In 1947, the US first launched a V-2 ballistic missile from the USS Midway aircraft carrier
On September 6, 1947, the US Navy launched a V-2 ballistic missile from the deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier for the first time. The test, called Operation Sandy, was conducted after the ship had moved several hundred miles south of Bermuda, Space.com reports.
The rocket's failed flight
After launch, the V-2 began to tilt in the air and later fell to Earth. According to Space.com, the rocket rose to an altitude of about 15,000 feet, or 4.6 km. At the same time, MidwayCurrents.org, cited by the publication, states that at an altitude of about 12,000 feet, or 3.7 km, it veered off course and began to break apart.
Despite this result, Operation Sandy demonstrated the fundamental possibility of launching a rocket from a ship at sea. It was the first ballistic missile launch conducted by the US Navy.
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Origins of the V-2
The V-2 was created in Nazi Germany primarily as a military weapon. Space.com calls it the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. The rocket was developed by German rocket engineer Wernher von Braun.
At the end of World War II, Allied forces captured V-2s at a German production site. Von Braun and captured rocket components were transported to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where specialists assembled the rockets and conducted experimental launches.
According to the publication, the US military's desire to obtain such technologies contributed to Operation Paperclip, under which von Braun and other German aerospace scientists were taken from Germany to the United States. Subsequently, US rocket technology developed into orbital rockets, while ballistic missiles became part of the armament of some ships.
