Guy Walters - Stealing Hitler's Rocket

Historian and bestselling author Guy Walters brings to life one of the most dramatic and little-known stories of the Second World War in Stealing Hitler's Rocket.As Nazi Germany collapsed in 1945, a secret race began among the Allies to seize the revolutionary V2 rocket - the world's first ballistic missile, standing as tall as a four-storey building - along with the scientists and knowledge behind it.

While the American programme is well known, Walters reveals the crucial and often overlooked role played by Britain in capturing, testing and understanding this extraordinary technology.At the heart of the story is Operation Backfire, when British teams painstakingly reconstructed and launched V2 rockets from the ruins of Germany, unlocking secrets that would shape the future of warfare, the Cold War, and even the space age.

Drawing on vivid accounts and meticulous research, Walters explores not only the technological breakthrough but also the moral complexities of exploiting innovations born from war and human suffering.Walters will discuss the gripping story behind Stealing Hitler's Rocket, shedding new light on Britain's part in the origins of modern rocketry and the geopolitical struggles that followed.