A-9/A-10

The Aggregat-9/Aggregat-10 "A-9/A-10" was the world's first ICBM (InterContinental Ballistic Missile). The A-9/A-10 was a two-stage rocket, the A-10 served as the first (lower) stage of the rocket while the A-9 served as the second (upper) stage. The A-9 had a length of 14.18 m (46.5 ft), a maximum speed of 3,400 m/s (7,605 mph), a range of 805 km (500 miles), a top altitude of 190 km (118 miles) in single flight or 390 km (242 miles) when launched from the A-10, and a payload of 998 kg (2,200 pound). The A-9/A-10 was developed under Project Amerika in order to be able to bomb American cities (the A-9/A-10 was capable of reaching New York, if launched from the west of France), work on the rocket began in 1940 then postponed in 1942 and again resumed in 1944, the A-9/A-10 never entered service it was only tested. However the staging technique was a revolution in rocket science and the only technique to produce long range rockets, in our days this technique is used in ICBMs and spacecrafts.