The V1: The machine and its men

John Oliver uses original German and British documents largely ignored as sources by previous writers to tell the complete story of the V1 flying bomb, in memory of the men and women who died during World War II collecting information about it, or manufacturing it, or attacking its launching sites, and for those who lived under the fear of it. It is also the story of the personnel of Flakregiment 155 (W), the only unit to fire the flying bomb, mainly conscripts who ended up by chance in a very hazardous posting. The V1 was so dangerous to fire and so unpredictable in its early trajectory that it was banned from being launched on German soil and the regiment suffered continual casualties - many of them fatal - simply in the line of daily duty. Leading it was a man who deserves to be recognised: Oberst Max Wachtel, an intelligent and able man, proud of his men and what they achieved, rising above all the hardships that came with working with a top secret and brand new weapon. And as it all comes to an end, the revelation of perhaps the most incredible love story of World War II.