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 the V-2 rocket & 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 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 back to the NMUSAF in mid 2002.
The NMUSAF
restoration staff tackled the restoration of the Meiller-trailer, fabricating
many missing parts to match the German field operational version - with
some help they even located and restored the missing VW motor for the erector
hydraulics. 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 |
During WWII, the USAF, along with the RAF, were responsible for hunting down the shipments of V2s heading to the western front. Allied aircraft attacked V-Weapon rail shipments and launching sites. Many USAF bomber crews were witness to the soaring rockets on their way to 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-cal 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.
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)
