The 'Super Cinema' V2 - Ilford Feb 1945

By Feb 1945 Hitler had developed a second 'Vergeltungswaffe'(reprisals weapon) with which to punish England. Known as the V2 or A4 rocket (the A being 'Aggregat' or unit), the weapon was a ballistic missile which struck without any warning. The first V weapon was of course the V1 which was a pulse-jet driven pilotless plane controlled by giros, and which, having been launched towards the target, simply ploughed on until the fuel ran out and it plunged to earth. The V2 was much more sophisticated (and expensive)with a liquid propellant (alcohol and water) fuelled rocket engine which used liquid oxygen as an oxidiser. The 21ft rocket was really not cost-effective as its complexity resulted in costs equivalent to a four engined bomber without the latter's relative accuracy, heavier bomb load and re-usability.It also used strategically scarce war materials such as aluminium. It's accuracy was no more than a 50% chance of hitting an 11 mile circle at its maximum range of 200 miles.1358 V2's were launched against England from sites around The Hague in Holland, with over 400 hitting London and its immediate surroundings.. Though Croydon was the worst hit borough with 141 V1's and 4 V2's, Ilford suffered the most V2 hits with 35 ( and 34 V1's).
When a V2 took off on 8th Feb 1945 targeted on London, Elsie Knight was ironing in her upstairs, back kitchen/dining room at 1, Thorold Rd., Ilford , with her son Lenny aged four sat beside her at the kitchen table, and little Richard aged nearly two playing in the front bedroom.Yesterday had been her 26th birthday, and her thoughts may have wandered to her husband Vic who was away with the Royal Artilllery as a despatch rider in Belgium.The table at which she ironed, stood beneath the back window, over which towered a vast old cherry tree, even now developing the buds which would blossom into the cascade of flowers which filled the window's view in spring.The rocket reached the top of its parabolic flight in about four minutes and then descended at ever increasing speed till it reached over 3500 miles and hour at impact. That impact (on Wright's Garage in Ley St)was no more than 200 yards from Elsie's home. The blast brought down all the ceilings, and blew out all the windows; the landing window being hurled, box frame and all, across the landing to wedge against the toilet door. Miraculously, no one in '1,Thorold' was even injured including aunt (of Lenny and Richard) Vi Brown who was living down stairs with her family, Sheila 8, Eddie 1, and fireman husband Harry. Probably, had the impact been by a V1 with an explosive charge of 1800lbs (as against the 2,200lbs of the V2, they could all have been killed, as the V1 tended to flatten buildings over a wider area due to its much lower speed at impact. The high velocity of the V2 resulted in a very deep impact with the blast being absorbed to a great extent by the soil itself.
The two families were subsequently evacuated to Sale in Cheshire where they stayed with local families, the Jarvises and the Waltons.
The blast destroyed not only Wright's garage, but also the Super Cinema which stood between Balfour Rd and Ley St at their meeting with Cranbrook Rd, almost opposite Ilford Station.Fourteen people were killed, including two usherettes, at the cinema, seven who worked at the clothing factory opposite the cinema, one NFS fireman, and four local residents.
The V2 was Hitler's last throw of the dice, and though destructive and impossible to stop ( though capable of being wrongly targeted by mis-information from British-controlled German agents)was not available in sufficient numbers to turn the tide of war. What might have been had Hitler successfully combined it with his attempts at making an atom bomb, can only be left to grotesque conjecture. Certainly events such as the Telemark raids must have had a consequence greater than may have seemed the case at the time. Even a submarine-towed launching platform was constructed so that even the United States mainland could have been devastated. The hinge of fate as Churchill would call it had swung against Hitler in the nick of time.

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