Historical eventMay 101946

V-2 rocket

First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.

80th anniversary in 2026

Everything on May 10Original source

In context

When
Friday, May 10 194680 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1940s
Anniversary
80th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1946.

Type: missile model.

What came before

Part of: Aggregate.

What happened

The V-2 rocket, with the development name Aggregat-4 (A4), was the world's first practical, modern ballistic missile and suborbital launch vehicle. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the Second World War in Nazi Germany as a "vengeance weapon" and assigned to attack Allied cities as retaliation for the Allied bombings of German cities. After an altitude of 100 km was selected to define the edge of space,

May 10 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1946V-2 rocket
  2. 19971997 Qayen earthquake
  3. 2002Robert Hanssen
  4. 2005Vladimir Arutyunian
  5. 2005Grenade
  6. 2012Suicide attack
  7. 201210 May 2012 Damascus bombings
  8. 2013One World Trade Center
  9. 2017Syrian civil war
  10. 2022Elizabeth II
  11. 2024May 2024 solar storms

Also in 1946

  • October 22Operation OsoaviakhimOver twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their famil…
  • July 5Bikini AtollNamed after Bikini Atoll, the site of the nuclear-weapons test Operation Crossroads in the Marshall Islands, the modern bikini was introd…
  • October 271946 Bihar riotsInter-religious riots in which Hindu mobs targeted Muslim families began in the Indian state of Bihar, resulting in 2,000 to 30,000 deaths.
  • May 1Pilbara strikeStart of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
  • July 22King David Hotel bombingKing David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil admin…
  • December 26Bugsy SiegelAmerican gangster Bugsy Siegel opened The Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the oldest casino still in operation on the Las Vegas Strip.
  • June 21946 Italian institutional referendumBirth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King U…
  • August 7Turkish StraitsThe Soviet Union informed Turkey that the way in which the latter was handling the Turkish Straits no longer represented the security int…

Everything we record for 1946 →

Sources

Cite this page

“V-2 rocket”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/v-2-rocket-1946-may-10, accessed October 24, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did V-2 rocket happen?

May 10 1946 — 80 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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