Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Operation Sandy was the codename for the post-World War II launch of a captured V-2 rocket from the deck of the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Midway on September 6, 1947. It marked the first launch of a large rocket, and the only time for a V-2, from a ship at sea.
Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, was an early advocate of the concept. It was he who initiated Operation Sandy.
Preliminary testing was done at the White Sands Missile Range, using a simulated aircraft carrier deck. The V-2 to be used was assembled at White Sands. It was shipped across the country to the east coast and loaded aboard the Midway, then the largest carrier in the Navy and equipped with an armored flight deck. The aircraft carrier sailed to a point several hundred miles south of Bermuda for the launch.
After liftoff, the V-2 tilted at an angle and subsequently broke up at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m), disappointing the distinguished witnesses.
"USS Midway" (skfb.ly/owqES) by shangus930 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Satellite Launching Ship
Concept artwork, depicting an Essex or Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier converted for launching space satellites into orbits not readily accessible from launch sites in the United States.
The rocket shown is an "Atlas" type.
Image was received by the Naval Photographic Center on 12 December 1961.
Operation Sandy was the codename for the post-World War II launch of a captured V-2 rocket from the deck of the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Midway on September 6, 1947. It marked the first launch of a large rocket, and the only time for a V-2, from a ship at sea.
Rear Admiral Daniel V. Gallery, Assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, was an early advocate of the concept. It was he who initiated Operation Sandy.
Preliminary testing was done at the White Sands Missile Range, using a simulated aircraft carrier deck. The V-2 to be used was assembled at White Sands. It was shipped across the country to the east coast and loaded aboard the Midway, then the largest carrier in the Navy and equipped with an armored flight deck. The aircraft carrier sailed to a point several hundred miles south of Bermuda for the launch.
After liftoff, the V-2 tilted at an angle and subsequently broke up at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m), disappointing the distinguished witnesses.
"USS Midway" (skfb.ly/owqES) by shangus930 is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Satellite Launching Ship
Concept artwork, depicting an Essex or Ticonderoga class aircraft carrier converted for launching space satellites into orbits not readily accessible from launch sites in the United States.
The rocket shown is an "Atlas" type.
Image was received by the Naval Photographic Center on 12 December 1961.
