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",
USS Snatch (ARS-27) about her wide ranging research voyages. "Snatch" was laid down on 28 September 1943 by the Basalt Rock Company in Napa, California; launched on 8 April 1944; sponsored by Mrs. S. B. Johnson; and commissioned on 11 December 1944. "Snatch" conducted her shakedown cruise off San Diego, California, and returned to San Francisco, California from where she steamed on 20 February 1945 for Manus, Admiralty Islands. Under tow were the vessels (Covered Lighter (Self-propelled)) "YF-622", "YF-919", and "YF-926". On 4 March, she ran into heavy seas which caused "919" and "926" to collide. "YF-926" was taking water and down by