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(Friday, September 8, 1944, 6:40:52 p.m. British Double Summer Time; during World War II) — A V-2 rocket, the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, struck Chiswick in west London today, demolishing eleven houses and killing three people.

The victims were identified as 63-year-old Ada Harrison, three-year-old Rosemary Clarke, and Sapper Bernard Browning, who was on leave from the Royal Engineers.

Launched from The Hague, this missile marks the first V-2 to hit British soil.

Developed by Nazi Germany during World War II as a “vengeance weapon,” the V-2 rocket is powered by a liquid-propellant engine. It was designed to target Allied cities in retaliation for the bombings of German cities.

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The V-2 also had become the first man-made object to reach space, crossing the Kármán line with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on June 20, 1944.

The missile’s development began with Wernher von Braun’s research, which caught the attention of the German Army. After a series of prototypes, the A4 model, later designated the V-2, was deployed in September 1944.

Over 3,000 V-2s would be launched against Allied targets, including London, Antwerp, and Liège, causing an estimated 9,000 deaths.

The British government has not yet publicly acknowledged the new German weapon.

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The rockets traveled at supersonic speeds and were nearly impossible to detect before impact, making them a formidable weapon with no effective defense.

In response, Allied forces, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Soviet Union, rushed to capture German missile technology and production sites.

Von Braun and over 100 key V-2 personnel surrendered to the Americans, later contributing to U.S. missile development under Operation Paperclip.

The Soviets also captured V-2 technology and resumed production post-war.