Blizna
Encyclopedia
Blizna ' is a village
in the administrative district of Gmina Ostrów
, within Ropczyce-Sędziszów County
, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Ostrów
, 12 km (7 mi) north of Ropczyce
, and 34 km (21 mi) north-west of the regional capital Rzeszów
. It has a population of about 250.
military base
near Blizna, from which 139 A4
(also known as V-2) rockets were launched for experimental purposes and for training. After the air raid
on Peenemünde
on 17 August 1943 it was decided that the training and testing should be done in southeast Poland outside of the range of the Allied
bombers. However test launches also continued at Peenemuende until 21 February 1945.
Because the rockets launched from Blizna - in contrast to the rockets launched from Peenemünde
- flew over a populated area, there was also some destruction of buildings. Wernher von Braun
, a central figure in Germany's pre-war rocket development program, and post-war director of NASA
's Marshall Space Flight Center
, worked at the Blizna test site and personally visited the test missile impact areas to troubleshoot any problems discovered during trials.
The missile testing ground at Blizna was quickly located by the Polish resistance movement, the Armia Krajowa
thanks to reports from local farmers. Armia Krajowa field agents even managed to obtain pieces of the fired rockets, by arriving on the scene before German patrols. In early March 1944, British Intelligence Headquarters
received a report of a Armia Krajowa
agent (code name: ‘Makary’) who had covertly surveyed the Blizna railway line
and observed a freight car
heavily guarded by SS troops
containing ‘an object which, though covered by a tarpaulin, bore every resemblance to a monstrous torpedo’. Subsequently, a plan was formed to make an attempt to capture a whole unexploded V-2 rocket
and transport it to Britain. Around 20 May 1944, a relatively undamaged V-2 rocket fell on the swampy bank of the Bug River
near the village of Sarnaki and local Poles managed to hide it before German arrival. The rocket was then dismantled and smuggled across Poland. In late July 1944, the Polish resistance
(Home Army and V1 and V2
) secretly transported parts of the rocket out of Poland in Operation Most III
(Bridge III), for analysis by British intelligence.
In July 1944 the advance of Soviet troops
forced the base at Blizna to be evacuated and launch activities were moved to the Tuchola Forest
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the administrative district of Gmina Ostrów
Gmina Ostrów
Gmina Ostrów is a rural gmina in Ropczyce-Sędziszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. Its seat is the village of Ostrów, which lies approximately west of Ropczyce and west of the regional capital Rzeszów....
, within Ropczyce-Sędziszów County
Ropczyce-Sedziszów County
Ropczyce-Sędziszów County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is...
, Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Subcarpathian Voivodeship
Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...
, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) north of Ostrów
Ostrów, Ropczyce-Sedziszów County
Ostrów is a village in Ropczyce-Sędziszów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Ostrów. It lies approximately west of Ropczyce and west of the regional capital Rzeszów....
, 12 km (7 mi) north of Ropczyce
Ropczyce
Ropczyce is a town in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in south-eastern Poland, situated in the Valley the Wielopolka River and is inhabited by 15,098 people . It is the seat of Ropczyce-Sędziszów County.-Geography:...
, and 34 km (21 mi) north-west of the regional capital Rzeszów
Rzeszów
Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...
. It has a population of about 250.
History
From 5 November 1943 to early July 1944 there was an SSSchutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
near Blizna, from which 139 A4
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
(also known as V-2) rockets were launched for experimental purposes and for training. After the air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
on Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
on 17 August 1943 it was decided that the training and testing should be done in southeast Poland outside of the range of the Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
bombers. However test launches also continued at Peenemuende until 21 February 1945.
Because the rockets launched from Blizna - in contrast to the rockets launched from Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
- flew over a populated area, there was also some destruction of buildings. Wernher von Braun
Wernher von Braun
Wernher Magnus Maximilian, Freiherr von Braun was a German rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany during World War II and in the United States after that.A former member of the Nazi party,...
, a central figure in Germany's pre-war rocket development program, and post-war director of NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
, worked at the Blizna test site and personally visited the test missile impact areas to troubleshoot any problems discovered during trials.
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
thanks to reports from local farmers. Armia Krajowa field agents even managed to obtain pieces of the fired rockets, by arriving on the scene before German patrols. In early March 1944, British Intelligence Headquarters
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
received a report of a Armia Krajowa
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
agent (code name: ‘Makary’) who had covertly surveyed the Blizna railway line
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
and observed a freight car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
heavily guarded by SS troops
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
containing ‘an object which, though covered by a tarpaulin, bore every resemblance to a monstrous torpedo’. Subsequently, a plan was formed to make an attempt to capture a whole unexploded V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
and transport it to Britain. Around 20 May 1944, a relatively undamaged V-2 rocket fell on the swampy bank of the Bug River
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
near the village of Sarnaki and local Poles managed to hide it before German arrival. The rocket was then dismantled and smuggled across Poland. In late July 1944, the Polish resistance
Polish resistance movement in World War II
The Polish resistance movement in World War II, with the Home Army at its forefront, was the largest underground resistance in all of Nazi-occupied Europe, covering both German and Soviet zones of occupation. The Polish defence against the Nazi occupation was an important part of the European...
(Home Army and V1 and V2
Home Army and V1 and V2
Aside from the military operations, the Polish Armia Krajowa was also heavily involved in intelligence work, including work done with regard to the German "Wunderwaffe" - the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket...
) secretly transported parts of the rocket out of Poland in Operation Most III
Operation Most III
Operation Most III or Operation Wildhorn III was a World War II operation in which Poland's Armia Krajowa provided the Allies with crucial intelligence on the German V-2 rocket.-Background:...
(Bridge III), for analysis by British intelligence.
In July 1944 the advance of Soviet troops
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
forced the base at Blizna to be evacuated and launch activities were moved to the Tuchola Forest
Tuchola Forest
The Tuchola Forest is a large forest near the town of Tuchola in northern Poland, and lies between the Brda and Wda Rivers. It contains the Tuchola Forest National Park, which is at the core of the Tuchola Forest Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO in 2010.- Landscape :The area was formed...
.
See also
- List of V-2 test launches
- Rocket launch site
External links
- http://www.astronautix.com/sites/heilager.htm