Terror Rocket That Helped
Mankind Reach the Moon
COLIN SIMPSON
La Coupole, Pas-de-Calais, France
V2, the latest thriller by British writer Robert Harris, has rocketed up the best-seller lists. It’s set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany’s assault on London with the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, the V2 of the title.
In the final period of the Second World War, starting on Sept. 8, 1944, 1,358 of the explosive-tipped rockets were fired at the UK capital, killing an estimated 2,754 civilians and injuring 6,523.
The V2 – standing for Vergeltungswaffe 2, “Retribution Weapon 2”, in German – was one of the Nazi’s “vengeance weapons”. It followed the V1, the feared “doodlebug” flying bomb that had also rained down on London.
The rocket was the brainchild of aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, who moved to the US after the war. The technology developed for the V2 was used in the giant Saturn V rocket, also designed by von Braun, which propelled US astronauts to the Moon. It’s ironic that the V2, which ushered in the futuristic space age, was fuelled by alcohol distilled from the humble potato.
The missiles were fired from mobile launch vehicles that could be hidden in woodland to evade attacks by Allied bombers. But this was not the original plan – initially the Nazis planned to send them airborne from underground bunkers. And one such base, La Coupole in Northern France, is now a museum and tourist attraction.
It has a massive concrete dome set amid the green French countryside. I have to admit that it took me a while to realise, as I wandered through the site, that it had never been used for its planned purpose.
Attacks Launched From Woods
The German high command concluded that stationary launch sites would be too easy a target for the Royal Air Force, so the decision to switch to mobile units was made. Harris makes a passing reference in his book to “a bunker the army proposed to build on the Channel coast, which at the time was how they envisaged the missile would be deployed against the English”. The rocket attacks in his story are launched from woods at Scheveningen in the Netherlands.
La Coupole was abandoned by the Germans in 1944 after being heavily bombed following the D-Day landings. The site opened to the public in 1997, and since then its displays and attractions have been greatly improved. The permanent exhibition housed beneath the dome is split into two parts, one telling the story of the V1 and V2, and the second recalling life in Northern France under the Nazis.
The first section features a V2 rocket, exhibits about the attacks on London, a film on the conquest of space, and a replica of the “Little Boy” atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. There are also moving displays about the Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp, whose inmates were used as slave labour to manufacture the V1 and the V2 in brutal, inhumane conditions.
From Occupation to Liberation
The second half of the exhibition traces the history of the occupation from the invasion in 1940 to the liberation four years later. Topics covered include the resistance, propaganda and collaboration, the impact on daily life and the post-war reconstruction.
The space theme is explored further in a recent addition to the site, a 3D planetarium. Visitors are invited to “Follow Yuri Gagarin during his first space flight, [and] step onto Mars with the Curiosity rover”. A resource and documentation centre contains a wealth of material on the Dora camp, the occupation and space.
Verdict: An interesting place to visit, well worth an hour or two’s stop as you hurtle to or from the Channel ports. It’s likely to appeal to youngsters, so it should help to keep knowledge of what happened during the war alive as the conflict recedes ever further into the past.
Top image: The La Coupole dome, and a V2 launch. La Coupole/NASA
Rocket Tale Doesn’t Quite Hit the Target
Review: V2, by Robert Harris
HISTORICAL figures such as Werner von Braun appear alongside fictional characters in Robert Harris’s wartime tale. The central story is made up, but it’s set against a characteristically well-researched factual backdrop. Each of the attacks on London described actually happened, and the set-piece accounts of launches and strikes are excellently handled.
However, I don’t think V2 is among the author’s best work. It could have done with one more rewrite, and belongs among the second tier of his output such as The Fear Index and The Second Sleep.
Harris is known for novels set around the Second World War, for example Munich and Enigma. Reviewing his list of novels, though, I can’t help feeling that when it comes to subjects the war is not his true love – that would be ancient Rome. His books set in that period seem to be written with particular care. This, after all, is the man who managed to make a trilogy about the Roman orator Cicero a gripping, un-put-downable treat. – CS
NEED TO KNOW: La Coupole
GETTING THERE: By car – 45 minutes from Calais, A26 motorway, exit 3; 1 hour from Lille, A25 motorway, Hazebrouck/Saint-Omer exit. GPS: N50.69844596 E2.2435140. Mouvéo shuttle between Saint-Omer (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) station and La Coupole (Monday to Saturday).
OPENING HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m in July and August. Closed April 11, Dec. 25, Jan. 1 and Jan. 6 – 19. The 3D planetarium has several sessions each day.
TICKETS: History Centre only – adult €10, students and job seekers €8.50; child €7; family €22 (2 adults + 1 child) + €2 per additional child. Planetarium only – adult €7.50, concessions €6; child €6; family €17 + €2 per additional child. Planetarium + History Centre combined ticket – adult €15, concessions €14; child €10.50; family €37 + €3 per additional child. SERVICES: Audioguides are available, and there is a shop, a café and a picnic area.
TOP TIP: Warm clothing is recommended for the underground galleries (fleece jackets available free of charge).
CONTACT: Address: Rue André Clabaux, CS 40284, 62570 Wizernes, France. Phone: +33 (0)321 12 27 27. Email: lacoupole@lacoupole.com
December 2020
MORE INFO
OFFICIAL La Coupole website has all the details you need if you’re planning a visit. READ MORE
SAINT-OMER tourism site has a page about La Coupole plus details of other attractions in the surrounding area. READ MORE
RELATED
HEROINES WHO DEFIED NAZIS: One of the joys of travel is discovering a story you’d never heard of that leaves a lasting impression, such as this tale of two wartime heroines… READ MORE, WATCH VIDEO
THE OTHER U-2 INCIDENT: The famous U-2 incident, when the Soviets shot down a US spy plane, happened in 1960 during the Cold War. But this wasn’t the only U-2 that was lost… READ MORE
ENDEAVOUR ENCOUNTER: Lifelong space enthusiast Colin Simpson visits the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, and reflects on the state of human space travel… READ MORE
THE WARTIME BLOCKBUSTER MIDWAY has come under heavy bombardment from the critics. But another Midway you can go and see deserves sparkling reviews. READ MORE
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WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
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Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Terror Rocket That Helped
Mankind Reach the Moon
COLIN SIMPSON
La Coupole, Pas-de-Calais, France
V2, the latest thriller by British writer Robert Harris, has rocketed up the best-seller lists. It’s set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany’s assault on London with the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, the V2 of the title.
In the final period of the Second World War, starting on Sept. 8, 1944, 1,358 of the explosive-tipped rockets were fired at the UK capital, killing an estimated 2,754 civilians and injuring 6,523.
The V2 – standing for Vergeltungswaffe 2, “Retribution Weapon 2”, in German – was one of the Nazi’s “vengeance weapons”. It followed the V1, the feared “doodlebug” flying bomb that had also rained down on London.
The rocket was the brainchild of aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, who moved to the US after the war. The technology developed for the V2 was used in the giant Saturn V rocket, also designed by von Braun, which propelled US astronauts to the Moon. It’s ironic that the V2, which ushered in the futuristic space age, was fuelled by alcohol distilled from the humble potato.
The missiles were fired from mobile launch vehicles that could be hidden in woodland to evade attacks by Allied bombers. But this was not the original plan – initially the Nazis planned to send them airborne from underground bunkers. And one such base, La Coupole in Northern France, is now a museum and tourist attraction.
It has a massive concrete dome set amid the green French countryside. I have to admit that it took me a while to realise, as I wandered through the site, that it had never been used for its planned purpose.
Attacks Launched From Woods
The German high command concluded that stationary launch sites would be too easy a target for the Royal Air Force, so the decision to switch to mobile units was made. Harris makes a passing reference in his book to “a bunker the army proposed to build on the Channel coast, which at the time was how they envisaged the missile would be deployed against the English”. The rocket attacks in his story are launched from woods at Scheveningen in the Netherlands.
La Coupole was abandoned by the Germans in 1944 after being heavily bombed following the D-Day landings. The site opened to the public in 1997, and since then its displays and attractions have been greatly improved. The permanent exhibition housed beneath the dome is split into two parts, one telling the story of the V1 and V2, and the second recalling life in Northern France under the Nazis.
The first section features a V2 rocket, exhibits about the attacks on London, a film on the conquest of space, and a replica of the “Little Boy” atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. There are also moving displays about the Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp, whose inmates were used as slave labour to manufacture the V1 and the V2 in brutal, inhumane conditions.
From Occupation to Liberation
The second half of the exhibition traces the history of the occupation from the invasion in 1940 to the liberation four years later. Topics covered include the resistance, propaganda and collaboration, the impact on daily life and the post-war reconstruction.
The space theme is explored further in a recent addition to the site, a 3D planetarium. Visitors are invited to “Follow Yuri Gagarin during his first space flight, [and] step onto Mars with the Curiosity rover”. A resource and documentation centre contains a wealth of material on the Dora camp, the occupation and space.
Verdict: An interesting place to visit, well worth an hour or two’s stop as you hurtle to or from the Channel ports. It’s likely to appeal to youngsters, so it should help to keep knowledge of what happened during the war alive as the conflict recedes ever further into the past.
Top image: The La Coupole dome, and a V2 launch. La Coupole/NASA
Rocket Tale Doesn’t Quite Hit the Target
Review: V2, by Robert Harris
HISTORICAL figures such as Werner von Braun appear alongside fictional characters in Robert Harris’s wartime tale. The central story is made up, but it’s set against a characteristically well-researched factual backdrop. Each of the attacks on London described actually happened, and the set-piece accounts of launches and strikes are excellently handled.
However, I don’t think V2 is among the author’s best work. It could have done with one more rewrite, and belongs among the second tier of his output such as The Fear Index and The Second Sleep.
Harris is known for novels set around the Second World War, for example Munich and Enigma. Reviewing his list of novels, though, I can’t help feeling that when it comes to subjects the war is not his true love – that would be ancient Rome. His books set in that period seem to be written with particular care. This, after all, is the man who managed to make a trilogy about the Roman orator Cicero a gripping, un-put-downable treat. – CS
NEED TO KNOW: La Coupole
GETTING THERE: By car – 45 minutes from Calais, A26 motorway, exit 3; 1 hour from Lille, A25 motorway, Hazebrouck/Saint-Omer exit. GPS: N50.69844596 E2.2435140. Mouvéo shuttle between Saint-Omer (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) station and La Coupole (Monday to Saturday).
OPENING HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m in July and August. Closed April 11, Dec. 25, Jan. 1 and Jan. 6 – 19. The 3D planetarium has several sessions each day.
TICKETS: History Centre only – adult €10, students and job seekers €8.50; child €7; family €22 (2 adults + 1 child) + €2 per additional child. Planetarium only – adult €7.50, concessions €6; child €6; family €17 + €2 per additional child. Planetarium + History Centre combined ticket – adult €15, concessions €14; child €10.50; family €37 + €3 per additional child. SERVICES: Audioguides are available, and there is a shop, a café and a picnic area.
TOP TIP: Warm clothing is recommended for the underground galleries (fleece jackets available free of charge).
CONTACT: Address: Rue André Clabaux, CS 40284, 62570 Wizernes, France. Phone: +33 (0)321 12 27 27. Email: lacoupole@lacoupole.com
December 2020
MORE INFO
OFFICIAL La Coupole website has all the details you need if you’re planning a visit. READ MORE
SAINT-OMER tourism site has a page about La Coupole plus details of other attractions in the surrounding area. READ MORE
RELATED
HEROINES WHO DEFIED NAZIS: One of the joys of travel is discovering a story you’d never heard of that leaves a lasting impression, such as this tale of two wartime heroines… READ MORE, WATCH VIDEO
THE OTHER U-2 INCIDENT: The famous U-2 incident, when the Soviets shot down a US spy plane, happened in 1960 during the Cold War. But this wasn’t the only U-2 that was lost… READ MORE
ENDEAVOUR ENCOUNTER: Lifelong space enthusiast Colin Simpson visits the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, and reflects on the state of human space travel… READ MORE
THE WARTIME BLOCKBUSTER MIDWAY has come under heavy bombardment from the critics. But another Midway you can go and see deserves sparkling reviews. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Terror Rocket That Helped Mankind Reach the Moon
COLIN SIMPSON
La Coupole, Pas-de-Calais, France
V2, the latest thriller by British writer Robert Harris, has rocketed up the best-seller lists.
It’s set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany’s assault on London with the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile, the V2 of the title. In the final period of the Second World War, starting on Sept. 8, 1944, 1,358 of the explosive-tipped rockets were fired at the UK capital, killing an estimated 2,754 civilians and injuring 6,523.
The V2 – standing for Vergeltungswaffe 2, “Retribution Weapon 2”, in German – was one of the Nazi’s “vengeance weapons”. It followed the V1, the feared “doodlebug” flying bomb that had also rained down on London.
The rocket was the brainchild of aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, who moved to the US after the war. The technology developed for the V2 was used in the giant Saturn V rocket, also designed by von Braun, which propelled US astronauts to the Moon.
It’s ironic that the V2, which ushered in the futuristic space age, was fuelled by alcohol distilled from the humble potato.
The missiles were fired from mobile launch vehicles that could be hidden in woodland to evade attacks by Allied bombers. But this was not the original plan – initially the Nazis planned to send them airborne from underground bunkers. And one such base, La Coupole in Northern France, is now a museum and tourist attraction.
It has a massive concrete dome set amid the green French countryside. I have to admit that it took me a while to realise, as I wandered through the site, that it had never been used for its planned purpose.
Attacks Launched From Woods
The German high command concluded that stationary launch sites would be too easy a target for the Royal Air Force, so the decision to switch to mobile units was made.
Harris makes a passing reference in his book to “a bunker the army proposed to build on the Channel coast, which at the time was how they envisaged the missile would be deployed against the English”. The rocket attacks in his story are launched from woods at Scheveningen in the Netherlands.
La Coupole was abandoned by the Germans in 1944 after being heavily bombed following the D-Day landings. The site opened to the public in 1997, and since then its displays and attractions have been greatly improved.
The permanent exhibition housed beneath the dome is split into two parts, one telling the story of the V1 and V2, and the second recalling life in Northern France under the Nazis.
The first section features a V2 rocket, exhibits about the attacks on London, a film on the conquest of space, and a replica of the “Little Boy” atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
There are also moving displays about the Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp, whose inmates were used as slave labour to manufacture the V1 and the V2 in brutal, inhumane conditions.
From Occupation to Liberation
The second half of the exhibition traces the history of the occupation from the invasion in 1940 to the liberation four years later. Topics covered include the resistance, propaganda and collaboration, the impact on daily life and the post-war reconstruction.
The space theme is explored further in a recent addition to the site, a 3D planetarium. Visitors are invited to “Follow Yuri Gagarin during his first space flight, [and] step onto Mars with the Curiosity rover”. A resource and documentation centre contains a wealth of material on the Dora camp, the occupation and space.
Verdict: An interesting place to visit, well worth an hour or two’s stop as you hurtle to or from the Channel ports. It’s likely to appeal to youngsters, so it should help to keep knowledge of what happened during the war alive as the conflict recedes ever further into the past.
Top image: The La Coupole dome, and a V2 launch. La Coupole/NASA
Rocket Tale Doesn’t Quite Hit the Target
Review: V2, by Robert Harris
HISTORICAL figures such as Werner von Braun appear alongside fictional characters in Robert Harris’s wartime tale. The central story is made up, but it’s set against a characteristically well-researched factual backdrop. Each of the attacks on London described actually happened, and the set-piece accounts of launches and strikes are excellently handled.
However, I don’t think V2 is among the author’s best work. It could have done with one more rewrite, and belongs among the second tier of his output such as The Fear Index and The Second Sleep.
Harris is known for novels set around the Second World War, for example Munich and Enigma. Reviewing his list of novels, though, I can’t help feeling that when it comes to subjects the war is not his true love – that would be ancient Rome. His books set in that period seem to be written with particular care.
This, after all, is the man who managed to make a trilogy about the Roman orator Cicero a gripping, un-put-downable treat. – CS
NEED TO KNOW: La Coupole
GETTING THERE: By car – 45 minutes from Calais, A26 motorway, exit 3; 1 hour from Lille, A25 motorway, Hazebrouck/Saint-Omer exit. GPS: N50.69844596 E2.2435140. Mouvéo shuttle between Saint-Omer (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) station and La Coupole (Monday to Saturday).
OPENING HOURS: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m in July and August. Closed April 11, Dec. 25, Jan. 1 and Jan. 6 – 19. The 3D planetarium has several sessions each day.
TICKETS: History Centre only – adult €10, students and job seekers €8.50; child €7; family €22 (2 adults + 1 child) + €2 per additional child. Planetarium only – adult €7.50, concessions €6; child €6; family €17 + €2 per additional child. Planetarium + History Centre combined ticket – adult €15, concessions €14; child €10.50; family €37 + €3 per additional child. SERVICES: Audioguides are available, and there is a shop, a café and a picnic area.
TOP TIP: Warm clothing is recommended for the underground galleries (fleece jackets available free of charge).
CONTACT: Address: Rue André Clabaux, CS 40284, 62570 Wizernes, France. Phone: +33 (0)321 12 27 27. Email: lacoupole@lacoupole.com
December 2020
MORE INFO
OFFICIAL La Coupole website has all the details you need if you’re planning a visit. READ MORE
SAINT-OMER tourism site has a page about La Coupole plus details of other attractions in the surrounding area. READ MORE
RELATED
HEROINES WHO DEFIED NAZIS: One of the joys of travel is discovering a story you’d never heard of that leaves a lasting impression, such as this tale of two wartime heroines… READ MORE, WATCH VIDEO
THE OTHER U-2 INCIDENT: The famous U-2 incident, when the Soviets shot down a US spy plane, happened in 1960 during the Cold War. But this wasn’t the only U-2 that was lost… READ MORE
ENDEAVOUR ENCOUNTER: Lifelong space enthusiast Colin Simpson visits the space shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, and reflects on the state of human space travel… READ MORE
THE WARTIME BLOCKBUSTER MIDWAY has come under heavy bombardment from the critics. But another Midway you can go and see deserves sparkling reviews. READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
Disclosure: Afaranwide is an affiliate of leading travel operators such as Booking.com and Japan Rail Pass. If you purchase through our site we receive, at no additional cost to you, a small commission. We only work with companies we have used and recommend.