Book 'V2-VERGELTUNG' from The Hague

Organization of a V2 unit

Basically the V2 organisation was set up like a heavy motorised artillery unit²⁴ and consisted of:

When remote control flight (Fernlenkung) was operational, the battery staffs were extended by 1 officer, 1 civil engineer, 5 officers and 16 men.

Part of the staff (Stab) was the unit commander and his second in command, a first engineer, a weapons officer, a unit doctor, the administrator (Gefechtschreiber), who recorded all the operations of the unit. The battery staffs (Stabsbatterie) was responsible for communication, maintenance and administrative tasks at unit level.

The fuel and technical battery (Treibstoff- und Gerätebatterie zV) was responsible for the supply of the fuel components and filling up the tanks of the rockets. The first and second platoon consisted of two groups with four special tank trailers, each to transport the liquid oxygen, and seven tankers of 2900-3500 litres and one tanker of 2100 litres for the alcohol transport. Only to the first platoon three fuelling groups were added with mobile pumps. The third fuelling group was responsible for the fuelling of T-Stoff (hydrogen peroxide) for the steam generator of the turbine pump. This fuelling group was equipped with three T-Stoff-heating trailers (T-Stoff-Vorwärmeanhänger), in which the T-Stoff was kept at working temperature, and three pumping units. Each firing platoon had one tanker/pumping unit for T-Stoff. White triangles were attached to the windscreen of each vehicle of the fuelling group with number 1, 2 or 3 on it, according to the firing platoon they were serving. Apart from that the fuelling and technical battery was responsible for the transport and technical check-up of the rockets. The rocket transport platoon had a Strabo mobile portal crane at their disposal.

The rocket battery (FR Batterie zV) consisted of staff, which included a surveying and calculating group (Einrichte- und Rechentrupp). This group calculated in depth the positional coordinates and inserted these data on maps. The staff unit also looked after the telephone connections within the rocket battery. There were three firing platoons identically organised (Schiesszüge), consisting of all the necessary men and material, such as a Meiller trailer, a 12 ton half-track tractor, three heavy wheeled tractors, a trailer with a Magirus ladder, a launching platform (Abschuss­plattform), an electricity generator truck, an armoured 8 ton half-track vehicle as fire control (Feuerleitpanzer). Finally, a fire fighting team was also part of the rocket battery.

According to the organisation prescribed on January^1st 1945 the mobile anti-aircraft artillery (FLAK) was no longer part of the unit organisation; nor was the Military Police (Feldgendarmerie). These tasks were carried out as required.

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First English edition, Almere – The Hague, August 2005
Translation: Dily Damhuis, Paul Fowlie, Sylvia en Johan van Oosten en Trees Teunissen.
Original Dutch version published, Almere – The Hague, September 2003 (2^nd edition)