Nazi Mega Weapons (2013–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - Nazi Mega Weapons - full transcript

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Narrator HIDDEN IN FORESTS AND
UNDER MOUNTAINS ACROSS EUROPE

ARE THE REMAINS OF A TOP SECRET
NAZI WEAPONS PROGRAM.

That's an incredible structure.

A VAST NETWORK OF RESEARCH LABS,
LAUNCH PADS AND MISSILE SILOS.

AND A TERRIFYING WEAPON
UNLIKE ANYTHING

THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.

It could break
the sound barrier.

THE WORLD'S FIRST
BALLISTIC MISSILE.

This changes
the face of warfare,

this changes the history
of the modern age.

I want total devastation!
Complete devastation!



THIS IS THE STORY
OF A NAZI GENIUS

WHO BUILT CUTTING-EDGE BASES

TO CREATE A REVOLUTIONARY
SPACE-AGE WEAPON

AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT
ULTIMATELY PUT MEN ON THE MOON.

THE V-2 ROCKET PROGRAM.

Announcer "Nazi Mega Weapons"
is made possible in part

by contributions to your PBS
station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

THE BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS OF WORLD WAR II,

ORDERED BY HITLER
TO SECURE WORLD DOMINATION.

NOW THEY SURVIVE
AS DARK REMINDERS

OF THE FUHRER'S FANATICAL
MILITARY AMBITIONS.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS
OF THE NAZI MEGA WEAPONS.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 3RD, 1942.



A TEAM OF NAZI
SCIENTISTS ARRIVE

AT GERMANY'S MOST SECRET
MILITARY INSTALLATION,

TO LAUNCH A COMPLETELY
NEW KIND OF WEAPON.

LEADING THEM IS
WERNHER VON BRAUN.

AT THE AGE OF JUST 30,

HE IS THE WORLD'S
TOP ROCKET SCIENTIST.

Announcements in German

VON BRAUN'S GOAL IS TO CREATE

THE WORLD'S FIRST
LONG-RANGE GUIDED MISSILE.

A WEAPON THAT THE NAZIS
HOPE WILL DECIDE

THE OUTCOME OF WORLD WAR II.

It's broken the sound barrier!

Years ago, this looked
completely different.

ROCKET SCIENTIST AND V-2 EXPERT
DR. OLAF PRZYBYLSKI

IS STANDING ON THE VERY SPOT
WHERE THIS LAUNCH HAPPENED

MORE THAN 70 YEARS AGO.

You have to imagine
that the trees weren't here.

It was all level,
partially paved.

THIS IS PEENEMUNDE,

A VAST NAZI LABORATORY
BUILT TO WIN WORLD WAR II.

IN 1942,
THE NAZIS DOMINATE EUROPE,

BUT THE WAR IS TURNING
AGAINST THEM.

AMERICA, BRITAIN AND RUSSIA
ARE FIGHTING BACK,

AND HITLER HAS PINNED
HIS HOPES ON ROCKETS

TO POUND BRITAIN
INTO SUBMISSION,

AS MILITARY HISTORIAN
KRISTIAN GUSTAFSON EXPLAINS.

In Hitler's mind this is terror.

It's about scaring
the population,

and he feels that
he can frighten Britain

with this weapon sufficiently
to drive them out of the war.

IT WAS A WEAPON
THAT HAD ITS BEGINNINGS

OVER TEN YEARS EARLIER.

IN THE 1920S, TEENAGE GENIUS
VON BRAUN WAS PART

OF AN AMATEUR ROCKET CRAZE
SWEEPING GERMANY.

THIS HISTORY HAS FASCINATED
MARTIN TAJMAR,

HEAD OF ROCKETRY AT DRESDEN
UNIVERSITY, ALL HIS LIFE.

Rockets became very popular.

You had societies
forming in Germany,

and young people got together
trying to build little rockets.

THEY WERE FUELLED BY GUNPOWDER.

BUT THEY WERE UNGUIDED,
UNPREDICTABLE

AND ONLY ABLE TO TRAVEL
A FEW HUNDRED YARDS.

AS A WEAPON,
THE GREATEST DANGER THEY POSED

WAS TO THE PEOPLE
LAUNCHING THEM.

In its early development,
rockets were loud,

they were certainly
colorful and bright

and potentially scary
for things like cavalry,

but they were in no way a
significant battlefield weapon.

IN THE EARLY 1930S, VON BRAUN
STARTS WORKING

LIQUID FUELLED ROCKETS.

A POWERFUL WEAPON

WITH THE POTENTIAL
TO TRAVEL HUGE DISTANCES.

HIS WORK CATCHES THE ATTENTION
OF THE GERMAN ARMY.

THEY ASK VON BRAUN
TO DEMONSTRATE

HIS LATEST PROTOTYPE.

Distant explosion

Mr Von Braun?
A moment, please.

THE LAUNCH IS A FAILURE,

BUT SURPRISINGLY THE MILITARY
OFFER HIM THE FUNDING HE NEEDS.

Officer What is your ambition?

I want to get on the moon,

to build the rocket
that will put the
first man on the moon.

It's possible.
We can do it.

AND IT'S ALL DUE TO HITLER.

Crowds cheering

WHEN HE COMES TO POWER
IN THE 1930S,

HE GREEN-LIGHTS ALMOST UNLIMITED
FUNDING FOR MILITARY PROJECTS.

Hitler is fascinated with scale,
he wants big, bigger, biggest.

He builds his stadium
in Nuremberg for his rallies

to be the biggest stadium
on the earth.

He wants to build the biggest
motorway system on earth.

He wants to build more tanks,
more of aircraft

than anyone else
in the world has.

He is absolutely
fascinated with scale.

HITLER STARTS RE-ARMING GERMANY.

AND WERNHER VON BRAUN
IS ASKED TO ESTABLISH

THE WORLD'S FIRST ROCKET BASE.

A HIGH-TECH FACILITY

WHERE HE CAN BUILD, TEST AND
LAUNCH HIS MOST RECENT DESIGNS.

IT WILL BE THE NAZI'S LARGEST
AND MOST SECRET WEAPONS LAB.

VON BRAUN'S FIRST TASK IS
TO IDENTIFY A REMOTE LOCATION

WHERE THE NEW COMPLEX CAN BE
HIDDEN FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.

HE SELECTS PEENEMUNDE,
ON THE BALTIC COAST.

A WILDERNESS OF DUNES,
MARSHES AND FORESTS

A HUNDRED KILOMETERS
FROM THE NEAREST MAJOR TOWN.

CHRISTIAN MUHLDORFER-VOGT
IS THE LEADING EXPERT

ON WHAT REMAINS
OF THE ROCKET BASE.

We're entering
the research centre area,

and here was
the first checkpoint.

There were fences,
there were dogs.

HIDDEN IN THE FOREST
ARE THE REMNANTS

OF ONE OF THE LARGEST
MILITARY COMPLEXES EVER BUILT.

Peenemunde is a location where
the modern science was invented.

Part of the history of mankind.

IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE
TO TEST ROCKETS FOR ONE REASON.

The flight had to be documented
for the whole time,

and so you need
a straight coastline.

THE 200KM LONG COASTLINE
COULD BE RIGGED WITH CAMERAS

TO MONITOR ROCKETS
DURING FLIGHT.

WITH THE SITE CHOSEN,

WORK CAN BEGIN
ON THE MISSILE BASE ITSELF.

IN AUGUST 1936, OVER 10,000
WORKERS DESCEND ON PEENEMUNDE.

NOBODY HAS BUILT
A ROCKET BASE BEFORE,

SO THEY HAVE TO START
FROM SCRATCH.

MOVING MEN AND MATERIALS.

Here on the right side
is a platform,

the platform of the tram

with a total length
of 107 kilometers.

THE RAILWAY LINES STILL
CRISS-CROSS THE SITE TODAY.

THE SECOND CHALLENGE IS
HOUSING THOUSANDS OF WORKERS

INSIDE THE TOP SECRET BASE.

A SMALL TOWN IS BUILT,

COMPLETE WITH SHOPS,
SCHOOLS AND EVEN A LOCAL CLUB

AT THE COMPLEX'S
SOUTHERN BOUNDARY.

Vogt This place had to be so big

because the research centre
was so complex,

otherwise it couldn't
have worked.

THE BASE IS THE WORLD'S FIRST

INDUSTRIAL-SCALE,
MILITARY BLACK SITE.

OVER 25 SQUARE KILOMETERS,
ENGINEERS CONSTRUCT LABS

FOR NEARLY 2,000 SCIENTISTS,

MISSILE FACTORIES
AND LAUNCH PADS.

TO KEEP IT ALL TOP SECRET,

THEY PLAN TO DESIGN
AND BUILD EVERYTHING ON SITE.

BUT THIS WILL REQUIRE
A VAST AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY.

SO VON BRAUN BUILDS
HIS OWN POWER STATION,

AS ROCKET PHYSICIST
PROF. MARTIN TAJMAR EXPLAINS.

Well, it's really terrific.

It was one of the largest power
plants built in the late 1930s

just to supply
a research centre.

30 Megawatts of power.

Most of that was used
to make a rocket propellant,

liquid oxygen,

that gives you
unlimited possibilities.

75% OF THE ENERGY PRODUCED GOES
TO A VAST LIQUID OXYGEN PLANT

THAT MANUFACTURES
THE VITAL ROCKET FUEL.

AS BIG AS A FOOTBALL FIELD,
THE LIQUID OXYGEN FACTORY

PRODUCES 13,000KG
OF FUEL PER DAY,

ENOUGH FOR THREE
V-2 ROCKETS.

This place was definitely
groundbreaking.

So you had facilities,

you invented facilities
that didn't exist before.

THE ROCKET ISN'T
THE ONLY SCIENTIFIC MARVEL.

SO IS THE TECHNOLOGY
REQUIRED TO DESIGN IT.

THE SITE'S WIND TUNNEL
IS THE FIRST IN THE WORLD

THAT CAN SIMULATE
THE MISSILE'S INCREDIBLE SPEED.

Just imagining a supersonic
wind tunnel, Mach 4.4, speeds...

You couldn't think about
such facilities before.

THE FINAL COST OF PEENEMUNDE IS
A STAGGERING

500 BILLION
IN TODAY'S MONEY.

BY 1938, THE FACILITY
IS OPERATIONAL,

AND FULL CONTROL IS HANDED
TO WERNHER VON BRAUN.

BUT AWAY FROM THE ISOLATION
OF PEENEMUNDE,

EVENTS ARE ABOUT TO GIVE ADDED
URGENCY TO VON BRAUN'S WORK.

HITLER IS PLANNING
TO PLUNGE EUROPE INTO WAR.

There are some key people
in the German government

who see Von Braun's
rocket development

as a potential key weapon
in the war that will come.

AFTER INVESTING BILLIONS,
THE ARMY ARE IMPATIENT

TO GET THEIR HANDS
ON A WORKING MISSILE.

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

VON BRAUN'S FIRST PROTOTYPES
SUFFER A SUCCESSION OF FAILURES.

THE ENGINES ARE UNDERPOWERED

AND HE CAN'T CONTROL
THE ROCKETS IN FLIGHT.

Von Braun was struggling with
explosions on the launch pad,

off the pad and in the air.

THE TIMING COULDN'T BE WORSE.

VON BRAUN HAS JUST BEEN
ORDERED TO DEMONSTRATE

HIS LATEST ENGINE
TO THE FUHRER HIMSELF.

AT STAKE IS THE FUTURE OF
THE ENTIRE NAZI ROCKET PROGRAM.

My Fuhrer, we believe
that a rocket could reach

a speed of 5,000kms per hour
in only 30 seconds.

THE ENGINE FUNCTIONS PERFECTLY.

BUT WHILE HITLER CONTINUES
FUNDING THE PROJECT,

HE REFUSES
TO PRIORITIZE THE WEAPON.

It may seem surprising that
Hitler wasn't interested

in something so obviously
futuristic and cutting edge,

but a strategic rocket force
is well beyond

what Hitler thinks he needs.

IN SEPTEMBER 1939,
HITLER'S ARMIES INVADE POLAND.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR HAS BEGUN.

WITHIN A YEAR, MOST OF WESTERN
EUROPE HAS BEEN OCCUPIED.

HITLER'S FAITH IN CONVENTIONAL
WEAPONS HAS BEEN PROVED CORRECT.

When Hitler does invade
Western Europe,

he does it in a matter of weeks,

and he does it with effectively
a conventional army:

tanks, infantry, airplanes
operating in cooperation.

Why does he need any more
strategic weapons?

Why does he need rockets?

VON BRAUN IS DETERMINED
TO PROVE THE FUHRER WRONG,

AND CONTINUES TO PUSH AHEAD
WITH DESIGNING

A FUNCTIONAL, FLYING MISSILE.

EVERY TEST IS FILMED
BY A CAMERA CREW,

AND WITH NO COMPUTERS
TO SIMULATE LAUNCHES,

THE ONLY WAY TO TEST A ROCKET
IS TO DO IT FOR REAL.

We're here in the holy
of holies at Peenemunde.

This is where
they wanted to prove

whether their rockets could fly.

THE LAUNCH SITE IS SURROUNDED

BY HUGE BANKS OF EARTH
AND REINFORCED CONCRETE

TO PROTECT THE SCIENTISTS.

Radio announcements in German

THE ROCKETS ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE
OFF AND FLY ALONG THE COAST.

BUT LAUNCHES OFTEN
GO DANGEROUSLY WRONG.

This is a fire extinguisher,
or rather a hydrant,

for extinguishing
the possible explosions.

AS WELL AS RISKING LIVES,

EVERY ROCKET FAILURE DESTROYS

THOUSANDS
OF VALUABLE COMPONENTS.

SO THE ENGINEERS SPEND WEEKS
SETTING UP EACH TEST.

Before a rocket
could be launched,

in case thousands of scientists
were blown up,

it had to be prepared.

THE LAUNCH PAD IS IN THE CENTRE.

NEXT TO IT IS AN ENGINE TEST
AREA WITH A FLAME PIT,

FACED BY A CONCRETE
OBSERVATION BUNKER.

A RAILWAY FERRIES THE ROCKETS
TO THE LAUNCH PAD

FROM A PREPARATION HANGAR
AS TALL AS A 7-STORY BUILDING.

Przybylski The rockets
were hung in a test building.

Their electrics and electronics
were checked.

When they were OK, it was
ferried on a rail-like runway

into the testing area
that we see over there.

The testers sat in this bunker.

They could only see
through periscopes,

but there were remote
cameras running to show

whether the functionality and
the test runs were correct.

That's the remains of the flame
pit for the static tests.

Here you can discern
the slope for the trench

where the gases were expelled.

The water would be
taken with it,

it was 10 meters deep here,

and the same
in the other direction.

We find ourselves
on the launch pad.

If it all worked,

and the scientists
in the bunker,

pushing the buttons
and pulling their levers,

were happy as children because
their baby was successful,

then the rocket
was set down here.

The excitement reached
its climax

just before the rocket
was launched,

when the relays were laid out

and one hoped that
it would be successful.

BUT SUCCESS IS PROVING ELUSIVE.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1942,

THE FIRST THREE TEST LAUNCHES
ARE FAILURES.

MANY MORE WOULD FOLLOW.

It was step by step
and trial and error.

It was a very difficult task...

examining all the
remaining parts.

So you check for every piece
of evidence

to identify the specific
cause of the failure.

VON BRAUN HAS TWO MAJOR
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS TO SOLVE.

THE FIRST IS CREATING
AN ENGINE THAT CAN POWER

13 TONNES OF METAL AT THREE
TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND,

CARRYING ENOUGH FUEL TO TRAVEL
A DISTANCE OF OVER 200KMS.

Well, it seems like
the rocket goes up very steep

and everything seems to look OK,

but it seems like there's
a premature engine cut-off.

STEFANIE KOHL, AN ASTROPHYSICIST
AT THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY,

HAS STUDIED VON BRAUN'S
ROCKET ENGINE.

So what we're looking at here

is the nozzle and the combustion
chamber of a V-2 rocket.

THERE ARE TWO FUEL TANKS

FILLED WITH LIQUID OXYGEN
AND AN ALCOHOL MIXTURE.

THESE TWO FUELS ARE THEN
FORCED TOGETHER

INSIDE THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER.

Kohl It's a little bit
like a sprinkle.

So it actually sprays all
the fuel and the oxygen.

THE MIXED FUEL IS IGNITED.

BUT THIS CREATES
ENORMOUS TEMPERATURES

THAT THREATEN
TO MELT THE ENGINE.

TO PREVENT THIS HAPPENING,

VON BRAUN DEVISES
AN INGENIOUS COOLING SYSTEM.

Wernher von Braun had a very
clever engineering solution.

He used the fuel
to cool the engine.

The nozzle and
the combustion chamber

was actually double skinned.

You can see that
quite nicely here,

so I can actually put my finger

between the outer skin
and the inner skin.

COLD FUEL FLOWS
INSIDE THE DOUBLE SKIN,

ABSORBING EXCESS HEAT, BEFORE
ENTERING THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER.

So this is really innovative

because you don't need
an extra cooling system.

USING FUEL TO COOL THE ENGINES
BECOMES THE STANDARD

FOR ROCKETS IN THE FUTURE,

INCLUDING THE SPACE SHUTTLE'S
MAIN ENGINES.

VON BRAUN'S NEXT PROBLEM
IS KEEPING THE ROCKET

STABLE AND ON COURSE
ONCE IN THE AIR.

As you can see, first the rocket
takes off, looks OK,

but then immediately you see how
it starts to roll and tumble.

So seems like there is a
guidance and navigation problem.

It goes off
in the wrong direction.

AT THE TIME, THERE IS NO WAY TO
STEER A ROCKET FROM THE GROUND.

SO TO KEEP HIS ROCKETS
ON COURSE,

VON BRAUN HAS TO INVENT
A KIND OF AUTOMATIC PILOT.

In order to hit the target,

they couldn't control it
remotely

but let the rocket fly itself.

THE SYSTEM USES
GYROSCOPIC SENSORS

WHICH DETECT THE DIRECTION THAT
THE ROCKET IS TRAVELING IN.

THESE SENSORS THEN SEND
ELECTRICAL IMPULSES

TO FOUR RUDDERS
WHICH STEER THE ROCKET.

To maintain the rocket
in its flight path,

these black rudders,
these Strahlruder,

influenced the exhaust jet.

Just think of a stream with
a plate that applies pressure,

and by doing so creates a moment
along the plane of the rocket,

thus steering it
in the right direction.

AFTER YEARS OF RESEARCH,
VON BRAUN FINALLY BELIEVES

HE HAS A ROCKET THAT WILL WORK.

Announcements in German

SATURDAY OCTOBER 3RD, 1942.

VON BRAUN AND HIS ARMY
PAYMASTERS AWAIT THE LAUNCH

OF HIS LATEST
PROTOTYPE MISSILE.

Speaking German

Explosive boom

Officer It's exploded!

No, it's broken
the sound barrier!

Very good.

Yes, but will it
reach the target?

Do you realize what we've done?
The spaceship is born!

Yes, indeed!

If you think
our headaches are over,

I'm telling you,
they're just beginning!

IN COMPLETE SECRECY
AND UNKNOWN TO THE ALLIES,

WERNHER VON BRAUN HAS CREATED
THE FIRST BALLISTIC MISSILE.

HE'S LAUNCHED A 13-TON ROCKET
THROUGH THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

AND OVER A DISTANCE OF 240KMS,

EVENTUALLY CRASHING
INTO THE BALTIC SEA.

AND HE'S CLOSE TO DELIVERING
GERMANY'S MILITARY

A MUCH NEEDED BOOST.

By late '42, '43, the war is
not going so well for Hitler.

His shock invasion of Russia
is starting to bog down

and he is hemorrhaging
troops and equipment and money

into Russia.

Worse, the Japanese have
bombed Pearl Harbor,

and this has brought
the Americans into the war

against the Axis.

An increasingly desperate
and self-deluded Hitler

starts talking mysteriously
about these 'Wunderweapons'

which will somehow pull Germany

out of its extremely
dire situation.

ONE OF THESE WUNDERWEAPONS
IS VON BRAUN'S ROCKET.

IN JULY 1943, VON BRAUN
AND HIS ARMY CHIEF, DORNBERGER,

ARE SUMMONED TO MEET HITLER.

Officer Achtung!

All Heil Hitler!

I'm told you've made some
useful progress, Dornberger?

Is that correct?

Dornberger Yes, my Fuhrer.
Von Braun will explain.

What you can see here
is the first projectile

to be launched into outer space.

Within 30 seconds,

it is traveling at around
5,000kms per hour.

It can strike London
within three minutes.

Its warhead contains
one ton of high explosives.

We need a bigger warhead!

A bigger warhead may not
be possible, my Fuhrer.

I want total devastation!
Complete devastation!

Gustafson Von Braun becomes
a victim of his own success.

He wanted Hitler's attention
and now he's got it.

The Fuhrer instantly demands
thousands of these weapons.

He demands V-2s to be produced
at a rate, orders of magnitude,

greater than what Von Braun
is capable of producing.

WHAT THE FUHRER DOESN'T REALIZE

IS THAT HE HAS SEEN THE ONLY
SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF THE ROCKET.

VON BRAUN FACES A RACE AGAINST
TIME TO PERFECT THE TECHNOLOGY.

AND HIS JOB IS ABOUT
TO GET EVEN HARDER.

IN 1942, BRITISH INTELLIGENCE
RECEIVE NUMEROUS REPORTS

OF MYSTERIOUS FLYING OBJECTS
IN THE BALTIC.

THEIR SUSPICIONS ABOUT A ROCKET
PROGRAM ARE CONFIRMED IN 1943

WHEN HIGH-RANKING GERMAN
PRISONERS ARE OVERHEARD

SPEAKING ABOUT ROCKETS.

PHOTO RECONNAISSANCE PLANES ARE
IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED

TO THE AREA
AND PHOTOGRAPH PEENEMUNDE.

NOW ALLIED BOMBERS
ARE CLOSING IN

ON THE NAZIS' TOP SECRET BASE.

- Good evening, Director.
- Good evening.

- Do you have a cigarette?
- Yes.

Is that the artificial fog?

Soldier Everyone take cover!

PEENEMUNDE IS UNDER ATTACK
FROM OVER 500 BRITISH AIRCRAFT.

THE TOP SECRET BASE
IS NO LONGER SECRET.

Von Braun We've got
to save the plans!

TEN YEARS OF WORK BY THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE IS GOING UP IN SMOKE.

THE ALLIES HOPE THAT THE RAID
WILL SET BACK THE ROCKET

BY MONTHS OR EVEN YEARS.

IF PROJECT LEADER VON BRAUN IS
KILLED AND HIS WORK DESTROYED,

THE PROGRAM WILL BE STOPPED
IN ITS TRACKS.

OVER 1,800 TONNES OF BOMBS
RAIN DOWN ON PEENEMUNDE.

Here was the impact,

and the impact caused
this hole, this crater.

THE ENORMOUS SIZE OF PEENEMUNDE
MAKES IT AN EASY TARGET

FOR ALLIED BOMBERS.

Once the British intelligence
establishment works out

what Peenemunde is,
it's a sitting duck.

It's all above ground

and there's very little
the Germans can do

to protect it from the massive
allied air superiority.

VON BRAUN SURVIVES BUT
PEENEMUNDE IS NO LONGER SAFE.

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO DEFEND
FROM AERIAL ATTACK.

HIS ROCKET RESEARCH CENTRE WILL
HAVE TO MOVE

OUT OF REACH OF ALLIED BOMBS

IF IT'S GOING TO ACHIEVE
ITS AIM OF FLATTENING LONDON.

ENGINEERS IMMEDIATELY
SCOUT FOR NEW LOCATIONS

DEEP INSIDE GERMANY.

BUT WHERE CAN THEY HIDE THE
GIANT ROCKETS

AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT
NEEDED TO MANUFACTURE THEM?

THE ANSWER LIES IN AN ABANDONED
MINE IN CENTRAL GERMAN

CALLED MITTELWERK.

JENS-CHRISTIAN WAGNER IS
THE WORLD'S LEADING AUTHORITY

ON THE SITE.

Right here in the middle
of Germany,

there was a huge
underground tunnel system

which had been constructed
by 1936.

It was a gypsum quarry.

Nazi officials decided
to change this

into an underground
rocket factory.

Peenemunde was this incredible
centre of science and technology

and now they're trying to do
the same thing at Mittelwerk

which is a dark wet cave.

IT'S A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING,

AND THE INCREASING SUCCESS
OF ALLIED FORCES

IS DRAINING GERMAN RESOURCES.

Gustafson
To build a new factory,

the Germans are going
to need a large labor force.

But at this point in the war

there is a huge
labor shortage in Germany.

There is simply not enough
skilled workers

to make the factory work.

VON BRAUN'S QUEST
TO BUILD THE NEW ROCKET

NOW TAKES A DARK
AND TERRIFYING TURN.

From the beginning on
it was planned

to send concentration camp
inmates

as forced laborers to construct
this underground factory.

They arrived right here
where we are now standing,

and they entered
the tunnel system.

7,000 SLAVE LABORERS CARVE
OUT TWO PARALLEL TUNNELS

OVER 6,200FT LONG.

ONE HOLDS A ROAD AND DOUBLE
TRACK RAILWAY FOR SUPPLIES,

THE SECOND CONTAINS MACHINERY
TO BUILD THE ROCKETS.

CONNECTING THEM ARE 46 SMALLER
TUNNELS, EACH 600 FEET LONG.

IN ALL,
THERE ARE 13KM OF TUNNELS

WITH A FLOOR SPACE
OF 1 MILLION SQUARE FEET.

This is part of the production
assembly line of the V-2.

From the perspective
of the Nazis,

this was very successful.

This factory was finished
in 4 months.

BUT JUST AS THE FACTORY FINALLY
BEGINS TO PRODUCE ROCKETS,

VON BRAUN SUDDENLY FINDS
HIMSELF WITH A NEW MASTER.

As the war is going increasingly
poorly for the Germans,

the SS make power grabs

throughout
the military establishment.

One of the objects
of these power grabs

is Von Braun's V-2 program.

SS-GENERAL HANS KAMMLER
MADE HIS NAME

BY INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY

OF THE CREMATION OVENS
AT AUSCHWITZ.

Hans Kammler was ruthless,

he was an engineer
of destruction.

NOW HE TAKES CONTROL
OF THE ENTIRE FACTORY

AND ITS STAFF OF SLAVE LABORERS.

VON BRAUN IS ORDERED
TO FOCUS ON THE DESIGN FLAWS

AND LEAVE THE MANUFACTURING
TO KAMMLER.

PRODUCTION INCREASES FROM
50 ROCKETS IN JANUARY 1944

TO 437 IN MAY.

BUT THESE ROCKETS ARE ASSEMBLED
IN APPALLING CONDITIONS

AND MOST DON'T WORK.

The first rockets that
were thrown together there

were bolted and screwed together

by unskilled workers
and prisoners.

They were junk.
Utter junk.

BY 1944, THE NAZIS DESPERATELY
NEED THE ROCKETS.

THE WAR HAS TURNED DECISIVELY
AGAINST THEM.

THE RUSSIANS ARE ADVANCING
IN THE EAST.

AND ALLIED AIRCRAFT ARE
DESTROYING GERMAN CITIES.

HITLER DEMANDS 900 ROCKETS
PER MONTH FROM MITTELWERK.

AND KAMMLER USES BRUTAL METHODS
TO INCREASE PRODUCTION.

Many prisoners died,

beaten, murdered by SS
and civilian overseers.

Most of them died by exhaustion,
others by starvation.

About 10,000 prisoners
had to live

and to die here underground.

KAMMLER RUSHES V-2 ROCKETS
OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE

AT MITTELWERK.

BUT THERE IS STILL
A HUGE PROBLEM TO OVERCOME:

WHERE TO BUILD THE LAUNCH PADS
AND HOW TO PROTECT THEM.

The Germans can't launch
the V-2 from Mittelwerk,

it's too far away.

They have to move the weapon
closer to its principle target,

which is Britain,
and so they have to launch them

from somewhere
in northern France.

HITLER IGNORES ARMY REQUESTS FOR
SMALL, UNDETECTABLE MOBILE SITES

AND ORDERS THE CONSTRUCTION
OF A MASSIVE ROCKET BASE

CALLED LA COUPOLE.

Hitler inevitably gets
involved in the debate,

and again, almost inevitably,

chooses the big engineering
solution to the problem.

He goes for a big static
missile launching site.

BENEATH A VAST
CONCRETE DOME,

THE ROCKETS CAN BE PREPARED
AND THEN LAUNCHED AT LONDON.

Wow. That's an incredible
structure, really.

ARTHUR VAN BEVEREN
IS A LEADING AUTHORITY

ON GERMAN FORTIFICATIONS
IN NORTHERN EUROPE.

That's a big piece of concrete.

This is the only way up
to the dome these days.

This is really
an amazing structure.

71 meters in diameter,
5 meters thick, 55,000 tonnes.

They laid a huge mound
of concrete over the mountain

and dug out the chalk
underneath it.

Building this dome in the way
they did

allowed them to continue
the work inside the mountain,

while being under
constant air attacks.

THE DOME'S SIZE AND SHAPE MEANT

THAT EVEN THE LARGEST BOMBS
BOUNCED OFF IT.

You can see a block
of concrete over there,

which is actually
part of the wall

where the V-2 rocket came out.

And it would be driven towards
that flat area over there,

and that's the actual
launching platform.

This would be the place
where the trains would go

right into the mountains.

The V-2 rockets would be
on trains, horizontal,

and driven right
into this tunnel.

IN 1944, THE NAZIS ARE DESPERATE
FOR WORKING ROCKETS.

THEY'RE BEING PUSHED BACK
BY THE ALLIES IN ITALY

AND THE RUSSIANS
IN EASTERN EUROPE.

THEY PLAN TO STOCKPILE V-2S
IN THESE TUNNELS

UNTIL THEY'RE NEEDED.

I'm now entering
a part of the tunnel

which is normally restricted
because it's unfinished

and it's kind of dangerous
and unstable inside here.

The train tracks from
the outside would continue

deep into the mountain.

In total, there were about
7km of tunnels.

You'd have trains here
loaded up with V-2s,

14-meter long V-2s horizontally.

You got guys working,

drilling on the sides here
through the chalk.

The noise, the stench
and the heat...

We're now deep, hundreds
of meters into the mountain.

The V-2 rockets needed fuel,
which was liquid oxygen,

and the idea was that they'd
build a liquid oxygen factory

inside this mountain,

and it would provide
enough liquid oxygen

to fire at least 15
V-2 rockets every day.

THE TUNNELS OF THIS
HUGE ENGINEERING PROJECT

HOUSE HOSPITALS, BARRACKS
AND EVERY FACILITY

THAT THE CREWS NEED
TO LIVE ENTIRELY UNDERGROUND.

And you can actually see
how they dug

through these chalk walls.

I can almost do it by hand,
here and here.

Wow! If it's what
I think it is...

It really looks like one of the
drills they would use in 1944.

Let's see if it fits...
I guess so.

Yeah, it fits perfectly.

Exactly same size
as the holes in the wall.

That really
unbelievable. Cool.

That's amazing to find
after 70 years,

still inside these tunnels.

You can see one of those beams.

I don't know if it's a safe plan
to go underneath.

It's totally rotten.

UNDERNEATH THE DOME
A GIANT HALL IS CONSTRUCTED,

WHERE THE MISSILES
CAN BE PREPARED FOR LAUNCH.

Now entering the octagonal room.

Well, room?
It's a massive 6-story hall,

which is underneath the dome.

It's 24 meters high in total
inside a mountain.

It's absolutely amazing.

The V-2 rockets would be brought
in from the tunnels, put here,

and would be set vertical.

And you can see that
one floor here, one there,

and more floors.

Every floor had its own crew,

for example,
fuelling and a warhead.

Once the V-2 rocket was filled,
it would be driven out,

outside to the launching
emplacement,

and it would be fired
against London.

THE NAZIS PLAN THAT
LA COUPOLE WILL LAUNCH

UP TO 15 ROCKETS A DAY
TO SMASH LONDON.

AS SOON AS THE MISSILES
ARRIVE FROM GERMANY,

THE BRITISH CAPITAL WILL FACE
AN UNSTOPPABLE BOMBARDMENT.

BUT BACK AT MITTELWERK,

THE MISSILES EMERGING
FROM THE UNDERGROUND FACTORY

ARE STILL PLAGUED
BY A RELIABILITY PROBLEM.

Braun The biggest problem
we have is the materials

and manufacturing quality.

AND SS-GENERAL KAMMLER
IS PUTTING EXTREME PRESSURE

ON VON BRAUN
TO FIND A SOLUTION.

IN THE FIRST HALF OF 1944,

THE NAZI BALLISTIC MISSILE
IS APPROACHING COMPLETION.

AND WERNHER VON BRAUN'S ROCKETS
ARE NEARLY READY

TO DECIMATE BRITAIN.

V-2.

V FOR 'VERGELTUNGSWAFFEN'
OR 'VENGEANCE WEAPON'.

THERE IS JUST ONE OBSTACLE
TO OVERCOME.

IN OVER 80% OF THE TESTS,
THE ROCKETS LAUNCH PERFECTLY.

THEY CLIMB HIGH
INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.

BUT THEN SOMETHING
GOES BADLY WRONG.

3,000 individual components
have to work together,

and if a bearing
or a relay doesn't work,

or a valve isn't
properly sealed,

the rocket won't fly.

Von Braun didn't understand why
the rocket's body was failing.

ONE FACTOR MAKES HIS JOB
EVEN HARDER.

IN 1944, THERE IS NO TECHNOLOGY
CAPABLE OF CAPTURING

CLOSE-UP IMAGES OF THE ROCKET
AT HIGH ALTITUDE.

WITH THE ALLIES
HAMMERING GERMANY,

HE MAKES A DESPERATE,
LAST-DITCH GAMBLE.

HE DECIDES TO GET UP CLOSE
TO A MALFUNCTIONING ROCKET

AS ITS WRECKAGE
FALLS TO THE GROUND.

VON BRAUN NARROWLY
ESCAPES WITH HIS LIFE,

BUT FINDS THE ANSWER.

THE ROCKET'S BODY
HAS BEEN DEFORMED

BEFORE IT HITS THE GROUND.

In order to not squeeze
the rocket together,

you had a thrust frame,
which was a metal frame

on top of the combustion
chamber,

and that frame was
transmitting the force

coming from the rocket engine
into the rocket structure.

HE DISCOVERS THAT THE STRUCTURAL
FRAMEWORK OF THE ROCKET

AND ITS OUTER SKIN
ARE BUCKLING

UNDER THE EXTREME PRESSURES
OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT.

VON BRAUN REINFORCES
THE FUSELAGE

AND THE FAILURE RATE
DROPS DRAMATICALLY.

Two years after
the first flight,

Von Braun had finally built
a reliable rocket.

V-2S BEGIN TO ROLL
OFF THE PRODUCTION LINE.

LONDON IS ONLY WEEKS AWAY
FROM BOMBARDMENT.

BUT IN JUNE 1944,

THE V-2 PROGRAM SUFFERS
TWO HUGE BODY BLOWS.

THE ALLIES RECEIVE INTELLIGENCE

THAT LA COUPOLE IS
A POSSIBLE LAUNCHING SITE.

IT IS HIT BY A SUCCESSION
OF MASSIVE BRITISH BOMBS.

Gustafson La Coupole has
one major design flaw:

its roof is impenetrable,
very, very thick concrete,

but the chalk around it
is extremely soft.

The bombing raids crush

all the supporting
and logistical tunnels

around La Coupole,

effectively putting
La Coupole out of action

before it even fires
its first rocket.

THEN THE ALLIES STORM
THE NORMANDY BEACHES ON D-DAY.

Gustafson
Just as Von Braun is ready

to unleash the V-2 campaign
against Britain,

the Allies attack and land
in northern France.

The sites that Von Braun needs

to launch his weapon
against Britain

are threatened
by the oncoming Allied army.

HITLER HAS MADE
A CRITICAL MISTAKE.

THE BIG, STATIC SITE
HE DEMANDED

WAS EASY FOR THE ALLIES
TO ATTACK.

IN DESPERATION,
THE NAZIS RUSH

TO MOUNT THE ROCKETS
ON MOBILE LAUNCHERS,

AS THE ARMY HAD
ORIGINALLY REQUESTED.

A mobile missile launcher can be
moved anywhere you want it to.

It can be hidden in forests
or in built-up areas.

It offers the advantage
of being harder to find.

AFTER 14 YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT,
SS-GENERAL HANS KAMMLER COMMANDS

THE FIRST MISSILE ATTACK
ON SEPTEMBER 8TH 1944.

THE TARGET IS LONDON.

HITLER'S TERROR WEAPON
IS FINALLY UNLEASHED.

What Hitler hopes to do
with the V-2 campaign

is to destroy London
and other major cities.

He hopes to drive the British
out of the war.

IN 6 MONTHS,
OVER 3,000 ROCKETS ARE FIRED

TOWARDS LONDON,
SOUTHERN ENGLAND AND BELGIUM.

If you're a civilian
on the ground,

you've got this rocket
moving supersonically

which you can't hear
and which has been launched

only a few minutes before.

There's no possible way
they can get you a warning.

There's nowhere for you to hide.

It's an extremely
frightening event.

BUT THE V-2 HAS ARRIVED
TOO LATE TO TURN THE WAR.

BY 1945, THE ALLIES
ARE SWARMING INTO GERMANY,

PUSHING THE MOBILE LAUNCH SITES
OUT OF RANGE OF ALLIED CITIES.

THE LAST V-2 TO HIT LONDON
EXPLODES ON MARCH 27TH, 1945.

IF LARGE NUMBERS OF V-2S
HAD BEEN AVAILABLE

6 MONTHS EARLIER,

D-DAY MAY NEVER HAVE HAPPENED.

BUT THE SHEER SIZE AND COST
OF THE PROJECT

MEANT THAT IT ARRIVED
TOO LATE TO SAVE GERMANY,

AND MAY EVEN HAVE
HELPED TO DEFEAT IT.

IN TOTAL, JUST OVER
3,000 ROCKETS ARE FIRED,

KILLING 6,000 PEOPLE,

AT A COST OF 500 BILLION
IN TODAY'S MONEY.

Each V-2 on average kills
something like 2 or 3 people.

But each weapon also cost tens
of millions of dollars to build.

THE MONEY SPENT ON THE ROCKET
PROGRAM COULD HAVE BOUGHT

THOUSANDS OF MASS PRODUCED
BOMBERS.

It's a very cost-inefficient way

to try and drive
an enemy out of a war.

On May 2nd, 1945,

von Braun surrenders
to the Americans in Bavaria.

The USA now had the brains of
the rocket program in custody.

5 DAYS LATER, THE WAR IS OVER.

BUT VON BRAUN'S CAREER AS A
ROCKET SCIENTIST HAS JUST BEGUN.

HE AND 6,000 OTHER GERMAN
SCIENTISTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

ARE SHIPPED TO AMERICA,

ALONG WITH 100 COMPLETE
V-2 ROCKETS.

Under the Americans,
he had the possibility

to pursue his research in the
direction he'd always wanted,

which was towards the direction
of space travel.

Reporter 'America sent aloft
its first earth satellite...'

IN 1958,
A ROCKET BASED ON THE V-2

SENT THE FIRST AMERICAN
SATELLITE INTO ORBIT.

Von Braun becomes a hero
of the American space age.

And the irony of this is
Von Braun's program

kills tens of thousands
of laborers

and thousands upon thousands
of Allied men and women.

His Nazi past is almost
entirely glossed over.

VON BRAUN WAS FETED
BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY,

AND HE FINALLY ACHIEVED
HIS LIFE'S AMBITION

WHEN HIS SATURN V ROCKET PUT
NEIL ARMSTRONG ON THE MOON.

IN 1969, NASA GAVE HIM
ITS HIGHEST AWARD,

THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL.

PRESIDENT FORD AWARDED HIM
THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE

IN 1975.

Armstrong
'...one small step for man,

'one giant leap for mankind.'

HIS V-2 MAY NOT
HAVE WON THE WAR,

BUT IT ULTIMATELY
CONQUERED SPACE

AND CHANGED THE COURSE
OF HUMAN HISTORY.