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",
Weapons Races FOR RADAR AND STEALTH WWII Brit. break, to Powers' U-2, to U.S. stealth F-117 Nighthawk 4 THE RACE FOR THE NUCLEAR BOMB 1945 U.S. 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima to modern U.S. W-80 Tomahawk cruise 5 THE RACE FOR THE STRATEGIC BOMBER 1915 Ger. Zeppelins bomb London to U.S. B-2 Spirit bomber 6 THE RACE FOR THE STRATEGIC BALLISTIC MISSILE 1944 Ger. V-2 rocket London hits to U.S. Trident sub-launched missile 7 THE RACE FOR THE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE 1954s nuclear-power USS Nautilus to 2005 U.S. nuke attack sub 'Virginia' 8 THE RACE FOR THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER 1918 Brit HMS Argus to