The A2 was the second rocket design in the Aggregate series, part of the German Army research program that lead to the A4 (V-2) rocket used in World War II. Under the program at Kummersdorf headed by Walter Dornberger, the A2 was designed in 1934 by Wernher von Braun.
At a length of 1.4 meters and thrust of 3 kilonewtons from alcohol and liquid oxygen, it was in outline similar to the A1. However, In contrast to the A1, the A2 had the stabilization gyroscopes in the center of the rocket between the alcohol and oxygen tanks, which made it more stable. Initial flight testing was done in September 1934 at Kummersdorf.
Two A2s were built for a full out test, and were given the names Max and Moritz. In December 1934 they were flown in front of the Army brass at an island in the North Sea named Borkum. They reached altitudes of between 1.7 km and 2.3 km.
External links
The A2 (http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/a2.htm) at Encyclopedia Astronautica
Development of the V-2 Rocket (http://www.aeromuseum.org/Articles/Sept04/V2PartOne.htm) at the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum
The A4 Rocket (http://www.bernd-leitenberger.de/text/a4.html) (in German)
The rocket was 1.4 m long, and had a takeoff weight of 150 kg.
The rocket was designed to be stabilized using a heavy rotating wheel in the nose, but there was concern that this might cause problems with the liquid fuels.
The final launch, on December 11, 1937, was typical of all the attempts: the engine cut out early, and the rocket was destroyed as it fell to the ground, the parachute failing to deploy.
The V-2 rocket was an early ballistic missile used by Germany during the latter stages of World War II against mostly British and Belgian targets.
In December 1934 Von Braun scored another success with the flight of the A2rocket[?], a small model powered by ethanol and liquid oxygen, with work on the design continuing to attempt to improve reliability.
But the third rocket launched on October 3, 1942 changed things, when the rocket followed it's trajectory perfectly and landed 120 miles away, and became the first man-made object to enter space.
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