V-2 rocket offensive began on 8 September 1944, when "Lehr- und Versuchsbatterie No. 444" () launched a single rocket guided by a radio beam directed at Paris. Wreckage of combat V-2s occasionally contained the transponder for velocity and fuel cutoff. The painting of the operational V-2s was mostly a ragged-edged pattern with several variations, but at the end of the war a plain olive green rocket also appeared. During tests, the rocket was painted in a characteristic black-and-white chessboard pattern, which aided in determining if the rocket was spinning around its longitudinal axis. The original German designation of the rocket was "V2",
Skokie (rocket) to calibrate the onboard equipment, following which it would be released to allow the vehicle to build up speed. A drogue parachute would be deployed once the vehicle reached a speed slightly below terminal velocity; after deceleration, the main parachute of in diameter would deploy. Skokie (rocket) Skokie was a family of research vehicles developed by the Cook Electric Co. for the United States Air Force during the mid to late 1950s. Launched from a B-29 bomber, Skokie 1 was an unpowered, ballistic vehicle, while Skokie 2 was rocket-propelled; both were used for evaluating and testing high-speed parachute recovery systems.