Rightly called a robot bomb during WWII, the V2 rocket was the world's first fully cybernetic weapon - a war robot. And nothing illustrates the V2 robot's automated character better than the A72 launch switch. It's a small, almost invisible, part of the missile, but as our video shows, it leads us into the deepest secrets of the V2's function.

(Want to help us make more videos like this? See our Patreon link below.)

00:00 A look at the A72 , the true King of switches
01:00 Where to find the A72 on the missile
04:20 Adding the mounting plate
04:47 The exact location using old parts
05:50 Finding the A72 on museum V2 rockets
08:27 Looking at the spring actuator design
10:43 Where to find it on drawings
13:11 What the A72 does
18:59 The importance of electromagnetic relays
24:06 The domino analogy
24:36 Model demonstrating what it does and how relays are used on the missile
35:00 The V2 robot wakes up
36:50 Back to the real thing
38:02 The click you never hear
39:04 Thanks for watching

Our thanks to www.v2rocket.com and Ed Straten for additional photography.

Visit www.v2rocket.com for more information about the V2 missile.

NEW - become a Patreon channel supporter and help us to make the best possible video presentations.

  / v2rockethistory  

Although Turbopump Part 2 was three years in the making, very little of that time was spent in front of a camera. Most of the time and effort was spent in research and you see the culmination in the hour-and-three-quarter video presented here.

I hope when you've seen the unique content of this video, you might feel inspired to help us research and produce videos like this one and become a channel supporter via our Patreon platform. We have a growing number of benefits to reward Patreons, including unique content and early access to ad-free versions of our latest videos.

I don't expect rich rewards for this effort - for me, it's a labour of love. But costs are high, and I receive assistance from others that must be funded. And lack of funding is restricting our progress and making production slow and more challenging than it needs to be.

Become a Patreon channel supporter and help us to make the best possible video presentations.

  / v2rockethistory  

Presented by Robert J Dalby

Produced by DB Video Services for Astronomy and Nature TV