Us Official Photographs

P-38 Lightnings over Germany

1st Lt. Charles M. Crane, 24, of Methuen, Mass., and 1st Lt. Donald A. Schultz of Salinas, Cal., were 30,000 feet over Germany, in their P-38 Lightning reconnaissance planes when they noticed a strange object shooting towards them from the ground below: Before either could contact the other by radio the V-2 rocket, which they claimed was approximately 5 feet in diameter and 50 feet long, flashed by within 100 yards, trailing 30 feet of flame. Lt. Crane rocked his plane back on its trail to take this picture with his nose camera. In the upper corner is the webby contrail made by the rocket while in the lower right corner is Lt. Schultz's plane. They said the rocket disappeared in the sky 30,000 feet above them within 4 seconds after it zoomed by.