" A SCREAMING COMES ACROSS THE SKY. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now. It is too late. The Evacuation still proceeds, but it’s all theatre." Gravity's Rainbow
Gravity's Rainbow, the Greatest novel by an American, begins with a V2 rocket landing in London. Much of the opening plot line follows Tyrone Slothrop as he maps the locations of rocket hits.
As soon as I got a promotional Email on Hitler’s Rockets: The Story of the V2 I at once hit "buy now". I strongly recommend this book to all lovers of Gravity's Rainbow and endorse it for all those into World War Two history.
There was a lot of infighting initially among the German authorities over the viability of using a rocket launched from the continent to attack London. Of course everything turned on Hitler’s enthusiasm for the project. He came to see the Rockets as having the potential to force England to surrender. Longmate details the construction of launch sites and facilities for production of the Rockets. Thousands of slave laborers were worked to death to build 1000s of Rockers. Some in the German intelligence service felt the Rockets would never work but more perceptive individuals saw the great harm they could do London.
Longmate tells us a lot about English and American bombing raids on rocket sites. We see the great importance of Warner von Bruan to the Germans. We learn of the infighting among both English and German command structures.
Several chapters of the book are devoted to detailed descriptions of individual rocket strikes. I felt Tyrone Slothrop was alongside.
A detailed biography of Norman Longmate's life and prolific work can be found in the obituary in Guardian by his son.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/05/norman-longmate-obituary
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