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",
SS Empire Cymric Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast. The ship was long, with a beam of .She had a draught of . She was assessed at , The ship was propelled by a 5,500 ihp triple expansion steam engine which was supplied by two 3-drum boilers. It drove twin screw propellers and could propel the ship at . In Royal Navy service, armament was 8 x 20mm AA guns. "LST 3010" was launched on 30 September 1944. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 5 April 1945. "LST 3010" was transferred to the Koninklijke Marine in 1945. In February and March 1946,