A Glossop engineer was having a hands-on experience with a Nazi guided missile that could have helped Germany win the Second World War.
Ron Collier from Elm Grove, Simmondley, had come across the remains of many war planes scattered on the Peak District moors.
He had published a series of books full of pictures of the wrecks and stories of the crews who died in them.
But until the first few days of 1983 he had never come across a weapon with the explosive potential to maim and kill.
The opportunity came when a German X7 guided rocket arrived at Collier’s Garage in Dukinfield, which Ron managed.
The missile was going on show at Manchester Air and Space Museum and Ron had the job of cleaning and refurbishing it.
He told the Chronicle: “The German army wanted something more powerful than the ordinary anti-tank weapons they had.
“They were not stopping the Russian tanks well enough on the Eastern Front.
“The X7 was launched on a ramp and guided by radio to its target by an operator using a joystick.”
Brought from Germany and made safe, the rocket was housed in the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon before going on loan in Manchester.
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