1953 Mills : Propelled Weapons

The Propelled Weapons card series was issued in 1953 by Amalgamated Tobacco Corporation, Ltd. of Luton, England. One card was included with each pack of Mills "Superior Cigarettes." The illustrated 25-card series showcases the history of projectile weapons from a stone sling to the "Little Boy" atomic bomb.

The tobacco series includes the German Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V-2) guided missile, originally designated as Aggregat 4 (A-4). The weapon was developed under the direction of Wehrner von Braun at the Peenemünde Army Research Center.

A-4 MW 18014 is the first object launched into sub-orbital space. On June 20, 1944, A-4 MW 18014 was fired from Peenemünde to an apogee of 109 miles (176 km). Germany launched the first V-2 attacks to reach Paris and London on September 8, 1944.

From 1945–1951, General Electric constructed 67 rockets from captured German V-2 components. The first American space launch was conducted at White Sands on May 10, 1946. Hermes V-2 No. 3 was fired to an apogee of 70 miles (112.7 km). The first animals in space were fruit flies placed inside the nose cone of Hermes V-2 No. 20. The Blossom 1 biological experiment was launched from White Sands on February 20, 1947.