The V1 rocket was invented and manufactured by Germany during World War II. Prior to the start out of World War II, the German forces had invested little money into the development and research of rockets.  After WWII broke out, the Germans became heavily interested in liquid fuel rockets. The German Army and Air Force soon set up a cooperative research center in order to develop and test such rockets. 

    This research centre came to be called the “Peenemunde Research Centre” because it was located near a village called Peenemunde on the Baltic Island of Usedom.   Many different types of rockets were developed and tested at the “Centre” but only two went into mass production (the V1 and V2 rockets).  Both the V1 and V2 rockets were manufactured heavily between 1938 and 1944.  The rockets were named using the letter “V” because  the letter “V” stood for "Vergeltungswaffe" (vengeance weapon); the rockets were to be used to get revenge for the Allied air invasion on Germany.

    However, the name of this rocket was not always V1. During the development and manufacturing the V1-Rocket, was known as the Fieseler 103, or Fi-103.  It also went by the  code name of Kirschkern (cherry pit) and was called the Krahe (crow) by the soldiers who used it.