The history of modern spaceflight cannot be separated from military rocket development. One little-known site lies right next to Friedrichshafen: the former test facility at Oberraderach. During the Second World War, engines for the A4 rocket (V-2) were tested here. This makes the site part of the research and armaments structures of the Nazi rocket programme, and ties the Lake Constance region directly to its history.
Ongoing
Raderach Army Test Facility
Just outside Friedrichshafen, engines for the A4 rocket (V-2) were tested during the Second World War. We are reconstructing the history of this little-known site and placing it within the German rocket programme.
Rocket History on Friedrichshafen's Doorstep
| Merkmal | Wert |
|---|---|
| Location | Oberraderach, today part of Friedrichshafen |
| Function | Army test facility for A4/V-2 rocket engines |
| Cover name | "Chemische Werke Oberraderach" (Oberraderach Chemical Works) |
| Construction | 1942–1943 |
| Destroyed | 16. August 1944 |
| Today | Former military training area, partly a landfill site |
Research Questions
What We Want to Find Out
Part 1
Origins & Operation
When was the facility built, and under what conditions? What work was carried out there?
Part 2
Those Involved
Which institutions, companies and individuals were involved?
Part 3
Network
How was the site connected to other facilities of the rocket and armaments programme? What role did Friedrichshafen and the industry of the Lake Constance region play?
Part 4
After 1945
What continuities in personnel, institutions and technology were there? How was the site's history dealt with after the war?
Die Prüfstelle in Daten
- 04/1942 Planning Planning begins for an army test facility near Raderach
- 08/1943 Construction Construction work, initially carried out mainly by prisoners of war
- 12/1943 Completion The facility becomes operational
- 01/1944 Test stands shut down Series production moves to the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp, air raids intensify
- 16.08.1944 Destruction Allied air raids largely destroy the facility
- 25.09.1944 Abandonment The site is finally abandoned
- after 1945 Later use Training area for the French armed forces; today partly a landfill site
