SS-100 Gigant Transporter & V2

Revell’s SS-100 Gigant Transporter & V2 and 1/72 Special Armour’s A-StoManhänger "Liquid Oxygen Tank for V2 Rocket" mounted with a few British and German figures for effect. I acquired this unusual selection of kits from fellow modelling club member, Roy last year and it’s been really rewarding to complete something a little different. 

I’ve built and finished these complementary kits to reflect a moment during October 1945 when a total of 3 V-2 rockets were launched from a test site at Cuxhaven, Germany, by German POWs under the British supervision, into the North Sea as part of ‘Operation Backfire’. The explosive material in the warheads was steamed out and replaced with sand and for tracking purposes, these rebuilt missiles were painted in a black-and-white checkered pattern, similar to the early Peenemünde rocket schemes that were first tested 3 years earlier. 

In June 1945, General Eisenhower approved Operation Backfire, the British initiated Operation put forward by J. C. C. Bernard, A.T.S., Personal Assistant to Major-General Cameron, head of the British Air Defense Division. The objective of the Operation was to provide the knowledge and skills of guided ballistic missiles, to ascertain the German technique of launching long-range rockets and to prove it by performing an actual launch. Following the successful conclusion of the tests, the War Office in London issued a 5-volume report detailing these operations. Operation Backfire resulted in one of the most comprehensive evaluations and documentation of the total V-2 weapons architecture, not only by the Allies, but also the Germans!

If you’re interested in reading more, then check out this amazing article with photos and links to the 5-volume report. http://www.v2rocket.com