The weapon of mass destruction created by the dream of flying to the sky
Flying freely like a bird is the dream of mankind since ancient times. Whether it is in the ancient East or the West, there have been people who imitated the appearance of birds, tying themselves "wings" made of feathers or canvas, and attempting to soar into the sky. Although the final outcome of these people is very miserable, but it also proves from the other side that human beings do have the desire to "fly into the sky".
(Kong Ming Lantern)
The earliest human aircraft was a hot air balloon. Because humans have long discovered that the volume of air expands after being heated, and its weight becomes lighter and rises. The famous "Kong Ming Lantern" in ancient my country is actually a kind of hot air balloon. The hot air balloon that can really carry people was invented by the French brothers Mengfei. The Mengerfi brothers were originally paper wholesale merchants. They were inspired by the sight of confetti dancing on the fire. On June 4, 1783, the Mengerfi brothers performed a public performance in the Plaza de Annoné in Lyon with a circumference of 110 feet. The simulated balloon rose and flew for 1.5 miles. On September 19 of the same year, in front of the Palace of Versailles in Paris, the Mengfei brothers performed a hot air balloon lift-off performance for the king, queen, court minister and 130,000 citizens of Paris. The Mengerfeld brothers sent mankind to the sky 120 years earlier than the Wright brothers in the United States. The hot air balloon was also the first manned aircraft of mankind.
After entering the 20th century, mankind invented two more devices capable of "flying into the sky", one is the airplane invented by the American Wright brothers in 1903, and the other has brought both progress and disaster to mankind so far. Rocket. Because the engine used by the aircraft must extract oxygen from the air, then mix it with fuel and burn it to drive the engine to drive the aircraft to fly. Therefore, the high speed and flight speed of the aircraft have an upper limit, that is, the oxygen that the engine can inhale The amount is the upper limit.
(rocket lift-off diagram)
In order to explore the space beyond the atmosphere, humans think of rockets. The basic principle of a rocket is actually not complicated. It is an engine with two large tanks for oxidizer and fuel, and a shell on the outside. This is the simplest rocket. The basic flying principle of a rocket is to use a fuel pump to inject fuel and oxidant into the engine at the same time. The fuel and oxidant are ignited in the combustion chamber of the engine and spray out powerful gas. The rocket uses the reaction force of the gas to fly. Because the rocket itself contains an oxidant, it does not need to extract oxygen from the air, so it can adapt to almost vacuum space flight. At the beginning of the 20th century, Tsiolkovsky of Russia, Robert Goddard of the United States, and von Braun of Germany were pioneers in rocket research. It was the unremitting efforts of these people that made the rocket. The development of the rocket opened up a whole new path, but the initial development of the rocket was in the form of a weapon in the Nazi Germany during World War II, and Germany also gave this new weapon the name of a "revenge weapon". Z3z
, the originator of cruise missiles-the V-1 missile
As early as the 1920s, Germany was very interested in new weapons such as rockets and missiles. Because of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, as a defeated country in World War I, Germany was deprived of the right to develop weapons such as tanks, self-propelled artillery, new fighters, bombers, and submarines, and was suppressed by France everywhere.
(re-enactment model of the V1 missile made by foreign military fans)
The Germans who were depressed by this were actually planning their revenge against the Treaty of Versailles very early. In the 1930s, Hitler seized the German power through legal means and became the "prime minister" of the German government, so he began large-scale arms expansion and war preparations. In the field of science and technology, Germany happened to start the development of unmanned aircraft in the 1930s. By 1942, the Royal Air Force began to bomb the German mainland on a large scale, and when German bombers had to pay more when bombing Britain, the V- 1 The missile was quickly put on the agenda.
(V-1 missile) The
V-1 missile is very similar in appearance to modern cruise missiles. It uses a straight wing, which can maintain the balance of the missile body and provide lift. At the same time, the V-1 missile is equipped with a unique pulse jet engine at the top of the tail. This engine is limited to the V-1 missile and never appeared in later cruise missiles. The so-called "pulse engine" is actually a bit similar to our common internalGas turbine engine. Its work is divided into 3 steps: first, the engine intake valve opens, and air flows into the engine combustion chamber; then the intake valve closes, and the fuel valve opens to eject fuel and mix it fully with air; finally, the spark plug ignites the fuel-air mixture to produce deflagration At the same time, explosive gas is ejected at high speed through the jet port of the engine, completing one cycle. The V-1 missile uses this cyclic pulse jet method to drive the missile. The V-1 missile engine can complete 42 such cycles in one minute. Because the gas emitted is discontinuous rather than continuous, the tail nozzle of the V-1 missile emits a unique low-frequency noise. Starting in mid 1944, people living in southeast England will increase The more familiar this noise is.
(cross-section view of the V-1 missile structure) The
V-1 missile as a whole looks like a bomb with wings and engines installed on it to get a flying bomb. However, this is indeed in line with the characteristics of missile weapons developed under the rudimentary navigation technology of that era. In order to fly as far as possible, the V-1 missile has a projectile diameter of 0.82 meters, but its wingspan has reached 5.3 meters, the entire projectile length is 7.9 meters, and the launch weight of the missile is 2180 kilograms. There is a pulse engine that can generate about 300 kilograms of thrust. At the same time, the V-1 missile is launched using a special slide rail with a launch speed of 240 km/h. The cruise speed of the V-1 missile is 644 kilometers per hour, and the range is about 240 kilometers, with a maximum of 280 kilometers.
(a schematic diagram of the launch trajectory of the V-1 missile)
is an early cruise missile. The V-1 does not have a precise guidance and navigation system, so its flight altitude is relatively high, usually at a height of 600 meters (about 2000 feet) from the ground. As the first generation cruise missile, in fact, the V-1 missile does not have any so-called navigation system at all. It only has an altimeter. Its flight path is planned before launch. At the same time, the warhead is equipped with a time bomb, which means it will fly to a certain time. After that, the bomb will explode, so the explosion location of the V-1 missile has a strong randomness. Moreover, its main wing is fixed and does not have the ability to adjust the flight attitude. The height of the aircraft is controlled by the altimeter inside the missile to drive the elevator on the horizontal tail to control the flying height of the missile.
In order to ensure that the missile can explode smoothly, the V-1 missile is equipped with a triple fuze. In addition to the timer mentioned just now, it is also equipped with a trigger and delay fuze. The trigger type, as the name implies, will cause an explosion when the missile touches the ground, and the delay fuze is used to ensure that the missile can self-destruct if it does not explode within the specified time. Because of the protection of triple fuzes, V-1 missiles rarely appear duds.
(coincidentally, it rarely does not mean that there is no, the picture shows a V1 missile that crashed in Belgium in 1945) The
V-1 missile uses liquid fuel. It has used gasoline and alcohol separately, plus a V-1 rocket while also carrying it There are two chemical tanks, which are used to hold hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate as rocket boosters. During launch, the hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate are extracted to react in the reaction chamber to generate high-temperature and high-pressure hot steam, and the missile is ejected out by the reaction force of the hot steam. However, because hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate are both highly corrosive, these boosters must be poured before launching. At the same time, launchers must be careful, as there is a risk of burns if they are not careful.
During World War II, all German V-1 missiles were produced near Nordhausen in eastern Germany and were produced by BMW. After the production was completed, they were packed and transported to the launch position on the coast of Calais, France. They were launched against the United Kingdom. The capital London and surrounding areas. The appearance of the V-1 missile caused considerable panic in the UK, and this early missile lacked an effective guidance system and also made many bizarre jokes. For example, once a V-1 missile was launched in a U-shaped circle in the sky, it turned back and hit an observation room near the launch site, and this observation room was originally planned to wait for Hitler and others to inspect the V- Prepared for 1 missile. In addition, the V-1 missile has also been hit by mistake, hitting the headquarters of the Allied Supreme Commander Eisenhower in London, so that allied intelligence personnel mistakenly believed that the German V-1 missile was equipped with a precision navigation device.
(V-1 missile bombing London)
forTo intercept these spooky Nazi missiles, the British army organized a large number of radar stations, artillery regiments, and air surveillance posts, specifically for early warning of incoming V-1 missiles, and the Royal Air Force used more Spitfire fighters. To intercept the V-1 missile, because the V-1 missile has no guidance device and does not have the ability to dodge interception, the favorite action of the British pilots is to fly level with the V-1 missile, and then extend the fire-breathing wing to Under the wing of the V-1 missile, it suddenly lifted up and overturned the V-1 missile with the wing of the aircraft, so that the V-1 missile would crash out of control. And because the flight speed of the V-1 missile is slow, only 644 km/h, which is roughly the same as the maximum flight speed of the Spitfire, the Spitfire's wing overturning the V-1 missile was the most reliable at the time. Anti-missile" tactics. According to war history records, a 24-year-old squadron leader named Joseph Berry of the Royal Air Force shot down 60 incoming missiles during the entire Nazi V-1 missile attack.
(V-1 missiles secretly produced in underground factories)
Before the occupation of positions in France and the Netherlands, Germany launched a total of about 10,000 V-1 missiles to the United Kingdom, but only about 3,531 of them successfully avoided British interception and flight failures, and of these "smooth penetration" missiles, 2,419 hit London, about 30 hit Cape Town and Portsmouth, and one even flew to Manchester! According to British statistics, the V-1 missile killed 6,184 people in the UK, and another 17,981 people were seriously injured. Compared with the number of V-1 missiles launched, this casualty is really not much of a result. Moreover, most of the V-1 missiles killed civilians, not soldiers. Therefore, the V-1 missile's attack on the military forces of the British and American allies is extremely limited. Its greater role is to create panic, because the Germans who fired it didn't know where it could hit. It is conceivable how the British would feel when they heard its loud noise. Z3z
, the originator of ballistic missiles-the V-2 missile
, because the V-1 missile has a slow flight speed, low flight altitude, and a rigid flight path, it is easy to be intercepted. Soon the Nazis came up with a second "revenge weapon", which is the first ballistic missile of mankind-the V-2 missile. Its appearance changed the development trajectory of the entire world.
(V-2 missile, also known as V-2 rocket)
Although the V-2 missile was meant to be emergency during World War II, its initial development work began as early as 1937. In fact, as early as 1932 before Hitler came to power, Germany had already begun to develop large-scale liquid rockets. At that time, the German captain Wald Dornberg recruited the father of German rockets-von Bu Lawn. Between 1938 and 1941, von Braun's team developed a total of four types of rockets, A1, A2, A3, and A4, and the final A4 rocket was the V-2 missile that was officially finalized.
(V-2 missile is being erected)
V-2 missile is about 14 meters long, about 1.7 meters in diameter, and has a maximum launch mass of about 13 tons. The highest point of its ballistic trajectory is about 100 kilometers from the ground, and it has completely flown out of the atmosphere. And the maximum range of the V-2 missile can reach 320 kilometers. The warhead of the V-2 missile weighs 1 ton. Because it uses parabolic ballistic flight, the maximum speed of the V-2 missile is as high as Mach 4.8 when it finally attacks the target. Therefore, when the V-2 missile attacks the target, it is usually The earth-shattering explosion was heard first, followed by the roar of the rolling missile tail.
(V-2 missiles photographed by U.S. bombers are launching an attack at a speed exceeding Mach 4)
is limited by the technical level. The V-2 missile does not use the technology of missile and rocket separation. The entire missile structure is integrated, so the V-2 The missile’s engine is equipped with four huge wings. After launch, the missile relies on these four wings to adjust the flight attitude. The whole missile looks like a huge aerial bomb. The missiles after the V-2 generally began to use gas rudder or attitude adjustment engines, so no large ballistic missiles with huge wings have been seen. The structure of the
V-2 missile lays down the basic structure of today's chemical rockets, that is, the missile engine is located at the tail of the missile, the oxidizer tank and fuel tank are located upward, and the payload is at the head of the rocket. V-2 missileThe payload is a gyroscope navigator and 1 ton of high explosive. The huge difference from the V-1 missile is that the V-2 missile uses ethanol (alcohol) and liquid oxygen as fuel and oxidant respectively. This is because in the latter part of World War II, Germany’s only source of oil, the Ploiesti oil field in Romania, was occupied by the Soviet army. The Nazis, who were severely short of oil supply, had to find another way. Alcohol can be extracted from plant fermentation. Naturally, it is the most ideal fuel substitute. And because ethanol is easy to volatilize, it is also used as the coolant of the V-2 missile engine to prevent the engine from being burned and exploding because of the high temperature.
(a copy of the V-2 missile)
is almost blind-fired compared to the V-1 missile. The V-2 missile has a larger body space, so it is equipped with a gyroscope, so it has a certain navigation ability . The basic principle of the gyroscope is similar to the one we played when we were young. When the top rotates at a high speed, centripetal force is generated to ensure that the top rotates at high speed on the ground without tipping over. The principle of the gyroscope is the same. There is a free gyroscope in the gyroscope. After the missile is launched, the gyroscope keeps rotating in the warhead, so that the gyroscope itself has the ability to ensure that the missile maintains the original course. Once the missile deviates from the course, the gyroscope will Will control the air rudder to "correct" the missile, so the hit accuracy of the V-2 missile is significantly higher than that of the V-1 missile, but at the time of World War II, the circular probability deviation (CEP) of the V-2 missile was still calculated in kilometers. , So it can't hit solid point targets, only surface targets. The
V-2 missile frightened the Allies the most during World War II. Because it flew at supersonic speed when it landed, there was no sound at all and no warning. This is very different from the V-1 missile. The flying speed of the V-1 missile is only about 644 km/h, and its engine also emits unique low-frequency sound waves, so that the British air defense forces and radar systems can effectively detect the incoming V-1 missiles, thereby effectively performing them. defense. But the V-2 missile is different. This missile uses a parabolic trajectory. Its maximum flight altitude is 100 kilometers from the ground. Even the radar system equipped by the British army at that time could not detect the V-2 missile effectively. It exploded only when it hit the ground. Later, everyone knew: the V-2 missile was coming. Not only that year, but even today, defense of ballistic missiles is still a difficult and important point in military science and technology.
(a copy of the V-2 missile)
was unable to effectively intercept the V-2 missile, so the Allied forces could only use large-scale bombing to directly attack the German missile production plant and launch site in Peenemünde. The British army even used it. The 7-ton "goblet" bomb exploded the reinforced concrete missile launch pad built by the Germans. However, until the Allied forces captured Peenemünde, Germany continued to launch V-2 missile attacks on Britain. During the entire World War II, Germany launched a total of 3745 V-2 missiles, of which 1,115 attacked the British mainland, 2,050 bombed important towns such as Antwerp, Brussels, and Liege in Belgium, and 582 were used for various tests, improvements and training. . The 1,115 V-2 missiles that attacked the United Kingdom killed 2,724 people and injured 6,476. Overall, the combat effectiveness of the V-2 missiles did not reach the expected level.
Post-war development
After World War II, the two powers of the United States and the Soviet Union each obtained some technical data and even physical objects of the German V series missiles. Therefore, both parties have carried out a series of test developments on the basis of German missiles. Today, the United States and Russia are still the most powerful countries in the world, especially the cruise missiles and ballistic missiles of the two countries, which can be said to be the world's top level.
("Tomahawk" cruise missile)
Currently the famous American Tomahawk cruise missile and Russia's KH-101 cruise missile can be regarded as the descendants of the German V-1 missile. Compared with the humble predecessors, both the Tomahawk and KH-101 have a range of more than 2500 kilometers, and use GPS at the same time (Russia uses the "GLONASS/Beidou" system), and its hit accuracy is within 10 meters. Especially when the Russian army's high-profile intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015, the long-range KH-101 cruise missiles all accurately hit the target, fully reflecting the great power of modern cruise missiles.
(One of the three truths of the "White Poplar" intercontinental ballistic missile)
ballistic missile is even more "prosperous." For example, the Militia III and Trident II-D5 ballistic missiles equipped by the U.S. military, as well as heavy ballistic missiles such as the Russian Topol M, Brava, and Salmat, especially the Salmat strategic missiles, are currently in the world. The largest intercontinental strategic missile, with a take-off weight of up to 200 tons, a payload capacity of more than 9 tons, can carry 10 nuclear warheads equivalent to 750,000 tons of TNT, and a maximum range of 16,000 kilometers, which can almost achieve global coverage.
(Russian "Salmat" strategic missile)
has developed from the initial V-1 and V-2 missiles during World War II to today. Cruise missiles and ballistic missiles have formed two huge families, and each has many a member of. As the most powerful weapon of mankind, these two missile families will continue to develop.
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