It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug, and in Germany as Kirschkern (cherry stone) or Maikäfer (maybug). The V1 was the first of the Vergeltungswaffen deployed for the terror bombing of London. It was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center in 1939 by the Luftwaffe at the beginning of the Second World War, and during initial development was known by the codename “Cherry Stone”. Because of its limited range, the thousands of V-1 missiles launched into England were fired from launch facilities along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts.
