The Search for the Mysterious „V“
Seems the Odyssey gradually reaches its end. Two days ago, I could discover first traces of the „legend shrouded“ V2 in Muensterland. I was excited to get in touch with Mr. Schaten, who lives nearby Schoeppingen in a small city called Heek. Mr. Schaten guided me to the remains of a concrete launching platform, which has been left in a small forest called „Oer’scher Wald“.
It was a cold, but very clear winter morning, good to walk the normally muddy ground. The whole area is still carved with old trenches and ditches – on some rotting trunks frozen sulfur tufts (Hypholoma fasciculare) were gathering. It looked as if the mushrooms have absorbed the sulfur fall-out from the launching rockets. I also could find several bigger pits in the forest soil which apparently stem from removed platforms – or from crashed V2-rockets. (V2-crashes are reported from several eye witnesses in Western Muensterland)
In some previous postings I have already mention the peculiar history about the V2 in this area, which launching platforms draw a huge bow from south to west around the Schoeppingen Hill. (some details and related links about the „nazi wonder weapon“ and its impact on the „Space Race“ you can find further below at the „The Sputnik of Havixbeck“ posting.
If you are interested in such topics, I highly recommend two books: „V“ and „Gravity’s Rainbow“ by Thomas Pynchon. „V“ is the title of Pynchon’s first novel, which is concerning the quest of an aging traveller named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as „V.“ – The major portion of „Gravity’s Rainbow“ takes place in the final months of the Second World War in Europe. One of the most spectacular moments in the book is „Slothrop’s „rocket-dowsing“ penis anticipates the „Blitz bomb“ hits on London with a precision that confounds statistical probability.“ Also in the best-selling 2003 novel „The da Vinci Code“ of Dan Brown – and the related film (2006), the symbolic and mystery of „V“ plays a crucial part.
If you intend to visit this area sometime, here are the coordinates of the V2-platform in the „Oer’scher Wald“ (Oer’scher Forest): N52°7’30“ E7°5’32“(no guarantee can be given about the correctness of the results)
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