This rare photograph from the early 1940s documents one of the greatest military secrets of the Third Reich. The photo depicts the centerpiece of the Aggregat 4, also known as V2 (Vergeltungswaffe). The red stamp on the verso gives explicit instructions on how to handle this "state secret". The photograph was to be given "only from person to person under full responsibility of the user". The Aggregat 4 was the world's first long-range ballistic missile. The liquid-propelled rocket was developed under the directon of Werner von Braun during WWII in Germany and the allies were extremely interested in the rocket design and technical details. Finally in May 1944, the Polish Home Army managed to secure a crashed rocket and handed it over to the Americans under dangerous circumstances.
