V-1s (Doodle bugs) V-1s were flying missiles that
had enough power to fly over the Channel and were capable of destroying 2 to 3 houses.They
made a droning noise and as soon as the droning noise stopped people had 15 seconds to
escape from the powerful blast that followed. The V-1s, which were more commonly known as
"Doodle bugs or "Buzz bombs", were fired from France when it was taken over
by Hitler. They were launched during 1944. About 8,000 were launched at Britain, and over
2,000 of them hit London. Over 6,000 Londoners were killed and about 500,000 homes were
destroyed. 2,500 anti-aircraft guns were moved to the south coast to shoot down the deadly
V-1s before they reached London. Many more evacuees were moved out of London due to these
terrifying bombs.
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V-2s As if the V-1s weren't
enough, on the 8th September 1944 the first even more destructive "V-2" rocket
was launched on Chiswick near London. It had a mighty double bang, and killed three
people. The terrifying V-2s proved even more destructive than the V-1s. They flew very
fast and high up in the air; much too high to be shot down by the anti-aircraft guns of
fighter aircraft. Luckily less of them were launched than the V-1s. 500 hit London,
killing 2,855 civilians. Many R.A.F. bombers launched missions to find and destroy the V-2
launch bases.
| The Allied invasion of
Normandy in 1944 brought about the destruction of a V-1 and V-2 launching site in the
Cherbourg Peninsula. This meant that South Wales did not become a target for doodle bugs
and V-2 rockets. |
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