The Meilerwagen trailer was developed by the Peenemünde Army Research Center – Heeresversuchsanstalt Peenemünde – to transport and uplift the V2 rocket to it’s launchsite. The Meilerwagen was assembled by Italian and Russian prisoners of war from the concentration camp Rebstock, a subcamp from concentration camp Buchenwald. Its original manufacturer was the F. X. MEILLER Fahrzeug- und Maschinenfabrik.
The Meilerwagen had a length of 14,7 meters and 2,80 meters width, with camouflage setup it was a little wider and higher. The trailer had an hydraulic system to uprise the V2 rocket and carried some fuel and hoses for the rocket. Besides the V2 rocket it was used to launch the V4 Rheinbote a four-stage rocket.
Upon arrival the V2 Rocket could be raised, fueled and fired within 110 minutes. The use of this trailer with other support vehicles gave the Germans freedom of launch locations and gave the Allied a headache for locating and bombing these mobile launch sites was really hard, they needed lots of luck to just stumble upon an launch site during flight or had to receive short notice intel from local resistance groups.
The Germans named the operation, the use of mobile V2 Rocket launches, Operation Regenwurm (Operation earthworm). The operation was executed by the Division zur Vergeltung and started on 30 November 1944 and ended on 8 May 1945.
Of 200 maufactered units of the Meilerwagen only three confirmed trailers survive today.
