The Fieseler Fi 103 (V1) German “Buzz Bomb” On June 13, 1944,
Nazi Germany unleashed a new type of weapon: The Fieseler Fi 103
“flying bomb,” a small, pilotless, medium-range cruise missile.
Launched from bases in northern France, the Netherlands, and
western Germany, the Fi 103 enabled the German Luftwaffe to
bombard Belgium, England, and France when the Allied air forces
possessed air superiority over Western Europe. Because the Fi
103 could thus “avenge” Allied bombing raids on Germany, the
German Propaganda Ministry called the Fi 103 Vergeltungswaffe
Eins (“Vengeance Weapon 1”), or “V1” for short, and V1 is the
name by which it is best remembered. The entire V1 was a
disposable vehicle powered by a primitive yet powerful
“pulsejet” engine which gave the V1 a loud, raucous noise that
could be heard from more than ten miles (sixteen kilometers)
away. This rasping sound earned the V1 the nickname “Buzz Bomb.”
Germany built some 30,000 V1s and launched approximately 22,400
– most from ground-based ramps, but