An Exciting V2 Rocket Project For H. E. Services (Plant Hire) Ltd

Usually when you think of plant hire you would picture work being carried out on a construction site of one type or another. However, every now and then we become involved in a project that is a little different to the norm.

History and plant hire came together for a very exciting project indeed recently. This was in the excavation of an exploded V2 rocket from the Second World War. Read on for some background on the V2 rocket and on the exciting excavation using H. E. Services (Plant Hire) machinery.

Digging up the Past – Excavating a V2 Rocket

September 1944 – World War 2 has been raging on for 5 years already. The Germans are being pushed back from France by the Allied forces. These same allied forces who successfully launched an invasion of the mainland at the Normandy beaches on the 6th of June. Britain has been suffering from Hitler’s vengeance weapon, the V1 Flying Bomb (AKA the Doodlebug). A rocket which has wreaked havoc on the nation’s capital. The Allies, though, are destroying the static launch sites of the V1 Flying Bombs methodically across the northern French coast. 

While the V1 did continue at a much lower rate until March 1945, thanks to the RAF anti-aircraft guns and balloon barrage being able to take many of them down. Unfortunately a new terror is about to be unleashed, and this time the danger is unseen and unheard. The 9th of September 1944 saw the beginning of the V2 rocket campaign that was to strike fear into the hearts of thousands of ordinary citizens. 

Many of these rockets, though, would not find their intended targets. Whether by subterfuge or by technical error, many V2 rockets would end up crashing harmlessly into the countryside. One such V2 rocket landed in a field near Hoo in Medway, and an H. E. Services (Plant Hire)  PC138 excavator is playing a central role for historians uncovering the important artefacts from the site.

What Was the V1 Flying Bomb and V2 Rockets?

Nazi Germany began work on long-range weapons early in the war for a number of reasons. A primary reason being that they wanted to strike fear into the hearts of the British public. This forced them to give up their war efforts. It was also a way for them to preserve the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) who could be shot out of the sky. By mid 1944 the Allies had gained air and sea superiority and the Germans were no longer able to effectively attack Britain directly by ship or by plane. This left the Germans with the long-range weapons as a final option to try and turn the war in their favour.

On the 13th of June 1944, exactly one week after the D-Day landings, Germany launched the first of its Vergeltungswaffen (vengeance weapons), the V1. The droning sound of the Doodlebug, as it was also known, became a common occurrence in London and the surrounding regions. The explosion of these weapons also proved to be extremely deadly.

The V2 was first used in September 1944 and was an even more frightening prospect. Reaching 5 times the speed of sound upon launch, dropping up to 3.5 times the speed of sound on descent. The V2 carried the same 1 metric tonne of explosive as the V1 yet could not be stopped. You wouldn’t even know it was coming until it hit the ground and exploded.

Due to the type of fuse being used, and the speed at which it hit the ground, the V2 would usually not explode until it had begun to enter the ground in open countryside. However, if the missile hit a building the resulting above-ground detonation was catastrophically deadly.

Our Latest Find

V2 rockets impacts are studied across the southeast by a unique team. The latest one, which H. E. Services Plant Hire are part of, is on the Halstow Marshes on the Hoo Peninsula. A team of experts, including a number of historians and experienced archaeologists, descended on the scene to dig up the remains of one of these terror weapons. 

Plant Machinery To The Rescue

Using a Komatsu PC138 excavator specially obtained from H. E. Services, the archaeological team has been digging up the site of the blast utilising a designed test trench. This is in order to carefully study the site geology, the archaeology and physics of the impact and to determine the component manufacturing factories through any finds. Excavation experts on site informed us that this was incredibly dangerous work because of the type of ground they had to work on. This surface was liable to collapse at any time. In fact, our team from H. E. Services Head Office saw one such collapse! Fear not though, geared up in our safety equipment and staying in the safety zone, we were absolutely fine. 

Excavator Hire - V2 Rocket Excavation (1)
Excavator Hire - V2 Rocket Excavation

Whilst there, we got to speak to some of the experts present and we received a lot of very interesting information from them. Amazingly, we know that the V2 discovered was fired from the Hague in the Netherlands on the 17th February 1945 at around 2.20pm. It was far short of its intended target. Historians are still putting together theories as to why this is.

One exciting prospect from this particular site is the fact that the ground comprises a lot of very soft and sticky clay. This type of ground means that there was even more likelihood of finding parts of the rocket intact and well preserved. This proved to be the case with some of the parts that we saw there. Recovered pieces included parts of the combustion tank, the fuel turbo pump and screws that were used to connect the chambers of the turbo pump.

What Are We Learning

The archaeological dig in High Halstow is just the latest in a series of major V2 and V1 excavations carried out by Research Resource Archaeology (@craterlocators) and is accountable to KCC’s Historic Environment Record Manager. Experts are still learning about these weapons and how they were used in the later war years. This High Halstow discovery is a particularly interesting find because of the preservation qualities of the ground into which it hit.

Each V2 rocket weighed an incredible 12.5 tonnes, with 8.5 tonnes of fuel and a 1 tonne warhead. This means that there is potentially another 3 tonnes of the rocket structure at the site. As you can imagine, there is a lot of earth to be moved in this delicate test trench operation, and the site team were extremely grateful that H. E. Services had just the right sized machine to carry out the work.

The historical significance of this find and what we can learn about history from it cannot be understated. H. E. Services (Plant Hire) are proud to be a part of something so historically important and we look forward to hearing more about the archaeological finds once the team has finished the dig. We wish them well.

What Are We Learning

The archaeological dig in High Halstow is just the latest in a series of major V2 and V1 excavations carried out by Research Resource Archaeology (@craterlocators) and is accountable to KCC’s Historic Environment Record Manager. Experts are still learning about these weapons and how they were used in the later war years. This High Halstow discovery is a particularly interesting find because of the preservation qualities of the ground into which it hit.

Each V2 rocket weighed an incredible 12.5 tonnes, with 8.5 tonnes of fuel and a 1 tonne warhead. This means that there is potentially another 3 tonnes of the rocket structure at the site. As you can imagine, there is a lot of earth to be moved in this delicate test trench operation, and the site team were extremely grateful that H. E. Services had just the right sized machine to carry out the work.

The historical significance of this find and what we can learn about history from it cannot be understated. H. E. Services (Plant Hire) Ltd are proud to be a part of something so historically important and we look forward to hearing more about the archaeological finds once the team has finished the dig. We wish them well.

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All information correct as of: 12th October 2023.

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