Editing V-1 flying bomb (section)

==Operation and effectiveness==
[[File:Mile end grove road 2.jpg|thumb|upright|On 13 June 1944, the first V-1 struck London next to the railway bridge on [[A1205 road#Grove Road|Grove Road]], [[Mile End]], which now carries this [[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]]. Eight civilians were killed in the blast.]]

The first complete V-1 airframe was delivered on 30 August 1942,{{sfn|Zaloga|2005|p=6}} and after the first complete [[Argus As 014|As.109-014]] was delivered in September,{{sfn|Zaloga|2005|p=6}} the first glide test flight was on 28 October 1942 at [[Peenemünde]], from under a Focke-Wulf Fw 200.{{sfn|Zaloga|2005|p=5}} The first powered trial was on 10 December, launched from beneath an He 111.{{sfn|Zaloga|2005|p=6}}

The [[LXV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LXV ''Armeekorps z.b.V.'']] ("65th Army Corps for special deployment) formed during the last days of November 1943 in France commanded by ''General der Artillerie z.V.'' Erich Heinemann was responsible for the operational use of V-1.<ref>[http://www.axishistory.com/books/149-germany-heer/heer-korps/2781-lxv-armeekorps-zbv LXV Armeekorps z.b.V.] www.axishistory.com</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1973-029A-24A, Marschflugkörper V1 vor Start.jpg|thumb|left|A German crew rolls out a V-1.]]
The conventional launch sites could theoretically launch about 15 V-1s per day, but this rate was difficult to achieve on a consistent basis; the maximum rate achieved was 18. Overall, only about 25% of the V-1s hit their targets, the majority being lost because of a combination of defensive measures, mechanical unreliability or guidance errors. With the capture or destruction of the launch facilities used to attack England, the V-1s were employed in attacks against strategic points in Belgium, primarily the port of [[Antwerp]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cull |first=Brian |url=http://archive.org/details/diverdiverdiver0000cull |title=Diver! Diver! Diver! |date=2008 |publisher=London : Grub Street |isbn=978-1-904943-39-6 |chapter=The assault on Antwerp and Liège - October 1944 - March 1945}}</ref>

Launches against Britain were met by a variety of countermeasures, including [[barrage balloon]]s and aircraft such as the [[Hawker Tempest]] and newly introduced jet [[Gloster Meteor]]. These measures were so successful that by August 1944 about 80% of V-1s were being destroyed{{sfn|Christopher|2013|pp=108–109}} The Meteors suffered from frequent cannon failures, and accounted for only 13 V-1s destroyed.{{sfn|Christopher|2013|p=109}} In all, about 1,000 V-1s were destroyed by aircraft.{{sfn|Christopher|2013|p=109}}

The intended operational altitude was originally set at {{cvt|2750|m|-2}}, but repeated failures of a barometric fuel-pressure regulator led to the operational height being halved in May 1944, bringing V-1s into range of the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors light anti-aircraft guns]] commonly used by Allied [[Anti-aircraft|AA]] units.{{sfn|Zaloga|2005|p=11}}

[[File:Fieseler Fi103 debajo de un Heinkel 111.jpg|thumb|left|A German {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} Heinkel He 111 H-22. This version could carry FZG 76 (V1) flying bombs, but only a few aircraft were produced in 1944. Some were used by bomb wing ''KG'' 3.]]
The trial versions of the V-1 were air-launched. Most operational V-1s were launched from static sites on land, but from July 1944 to January 1945, the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} launched approximately 1,176 from modified [[Heinkel He 111]] H-22s of the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}}'s ''[[Kampfgeschwader 3]]'' (3rd Bomber Wing, the so-called "Blitz Wing") flying over the [[North Sea]]. Apart from the obvious motive of permitting the bombardment campaign to continue after static ground sites on the French coast were lost, air launching gave the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} the opportunity to outflank the increasingly effective ground and air defences put up by the British against the missile. To minimise the associated risks (primarily radar detection), the aircrews developed a tactic called "lo-hi-lo": the He 111s would, upon leaving their airbases and crossing the coast, descend to an exceptionally low altitude. When the launch point was neared, the bombers would swiftly ascend, fire their V-1s, and then rapidly descend again to the previous "wave-top" level for the return flight. Research after the war estimated a 40% failure rate of air-launched V-1s, and the He 111s used in this role were vulnerable to night-fighter attack, as the launch lit up the area around the aircraft for several seconds. The combat potential of air-launched V-1s dwindled during 1944 at about the same rate as that of the ground-launched missiles, as the British gradually took the measure of the weapon and developed increasingly effective defence tactics.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}