大象传媒

In June 1944, the Germans started sending V1 Flying bombs to bomb London. We called these V1s "Doodlebugs". A doodlebug was really a bomb with wings. It looked like a small aeroplane and had no pilot - a bit like a cruise missile, but slightly bigger. Thousands of these doodlebugs were launched against London. I remember them very clearly. They made a sound like a lorry engine going very fast. They kept flying until they ran out of fuel. Then they simply fell to the ground and exploded. Whenever we heard a doodlebug everyone looked up and followed it with their eyes until it had gone over past where we were standing. If the engine stopped before it got to us that was the time to worry! Sometimes a doodlebug dropped to earth immediately and sometimes it would continue to glide, gradually losing height. Very scary!

In September 1944, the Germans started sending V2 rockets to London. The V2 was like a modern ballistic missile. It was much bigger than a doodlebug and was more dangerous but it was not as scary as the doodlebug because it was so fast that you never saw it or heard it - until it landed with a loud "whomf" noise. If it landed on you, you would not have heard it - you would be dead anyway.

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