After almost 80 years in Australia, the V2 rocket is ready to take centre stage.
This exclusive behind-the-scenes video captures the meticulously planned relocation of the V2 rocket and its Meillerwagen into Anzac Hall.
The two-day move brought together the expertise of the Memorial’s Large Technology Objects (LTO) team, curators, logistics specialists and engineers to ensure the rocket’s safe transport and installation.
Developed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the V2 rocket was the first long-range guided ballistic missile, marking a groundbreaking chapter in military history. Going on display for the first time, visitors will have the rare opportunity to see the V2 up close and explore the complex story behind its creation and use.
Yeah, yesterday was a good day.
We've moved the V2 rocket and Meillerwagen from Mitchell into its new home in Anzac Hall.
We finally got the V2 right here and in position and that's a long time in the making.
We were a little bit apprehensive about how it would actually go.
So it was a two-day process, so making sure that the truck that we had hired is the right truck for the move.
We did it in stages, so everything was very, you know, controlled and very safe.
Because the object can only be towed, we had to basically tow it or winch it up onto the semi-trailer. We used a semi-tilt tray. Which meant that it wasn't, you know, steep and it was very sympathetic for the dimensions of the rocket.
And we also made sure that we had all the widths and the height correct and the path between Mitchell and here. So checking all of the bypasses and all the clearances, trees, that kind of thing. For some of the underpasses that we went on, there was about 50 mils clearance.
So a bit of a breath in for that one, but we knew that we would make it and clear it and protect the object at all times. To make sure that the object was safe throughout the whole transport route.
And when we finally got it here, we had to swap everything around to the other end.
Hook up a tow motor to it and use the winch to basically slow it down as it's coming back off. And the tow motor was there basically as an extra set of brakes in case something happened. And it rolled down the semi-trailer.
Like slowly, slowly, gently, gently. It just crept back down, you know, very much under control. Very safe, yep.
But it all came off, went rather smoothly. No dramas, which was great.
Preparing it for display, we knew that we would want to lift it as a whole rocket rather than in stages. Because we couldn't do it, we couldn't return it to its original form.
It had to come back onto the Meillerwagen as a complete rocket. Today we had a 40-tonne slewing crane and an eco-crawler crane that was used to lift the V2 up to an angle for display height.
We had some engineering companies design a process and a way to lift it up to about 20 degrees.
So we had a custom lifting beam that we would attach to the underside of the Meillerwagen. And we'd use the 40-tonne slewing crane to lift the V2 using the lifting beam.
And at the same time we would then have a crawler crane working together to lift the mount strut and place it into position. So we had two cranes working together and a dogman to ensure that it was smooth sailing and they weren't interfering with anyone.
It's really great to be able to see the V2 finally erected on its Meillerwagen and in place in the new building.
The V2 is quite a tricky object to display. It's quite controversial. Many people would say, why do we have it? Why do we have it on display? We're going to be telling a number of stories around it.
It's not just, from our point of view, an item that should be displayed because of its technological prowess. It's very impressive as a technological object. But for us it's the human side of things that's very, very important.
And from our point of view, it's the human side from the point of view of the people who made it, the slave labourers. But also the people who tried to stamp it out and defeat it.
It's been a really rare privilege to work on such a unique object.
It's had some immense challenges. But I work with fantastic, highly skilled people. So it's been a real mix of abilities and skill sets.
And it's been an ongoing conversation right throughout the whole process. It's been a fantastic project to work with across the War Memorial. The results speak for themselves. It's been a highly successful project.
For 80 years we've had the V2 in Australia, but this is the first time it's ever gone on display. We felt it was very important to put it on display because it epitomises the efforts that Bomber Command made to try to knock out the V2 and V1 sites in Northern Europe.
If you want to see one of these objects, you'd normally have to jump on a plane and fly 20 odd hours to get to Europe to have a look at one. But now there's a viable example at the War Memorial in Australia.
