Fieseler Fi 103 V-1

Place in history: The V-1 Vergeltungswaffe (German for vengeance weapon) was the first rocket-powered missile used in war. A precursor to today's cruise missiles, it was aimed primarily against England and Belgium. Launched from aircraft or catapult ramps on land, a simple pulse jet engine gave the V1 a distinctive sound that could be heard from ten miles away, earning it the nickname of "buzzbomb" or "doodlebug." The V-1's main production facility was the notorious underground complex of Mittelwerk at Nordhausen in the Hartz Mountains, where slave-laborers assembled the missiles in appalling conditions.


Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg

Place in history: Late in the war, several piloted V-1s were built. The plan was that a pilot would guide the missile into position close to its target and bail out at the last moment. It was essentially a suicide mission, as it would have been very difficult to open the canopy against the wind resistance and in the unlikely event that the pilot was able to climb out he would have undoubtedly have been sucked into the intake of the engine. This manned missile killed several pilots during landing in flight tests. All of the Reichenbergs were air-launched from planes, unlike the unmanned V-1s that were mostly fired from ground-based catapult ramps. The war ended before Germany could use the Reichenberg in combat.

These missiles: The Soviet Army occupied the Nordhausen area and in 1948 they demolished the entrances to the underground missile factories. Almost half a century later, a new entrance was found into the caves and these missiles were discovered there.


Avro Lancaster B. Mk.I nose section

Place in history: The Avro Lancaster was the most successful British bomber aircraft of WWII. The four-engined aircraft was first flown in 1941 and was characterized by its twin-finned tail and large "glasshouse" canopy. It entered service in 1942 with 44 squadron of the RAF in 1942. Operating mostly at night, they delivered 608,612 tons of bombs in 156,000 sorties against occupied Europe. For its time, the aircraft was fitted with advanced communications, navigation and radar systems. In April 1945, RAF Lancasters took part in Operation Manna to bring food to the starving peoples of occupied Holland. After the war, the Lancaster and a civilian version, the Lancastrian, were used in the Berlin Airlift.

This aircraft: Avro Lancaster TW911 was built as a B. Mk I (FE) to serve with the RAF's Tiger Force in the Far East, but it was completed too late to see operational service. The aircraft was converted for use as a flying test bed for the Armstrong Siddeley Python engine. The aircraft carried out extensive test flying before it was retired to Southend Aircraft Museum, UK in 1968.


Flak 37

The rugged, hard-hitting, and adaptable 88 mm gun was the most famous artillery weapon of World War II. German designers, working in Sweden to avoid treaty restrictions, developed the gun in the late 1920s. The "flak" gun got its name from the German word Flugabwehrkanone, meaning aircraft defense cannon. During the Spanish Civil War, German troops fired the guns at oncoming tanks and fortified bunkers with very effective results. This success in combat led to versions of the 88 mm gun equipped to engage ground targets that were in view or barrage enemies from long range. The gun's high muzzle velocity and heavy projectile made the "eighty-eight" particularly effective against tanks. During World War II, 88 mm guns were often employed to attack high-flying Allied bombers. The gun could propel its 20.25-pound high-explosive shell to altitudes beyond 30,000 feet at a rate of about 15 projectiles per minute. When an "eighty-eight" shell hit directly, it often completely destroyed a bomber.