V-1 MISSILE

or flying bomb or buzz bomb

German missile of World War II. The forerunner of modern cruise missiles , it was about 25 ft (8 m) long and had a wingspan of about 18 ft (5.5 m).

It was launched from catapult ramps or sometimes from aircraft; it carried an explosive warhead of almost 1,900 lbs (850 kg) and had an average range of 150 mi (240 km). More than 8,000 V-1s were launched against London in 1944–45, and a smaller number against Belgium. See also V-2 missile .