Fieseler Fi 103 V-1 Flying Bomb

This example of a V-1 flying bomb was captured intact by the British at the end of the war. V-1s were launched from sites in France towards South East England from 13 June 1944 and against targets in the Midlands and the North of England. Nearly 9,000 were launched, killing around 6,000 people.

V-1s were cheap to make and, unlike conventional bomber aircraft, did not require any crew. Both Bomber Command and the US Army Air Force conducted large scale bombing raids against V1 launch sites. These were largely unsuccessful and diverted precious resources away from the main bomber offensive.