Page 58 of V2

Kammler stepped back. Graf took his place at the table. He hunted around for Mechelen and found it, glanced up at The Hague and then down again. The town was almost exactly due south of them – significant, given that the axis of the V2’s flight path was roughly east to west. And it brought the radars much closer, too: they were less than half as far distant as the stations on the English coast.

He was aware of Kammler and the others waiting for his verdict. Well, that is clever, he thought. That is ingenious. Why did it never occur to us?

He straightened. ‘Obviously I am not qualified to judge the sophistication of the enemy’s radar. But that would certainly appear to place them within sufficient range to detect our rockets shortly after take-off – the terrain between us and them is entirely flat, so their view is unobstructed.’

‘The distance is significant?’

‘Yes – the distance, and more importantly the southerly position, which gives them a side-on view. If their radars can see high enough, it’s possible they could collect sufficient data to track the flight path for a few seconds. Then they would have the point of impact in England three hundred and ten seconds later. Put these two pieces of information together and it should be possible to calculate the parabolic curve, which would provide a rough approximation of the launch site.’

Kammler said, ‘And they could do this in sufficient time to direct their bombers to attack us within thirty minutes?’ ’

‘Theoretically, if they were quick enough to make the calculations.’ He couldn’t resist adding, ‘It would seem we have been betrayed not by women in brothels, but by women employing the laws of mathematics.’

Kammler was frowning, preoccupied; he seemed not to hear. ‘This is a serious flaw in the missile programme. Why were we not warned of it before now?’

‘We never thought of it.’

‘You never thought of it! All you clever fellows at Peenemünde, and you never thought of it!’

‘I suppose we never expected the rocket to be fired from such an exposed position, with the enemy all around us.’

Kammler stared at the map and folded his arms. ‘Well now, we must respond.’

Huber said, ‘If I might make a proposal, Gruppenführer? The simplest solution would be for us to switch all our launches to night-time, and take care to vary our locations. That way, even if the enemy does get a fix on our positions and attacks them the following day, the intelligence will be too late to be operationally useful.’

Kammler shook his head. He was still brooding. ‘Too passive. We need to meet aggression with aggression.’

‘What alternative do we have? Are you suggesting we should ask the Luftwaffe to bomb Mechelen?’

‘There is no Luftwaffe left to speak of; certainly not a force capable of bombing a town in Belgium.’ He looked up, suddenly inspired. ‘But who needs them? We have the weapon in our own hands, surely?’ He glanced around the room. ‘Isn’t it obvious, gentlemen? We should strike them with a rocket!’

Seidel’s eyes opened wide in surprise. Klein looked at the floor. Huber said, ‘With respect, Gruppenführer, the V2 is not designed for use as a tactical weapon. It lacks the accuracy.’

‘We’re speaking of a town, Colonel, not a bridge! Look at it!’ He pointed at the map. ‘Are you telling me you can’t hit a target the size of a town?’

Huber hesitated. ‘We may be able to hit the town, but the chances of us knocking out the radar units are tiny.’

‘Then we will fire two missiles, and double our chances!’ The Dust Cloud was whirling now, unstoppable. ‘When are we next due to launch?’

‘We were planning to wait until after the funeral ceremony.’

‘Which is when?’

‘Eleven.’

‘But that’s not for two and a half hours! I want this done immediately! What better way to honour our dead than to strike a blow against the enemy?’

Graf said quietly, ‘It wasn’t the enemy who killed them.’

Kammler turned on him. ‘You people make me sick! You’ve bled the Reich dry to build your damned rockets, and now you tell us you can’t even hit a town two hours’ drive away! I want this done at once, is that understood?’

Huber came to attention. ‘Yes, Gruppenführer!’

Kammler gave him a curt nod. ‘The name of the target should be kept secret from the men. We need to protect our source. You may go.’

The three Wehrmacht officers trooped out of the office. Graf followed them. In the passage, Huber said wearily, ‘Well, you have your orders. Seidel, get your platoon ready to launch. Graf, you had better oversee the re-targeting of the missile.’ His shoulders slouched. He looked crushed. He will be sacked by nightfall, Graf thought.

They crossed the lobby and went out into the morning.