An incredible translation of a highly detailed and lengthy war-date document, copiously photo-illustrated, describing every detail of the construction, systems, and operation of the much-feared V-2 rocket. This document is comprised of 318 period mimeographed pages with 90 photographs reproduced from the original German text which was dated February 1, 1945. At some point in time, a copy of that book was captured by the Allies, and on Feb. 5, 1946 the official translation offered here was issued under the auspices of the 'Foreign Document Evaluation Branch Ordnance Research and Development Center Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland'. The book was originally titled 'Manual A4' as the rocket originally bore the technical name 'Aggregat 4' (A4). It was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. Powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, it was developed as a 'vengeance weapon' and used to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. The V2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the edge of space, on 20 June 1944. This manual for the world's first 'rocket ship' spares no details. Among the dozens of topics covered is: '...Technical data on the missile...War Head...Instrument Compartment...Fuel Tank...Propulsion Unit...Steam Generating Plant...Thrust Structure...Control Devices...the Tail...Power Supply...Propellants...Steering...Launching and in Flight...', etc. The illustrations are photo prints of the illustrations contained in the original German copy. These include exterior views, the warhead, instrument compartment, propulsion unit, oxygen and fuel tanks, valves and couplings, switches, gyros, jet vanes, preparations for launching, trajectory, and much more. Overall fine condition, a primary document used to launch the U.S. into the space age.