) the V-2 rocket and Meillerwagen
that had been on display at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland for
many years. The Kansas
Cosmosphere and Space Center completed the rocket restoration portion
($95,000.00) at their restoration facility in Hutchinson, KS. The Cosmosphere's
restoration staff carefully resurrected this piece of history to represent,
as accurately as possible, a wartime A-4/V-2 from the 1944-45 period. With
the work completed, the rocket was flown in a giant C5A back to the NMUSAF
in mid 2002.
The museum restoration staff tackled the restoration of the Meiller-trailer,
fabricating many missing parts to match the German field operational version.
The Meillerwagen's tires, and VW Motor for the erector hydraulics, were
obtained from private sources in the Czech Republic for aproximately $2,000.00.
A private contractor sand blasted it for $3,500.00. Aproximately $4,000.00
was spent on special steel that was need for replica parts. The machining
of replica parts, and painting, were done by museum staff employees. For
some reason they chose to paint the Meillerwagen an incorrect shade of
pea-green, instead of the original color of German sand-yellow.
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The USAFM V2 and Meillerwagen
as seen in 1962 at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.
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Later, the V2 and Meillerwagen
were moved to an outdoor display at Aberdeen, where it wasted away in the
weather for many years
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During WWII, the USAF, along with the RAF, were responsible for hunting
down the shipments of V-2s heading to the western front. Allied aircraft
attacked V-Weapon rail shipments and occasionally V-2 launching sites.
Many high-flying USAF bomber crews were witness to the soaring rockets
in flight heading towards London and Antwerp. So it is fitting to see this
historic piece of equipment on display at the USAFM.
There is some indication that this rocket was possibly caught in the open
and attacked by Allied tanks while sitting on a railcar near Bromskirchen,
Germany. There were 50-caliber bullet holes and damage to almost every
portion of the rocket. The Cosmosphere restoration workers found a 50-cal
bullet still remaining inside one of the fuel tanks! While it is true that
this could have been done at anytime immediately after the war - the fact
that all intact rockets were being rounded up to be sent to the U.S. for
research, tends to point to the story at Bromskirchen as the likely source
of the bullet holes. The truth may never really be known about how the
rocket was damaged, but it is interesting to think about.
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The tiny town of Bromskirchen, located northeast of Westerwald, about 15
miles north of Biedenkopf, was captured by Combat Command B of the American
Third Armored Division on March 29, 1945. In the morning, a train was coming
into Bromskirchen from the marshaling yard at Allendorf-Eder. The train
had many flatcars and was exceedingly long with hardly an end in sight.
At the head of the line was an oil-fired locomotive, and further back was
a coal-fired locomotive. After moving a few miles, it so happened that
the train came to a stop near Bromskirchen because the coalpowered locomotive
ran out of water. The operators of the train did not want to be stuck there
in the open for fear of being attacked by the dreaded Jabos. Quickly they
disconnected the train in the middle, and the commanding officer ordered
the first half of the train to continue under the power of the oil locomotive
toward Winterberg. For some reason, this portion of the train only made
it to the tunnel at the Brilon Forest. When it was discovered by the Americans
later that day, they found seven railway cars, each containing 12 V-2 warheads.
The remaining section of the train with the steam locomotive waited about
20 minutes at Bromskirchen to fill up with water. Suddenly an American
tank appeared on the road and opened fire on the train with its machine
guns. The locomotive received a direct hit, damaging the main steam pipes
and leaving a large hole in the side of the locomotive. The railway workers
jumped from the train and escaped. After its capture, the Americans found
ten railway cars containing nine damaged and partially burned V-2s, plus
the scattered parts of another V-2 and some warheads.
—T Dungan,
V-2; Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile, 2005 |
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Another curious detail to consider is the apparent writing by Mittelbau
prisoners on the top of the alcohol tank during the rockets construction
(see below).
Below
are photos of 2001-2002 restoration in Kansas and arrival in Dayton.
(CLICK
ON THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE)
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The V-2 and Meillerwagen display is now open to the public at the National
Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton. Shown below is the current configuration,
but it is rumored that eventually the museum intends to build a diorama
depicting the rocket raised on a firing platform and being serviced as
if ready for launching. Thanks to John Kiever for the detailed photos of
the Meillerwagen details.
(CLICK
ON THUMBNAIL TO ENLARGE)
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National
Museum of the US Air Force V-2 Fact Sheet
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