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Takom #2123 1/35 Stratenwerth 16T Strabokran Vidalwagen Rocket V2
The V2 rocket was way ahead of its time and was the world's first ballistic missile designed by a team led by Werner Von Braun, who was later captured by the Americans and became the driving force behind the Apollo programme. The rocket weighed in at over 12 tonnes, so handling it was a task for large equipment that was designed specifically for the task. Due to its short range it was necessary to launch them close to the Channel in order to reach London, so mobile carriers/erectors were designed by Hanomag, A handling trolley was made to carry the rockets shorter distances behind a lorry (without the erection/launch capability) and was known as a Vidalwagen, with a 16 tonne gantry crane called the Strabokran that could be dismantled or erected in an hour by a team of 10 men.
This combination of equipment permitted the rockets to be launched from ad hoc sites and allowed the crews to leave the area before any retribution from the Allies could be attempted. Of course the advancing Allies eventually put paid to their mobile launches as the front line went past the V-2's ultimate range, and the RAF's carpet bombing of their permanent launch facility La Coupole in France before it could be brought into service. The final V-2 was launched on 27th of March 1945, and once the factories were over-run the missiles and their equipment were hoovered up by the Allies, including the British with real examples of this kit stashed away in warehouses by the RAF Museum.
