V2 rocket
Poison gas was the terrifying weapon of World War 1. The V1 Flying Bomb and V2 Rocket were the terrifying weapons of WW2.
The V2 rocket, considered the forerunner of all space capable rockets, only had a payload capacity of 2,200 pounds. The Saturn 5 rocket that sent men to the moon had a payload capacity of 260,000 lbs.
The V2 was developed by the Germans during WWII to bomb England. The V2 was unmanned, and it did not achieve orbit. The Ares-1 is the United States next manned launch vehicle, and is supposed to replace the space shuttle in the next few years. Ares-1 is currently in the development phase. Unlike the V2, Ares-1 is manned and is launched into orbit. Ares-1 uses much more advanced technology, and is used for space exploration, not as a weapon. It is also much larger and can carry more payload.
A SLBM can deliver its payload(s) in that time frame.
A weapon payload put on a missile. The payload contents can be anything destructive: conventional explosive, nuclear explosive, incendiary, chemical poison, biological, radiological, etc.
The first missile that could carry a military payload was the V2, made by Werner von Braun, working for the Third Reich.
In World War 2 the Germans introduced the V2 rocket, a terrifying new offensive weapon. In WW1 poison gas was considered the most terrifying weapon.
Deployable Rockets designed to carry a munitions payload would be Germany. With the V1 and V2 missiles.
Land: King tiger Air: Me 262 Missile: V2
The US created the atomic bomb, which ended the war but it was a group effort. the best practical weapon would be Germany's V2 up until that point.
Germany's A4/V2 rocket reached altitudes of between 52 and 60 miles.