Well, I must confess I have brougth this up before.
But here are some facts and pictures;)
V-1 missile,
German in full VERGELTUNGSWAFFEN-1 ("Vengeance Weapon 1"), also popularly called FLYING BOMB, BUZZ BOMB, or DOODLEBUG, German jet-propelled missile of World War II, the forerunner of modern cruise missiles.
The V-1 was one of several "secret weapons" or "miracle weapons" with which German leader Adolf Hitler hoped to stave off disaster in the closing year of World War II. More than 8,000 of the missiles were launched against London from June 13, 1944, to March 29, 1945, with about 2,400 hitting their target areas. A smaller number were fired against Belgium. The rockets were launched from the Pas-de-Calais on the northern coast of France and subsequently (after France had been overrun by the Allies) from other sites in German-occupied western Europe.
The V-1 was about 25 feet (8 metres) long, exclusive of the long tailpipe of its jet engine, and had a wingspan of about 18 feet. It was powered by a pulse jet that used a cycling flutter valve to regulate the air and fuel mixture. Because the pulse jet required airflow for ignition, it could not operate below 150 miles (240 kilometres) per hour. Therefore, a ground catapult was required to boost the V-1 to 200 miles per hour, at which time the pulse-jet engine was ignited. Once ignited, it could attain speeds of 400 miles per hour and ranges exceeding 150 miles. Course control was accomplished by a combined air-driven gyroscope and magnetic compass, and altitude was controlled by a simple barometric altimeter. As a consequence, the V-1 was subject to errors in its heading, or azimuth, and it had to be operated at fairly high altitudes (usually above 2,000 feet, or 600 metres) to compensate for altitude errors caused by differences in atmospheric pressure along the route of flight.
The missile was armed in flight by a small propeller that, after a specified number of turns, activated the warhead at a safe distance from the launch. As the V-1 approached its target, its control vanes were inactivated, and a rear-mounted spoiler, or drag device, deployed, pitching the missile nose-down toward the target. This usually interrupted the fuel supply, causing the engine to quit, and the weapon detonated upon impact. The missile carried a 900-kilogram (2,000-pound) high-explosive warhead that was capable of causing great damage and loss of life.
Because of the rather crude method of calculating the impact point by the number of revolutions of a small propeller, the Germans could not use the V-1 as a precision weapon. Neither were they able to determine the actual impact points in order to make course corrections for subsequent flights. In fact, the British publicized inaccurate information on impact points, causing the Germans to adjust their preflight calculations erroneously. As a result, V-1s often fell well short of their intended targets. Antiaircraft guns were occasionally effective at shooting down the fast-flying missile, as were the latest versions of the fastest British fighter planes, such as the Spitfire.
And some about the Speed...
Taken from a thread on the internet. I also asked the ace T.E. Jonsson about this, and he said exactly the same.
My friend who flew Mustangs with the 352nd FG added this thought. He saw a V-1 Buzz bomb in the fall of 1944 while returning to base lightly loaded. He put the P-51 in a slight dive and went after it. The buzz bomb left the Mustang and the pilot broke off the attack. The following week at base (Bodney), a buzz bomb putt-putted over the base with a Typhoon right on its tail.
: So however fast the Mustang was at sea level, it was slower than a V-1 or a Typhoon! :-)
: Marc
Sure it was a Typhoon? The Tiffie was faster than a P51 at low level, but the RAF used mainly Spit XIVs and Tempests because they were faster still.
Jonsson actually said he could catch them in his P51B with a slight altitude advantage.
