Paul Allen To Place WWII Relic On Permanent Display

He had to sell some artwork ... described as "abstract" ... to do it, but Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has acquired a rare Wernher von Braun-designed V-2 rocket that he plans to display at his Flying Heritage Collection on the grounds of Paine Field in Everett, WA.

The WWII relic was expected to be delivered to the museum Monday, where it will be re-assembled and put on permanent display. The rocket was originally manufactured at an underground factory near Nordhausen, Germany. NBC News reports that it is a Mittelwerk GmbH V-2 rocket. Only sixteen are known to exist, and it will be one of only six in the U.S.

The V-2, while notoriously inaccurate, was responsible for the deaths of 9,000 civilians and military personnel, according to a BBC report posted on Wikipedia. It had a range of about 200 miles.

The Flying Heritage Collection's fact sheet about the rocket indicates they were "cumbersome to launch in combat conditions, and could not be built in sufficient numbers to turn the tide of war. Only around 4 percent of V-2 rockets fell within their 3-mile by 4-mile aim point. However, the approximately 3,000 weapons launched caused terrible casualties in Allied cities. The missiles flew too high and too fast to be intercepted or destroyed. There was no warning before a V-2 strike; the rocket, carrying more than 2,000 pounds of TNT and ammonium nitrate, impacted the ground travelling faster than the speed of sound."

Several of the missiles were brought the the U.S. after the war, and many of the designs used in the rockets provided the basis for systems that eventually were incorporated by the U.S. ballistic missile and manned space programs.

(Pictured: U.S. test launch of a V-2 rocket. NASA image)

FMI;www.flyingheritage.com