The V2 rocket is instantly recognisable by its extraordinary shape. But where did this revolutionary body shape come from, and why has it not been seen again in missile design since the 1950s? And yet, paradoxically, the shape in stylised form appears on millions of internet pages - why?

We continue exploring the A4 / V2 rocket in detail by looking at the surprising origins of the V2's core body shape. The first designs of the A3 and A5, both prototypes of the A4, had ballistic features emanating from the early 20th-century science of ballistics that the A4 would inherit. But crucially, some elements would change due to a supersonic flow theory revolution in 1930s America.

00:00 Introduction
03:09 V2 rocket shape
05:45 The chubby rocket
09:33 Defining the ogives
12:20 Getting it wrong
14:39 It's a bullet!
20:25 Handbook of Ballistics
23:02 Heydenreich ogive rule
28:15 Torpedo of 1744
29:24 Ballistics era
35:05 Dr Hermann and A3
38:09 The Windtunnel
47:55 Kurzweg's rocket
53:29 Von Kármán
56:49 Haack's paper of '41
1:00:34 Inside the outside
1:04:23 Summary
1:05:35 The V2's ghost in art & culture
1:11:34 Mole bunker?

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Literature

Cranz C.J. and Becker K. E. (1921) The Handbook of Ballastics, (pp. 75-82) Eng. ED HMSO London.

Neufeld M.J. (1995) The Rocket and the Reich, (pp. 5-28,42,50-54,73,82-85,97,113-127, 275-278, 285,292) Simon & Schuster Inc. New York

Siegmund-Schultze R. (2003) Military Work in Mathematics 1914-1945. Ch. Wolfgang Haack 1902-1994 [Source: Haack (1987), p. 23]

Haack W. (1941) Geschoßformen kleinsten Wellenwilderstandes, Der Lilienthal-Gesellschaft

Von Kármán T. and Moore N.E. (1932) Resistance of slender bodies moving with supersonic velocities, with special reference to projectiles ASME APM-54-27

Kurzweg H.H. Chapter 5: Aerodynamic Development of the V-2. In: Benecke, T and Quick, A (Eds). History of German Guided Missiles Development. Brunswick, Germany, 1957

Lundquist C.A., Coleman A.M. (2008) Rudolf Hermann, wind tunnels and aerodynamics (Acta Astronautica: Elsevier Science Vol 62, issue 8-9)


Written and presented by Robert J Dalby FRAS

Produced by Astronomy and Nature TV