Norman Longmate - Hitler's Rockets

The ‘Chelsea resident’ is Lees-Milne, p. 151. Orwell’s article is in vol. III, p. 280. HO 191/198 records the break-up of the twentieth V-2. The ministry report was ‘Lessons from Recent Raids’ in HO 186/2299. Childs, p. 134, was the ‘one American’ quoted. Sansom’s description of an airburst is on p. 199; and Wright and Rawnsley, pp. 361—2, passed through one. On unexploded V-2s, see Hartley, pp. 189—194.

The Home Office letter is from J. P. Jamieson, dated 6 December 1944, in HO 186/2271. On the Hoffman’s incident, see R. J. Thompson, p. 65, and Benham, p. 77, which describes the food kitchens and Bishop’s address. On the other Chelmsford incident, see Thompson, p. 66; on Colchester and other V-2s in the area, Benham, pp. 80-82. The ‘journalist living on Mersea Island’ was Quinton Winch, in the Essex County Standard for 10 January 1975. The clerical warden was Shepheard-Walwyn, who describes the first local V-2s on pp. 41—2, the tea-party rocket on pp. 44—5 and the Sunday evening one on pp. 42—3. The Mountnessing and Stoke Cottage incidents are recorded by R. J. Thompson, pp. 66-9, the Woodham Ferrers one by a private informant. On Romford, see G. Richards: the ‘giant dart’ quotation is on p. 19 and a list of incidents on p. 28, though the details do not always agree with those in Air 20/3439, which, for example, refers to 12 dead at Collier Row, while Richards mentions 13. R. J. Thompson, p. 71, describes Hornchurch and the ‘wedding’ incident at Rainham. On Rainham, see also The War and Thames Board Mills . ‘What the county endured…’ was written by Benham, p. 82, which also quotes the NFS commander. On Kent, see Platts, p. 38; on the figures for other counties, the list in Air 20/3439; on the Wargrave incident, a Civil Defence diary entry in the Berkshire County Record Office.

On Kammler’s grouping, see the map in the Ilford Recorder for 4 October 1945. The ‘Civil Defence official’ quoted is Pearson, p. 54. On Hutchinson’s letter, see folio 645 in PREM 3/111. The 4000 tarpaulins are mentioned in an Ilford Guardian article of 3 May 1945, a major source for the chapter. Pearson, pp. 55—6, describes the South Park casualties and those at Belgrave Road. On the Hippodrome, see Pearson, p. 55, and the Ilford Guardian , op. cit. Information on the Super Cinema’s programme was provided by Redbridge Library. Pearson, pp. 55—6, was an eyewitness of the Ilford Ltd incident and also describes the temporary loss of nerve in Uphall Road.

On Ford, see Saunders, p. 89. Wyld, p. 11, mentions the reserve mortuary in Walthamstow and the deaths of ‘casual travellers’, and on p. 22 the College Road incident, the dog in the crater, the airbursts and the Bawn’s factory incident. Other accounts are from private informants.

On incidents affecting Westminster, see the Air-Raid Damage Reports filed in the Archives Department, Victoria, of Westminster City libraries. On the Hyde Park V-2, see Henrey, p. 8, Sansom, p. 198, and Vere Hodgson, p. 461. The absurd German claims are in the weekly Home Office reports in HO 202/10, nos 233, 237 and 243, which includes the chapter epigraph. On the damage to the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, see Ascoli, p. 181, who mentions its ‘honourable scars’; Dean, p. 295, the Chelsea Society Annual Report , p. 26, and War Damage to Hospitals. Lees-Milne, pp. 151 and p. 158, describes his reactions and the 27 January explosion. On the St Pancras V-2s I used War Damage to Hospitals and the List of Incidents… in the City of London (Doc. Misc. MSS 350.5). On the Hampstead incidents, see Hampstead at War , pp. 28—32 – where the ‘this was the end’ quotation appears – and the duplicated document Civil Defence Corps, Hampstead Division, Copy of Incident Reports . The other accounts are from private informants, and the list of incidents in the Group 6 boroughs is taken from Air 20/3439. The London Rocket plant is mentioned by Childs, p. 146.

The ‘American visitor’ is Childs, pp. 129 and 134. On Lambeth’s V-2s I consulted Lambeth Civil Defence , pp. 36 and 42—4. Details of the Hazelhurst Road incident in Wandsworth came from the report dated 20 November 1944 in HO 186/2418; on the Poynders Road incident from the report of 29 January 1945 in HO 186/2428; and on the Nutwell Street incident the report by G. Morris, of 7 March, and E. Bax of the same date. Berwick Sayers, pp. 112—14, mentions the effects of Croydon’s situation and describes the Sunnybank and later incidents. On Bromley, Chislehurst and Beckenham, see Blake, pp. 88—90, the ‘wartime historian’ quoted.

On the Emergency Services Organization, see Spencer Freeman, pp. 77—8, and a decriptive note on the book’s dustjacket. On Woolwich Arsenal, see H. A. Baker. The Silvertown bascule bridge’s importance is explained in Report 243 in HO 202/10, and Report 245 mentions Silvertown’s seven rockets. The chief superintendent quoted was a private informant. Damage to London Transport is given in Graves, pp. 93—4, although the West Ham trolley bus incident is referred to in Report 239 of HO 202/10. Moody, p. 119, refers to improving travel conditions; Carter, p. 190, summarizes the number of railway incidents. On the Southern’s trials and casualty figures, see John, pp. 258—9; on Southwark Park Road, Moody, p. 119; on Folkestone Gardens, Darwin, p. 93. On the LMS, see John, p. 259; on the LNER, Crump, pp. 177—82, the ‘Khyber Pass’ appearing on pp. 179—81. Swanwick, p. 61, and Report 249 in HO 202/10 give details of the Great West Road V-2; the quotation from the Pyrene pamphlet is from Staples, pp. 4-5.

Irving, p. 292, mentions the damaged missiles; Dornberger, pp. 229—30, the last test at, and evacuation of, Heidekraut; O’Brien, p. 666 (footnote), the report of 25 September on warnings; the Crossbow Committee 17th Report, folios 602—10 in PREM 3/111, the absence of possible counter-measures. Dr Jones’s study of the rocket’s accuracy of 11 January 1945 was supplied to me privately, as was some additional information on the subject. I also consulted the document ‘Accuracy of Long-Range Rockets Fired at London during the Period September 1944 to March 1945, in file SORS/1/92, which breaks the attack down into six phases of varying effectiveness. On the ROC’s rocket sightings, see Wood, p. 178. Pile, pp. 386-8, describes his difficulties and the attempt to overcome them. Turner mentions the limitations of existing radar sets; Collier, Battle , p. 136, the despondent view of most scientists; Turner the general difficulty of intercepting V-2s. Howard-Williams, p. 142, had the encounter with a V-2 north of The Hague; David Johnson, pp. 168—9, mentions those of a Spitfire and a B-24. Jones, p. 454, mentions British knowledge about Nordhausen; Richards and Saunders, p. 172, the effect of the Tirpitz’s sinking; Garlinski, p. 141, the fate of the unfortunate slave workers. On operations in 1944, see Richards and Saunders, pp. 172—3, and After the Battle , p. 31. Morrison’s plea for heavy bombers to be used and the Chiefs of Staff’s reply are in PREM 3/ 111, folios 299, 292, 291 and 284, and the Cabinet call for intensified bombing is folio 265. William Sidney’s letter is folio 580 in PREM 3/ 111, General Ismay’s comment is folio 238, the note of 1 March (by ‘JRC’) is folio 574, Sinclair’s letter of 2 March folio 639, Peck’s note of 26 February folios 252—3, Ismay’s comments folio 247, Churchill’s rejoinder folio 242, Morrisons’s plea of 1 March folio 236, Churchill’s reply 235, and the Chiefs of Staff’s reaction folio 232. On the Haagsche Bosch fiasco, see After the Battle , pp. 31—2, Richards and Saunders, p. 175, Johnson, p. 186 (which includes the ‘stupid Dutch’ quote), and folio 535 in PREM 3/111 for the Foreign Minister’s protest. Churchill’s sharp memo is folio 533, and Sinclair’s and the Chiefs of Staffs respective replies are nos 529—32 and 525—8. Churchill’s final comment is in no. 547.