cover of episode Supersonic Nazi Vengeance: V2 Rocket (Part 1)

Supersonic Nazi Vengeance: V2 Rocket (Part 1)

2024/2/2
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Tim Harford: 本节目讲述了V2火箭的故事，这是一种在二战最后几个月由纳粹德国使用的可怕火箭炸弹。它探讨了这种武器的起源、它造成的伤害以及我们可以从中吸取的教训。节目从英国情报部门在1942年圣诞节前后收到关于德国正在研发一种新型火箭武器的情报开始，讲述了英国情报人员R.V. Jones如何通过分析德国雷达部队的部署情况和航空照片，证实了火箭武器的存在，以及他如何与丘吉尔的顾问Lindemann就火箭武器的真实性和可行性进行辩论。最终，丘吉尔下令轰炸Peenemunde，但这次轰炸并没有摧毁V2火箭项目，反而只是延缓了它的进度。节目还讲述了V2火箭的研制过程，以及它对平民造成的巨大伤亡。V2火箭的精度很差，大部分火箭都落在了预定目标之外，其主要作用是制造恐怖，而不是取得军事上的胜利。盟军认为V2火箭项目是德国的一种战略性错误，因为它浪费了大量的资源，却收效甚微。 R.V. Jones: 作为英国情报人员，我通过分析情报和航空照片，坚信德国正在研制一种火箭武器，并成功说服丘吉尔下令轰炸Peenemunde。尽管轰炸对Peenemunde造成了重大破坏，但它并没有摧毁V2火箭项目。 Frederick Lindemann: 作为丘吉尔的顾问，我认为德国制造这种火箭在技术上和经济上都是不可行的，这只是一个骗局。 Walter Dornberger: 作为德国军官，我长期以来一直痴迷于火箭炸弹的想法，并领导了V2火箭的研制工作。尽管研发过程中屡屡失败，但纳粹政权仍然持续向我的团队投入大量资源，最终成功研制出V2火箭。 Betty: 我是一位年轻的母亲，在去Woolworths买锅的途中遭遇了V2火箭袭击，幸运地逃过一劫。

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The episode introduces the V2 rocket, a weapon developed by the Nazis during World War II, and its devastating impact on London, focusing on the personal story of a young mother and her baby who narrowly escaped the blast.

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At the height of World War Two, British intelligence began receiving reports that the enemy was developing a rocket weapon. The idea seemed fantastical — resources in Nazi Germany were scarce and a rocket-building program defied economic logic.

But one intelligence chief took the reports of a rocket weapon seriously and he managed to convince Winston Churchill to heed the threat too. The British Prime Minister gave the order to bomb Germany’s rocket factory to rubble, and 600 bomber planes embarked on a full-scale attempt to obliterate it.

From the air, the damage appeared devastating. The British thought they had succeeded in crushing the rocket-building program. But they were wrong.

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