The Doodlebug
Written by: George Chittenden : 27 Sep 2019
This photo was taken early in 1945 in the city of London. In the photo you can clearly see a V1 rocket, a Doodlebug, plunging toward central London. It landed on a side road off Drury Lane blasting several buildings, including the office of the Daily Herald. The V1 was the first modern guided missile used in wartime and the forerunner of today’s cruise missile. They introduced a brand-new terror to warfare, as once they were launched, they flew without human intervention to strike distant targets. They were powered by a pulse-jet motor and carried a one-ton warhead. The V1 had a range of 150 miles, was launched from a fixed ramp 350 mph and reached speeds of around 350 mph. The British RAF destroyed many V1’s using planes that were faster than the V1’s and could fly above the weapon before descending to attack it. The pilots usually slipped a wing of the plane under the wing of the missile, then they would flip their wing up which would throw off the stabilising gyros in the missile and make it crash.
Doodlebug plunging toward central London.
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