Britain at war January 2012 Issue 57 : article about Paul Leva 350 Squadron

TIPPING THE BALANCE

Hitler's vengeance weapon, the V-1, flew at 400 miles per hour, as quick as the latest RAF fighters. Trying to intercept and shoot down such fast-moving objects was proving difficult for the RAF pilots detailed to defend Britain's skies. Yet, in theory, if the flying-bomb's gyroscopic guidance system could be disturbed the V-1 might crash to the ground. On 20 August 1944, a Belgian pilot put the theory to the test for the very first time.