{{For|the V-2 rocket launches that began in 1946 at this site, e.g., filmed from the rocket in November 1947,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/#q=White+Sands+rocket+launch+film|title = Google}}</ref> performed by the Broomstick Scientists in 1951, etc.|List of V-2 test launches#Launches of captured V-2 rockets in the USA after 1945{{!}}V-2 test launches in the USA}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = White Sands V-2 Launching Site<br />(Launch Complex 33) | nrhp_type = nhl | image = White Sands Missile Range, V-2 Rocket Facilities, Near Headquarters Area, White Sands vicinity (Dona Ana County, New Mexico).jpg | caption = V-2 rocket facilities | location= White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico | coordinates = {{coord|32|24|4|N|106|22|40|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = New Mexico#USA | area = {{convert|10|acre|ha}} | built = {{Start date|1945}} | builder = U.S. Army | architecture= | designated_nrhp_type = October 3, 1985 | added = October 3, 1985 | refnum=85003541<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> | designated_other1 = N.M. State Register of Cultural Properties | designated_other1_date = January 20, 1978 | designated_other1_number = [http://www.nmhistoricpreservation.org/assets/files/registers/2012%20Report_%20Section%203_%20Arranged%20by%20Number.pdf 580] | designated_other1_num_position = bottom }}
The '''White Sands V-2 Launching Site''', also known as '''Launch Complex 33''' and originally as '''Army Launch Area Number 1''', is an historic rocket launch complex at White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico. It was here that the United States first performed test launches of German V-2 rockets captured toward the end of World War II. These tests were the first step in both military advances in rocketry, and in the development of the United States space exploration programs. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1939&ResourceType=Site|title=White Sands V-2 Launching Site |access-date=2008-06-16|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710115429/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1939&ResourceType=Site|archive-date=July 10, 2014}}</ref><ref name="nhlnom">{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|85003541}}|title=NHL nomination for White Sands V-2 Launching Site|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=2017-04-16}}</ref>
==History== The Nazi German V-2 rocket was one of the most advanced weapons produced in World War II, and hundreds of them were launched at Allied targets in the last two years of the war. In the aftermath of the war, the United States launched Operation Paperclip, a secret program that successfully recruited German scientists and engineers (most prominently Wernher von Braun) to work for the American military, and transported 100 captured V-2 rockets to the recently established White Sands Missile Range. Between 1946 and 1951, the Army fired 67 V-2 sounding rockets from this site. These launches, and the training of a class of scientists and engineers, led directly to the further development of new rocket launch programs, including ultimately the launch of humans into space.<ref name="nhlnom"/>
==Site description== Launch Complex 33 is located near the far southern end of the White Sands Missile Range, east of Las Cruces, New Mexico. On the range grounds, it is located on {{convert|10|acre|ha}} east of the White Sands Range Museum. There are two principal surviving elements of the launch complex. One is the steel gantry, a steel structure {{convert|75|ft|m}} in height and {{convert|25|ft|m}} wide, from which the V-2s and later classes of rockets were launched. It has four platforms at different heights, which can be swung into position to accommodate rockets of different sizes, and a network of block-and-tackle systems to assist in rocket placement. The other structure is a concrete observation tower with walls {{convert|10|ft|m}} thick, and a pyramidal roof cap that consists of {{convert|27|ft|m}} of solid concrete. It has observation portals with specialized glass windows allowing for close observation of the launches.<ref name="nhlnom"/>
==See also== {{Portal|NRHP}} *National Register of Historic Places listings in Doña Ana County, New Mexico *List of National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{commonscat|Launch Complex 33}}
{{Spaceflight landmarks}} {{NHLs in NM}} {{National Register of Historic Places}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New Mexico Category:Military installations established in 1946 Category:Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico Category:Military history of New Mexico Category:National Historic Landmarks in New Mexico Category:National Register of Historic Places in Doña Ana County, New Mexico Category:Rocket launch sites in the United States Category:White Sands Missile Range Category:1946 establishments in New Mexico