Here is the historic first space image taken during a sub-orbital flight from an altitude of about 105 km. The photo was taken by the Americans in 1946, using one of the captured German Nazi V-2 missiles.
First photo from space
The photo was taken at an altitude of about 105 km (65 miles) by a 35mm camera mounted on the rocket. It was flight number 13. American scientists were testing the capabilities of German structures that were intercepted and brought to the United States. The rocket was launched into the sky on October 26, 1946 in New Mexico. Since the V-2 was originally designed for completely different purposes, the biggest problem was for the camera to survive falling to the ground. The rocket, after reaching its maximum height, began to fall back to the ground freely at a speed of about 150 m / s. Fortunately, however, a special casing protected the film that was extracted from the remains of the crashed rocket. Thus, the photo below passed into the history of mankind and the conquest of space. Never before has humanity looked at its planet from this height and from this perspective.
First photo from outer space - October 24, 1946 - Photo:U.S. Army
A better resolution photo (2048 × 1619) is available at this link.
One of the V-2 missiles intercepted by the Americans - July 1950 - Source:NOAA
V-2 Rockets
As already mentioned, one of the V-2 missiles captured by the Americans was used to take this historical photo. These constructions became famous during the last years of the war as the so-called Wunderwaffe. A modern type of weapon, which was to turn the tide of the war and bring the Germans the desired victory. Or at least to deliver an unexpected blow to the Allies that would stop the advance of their troops and give the German soldiers a moment of "breath" at the front. One of these weapons was to be ballistic missiles developed by a team led by Sturmbannführer-SS Wernher von Braun.
Wernher von Braun - May 1964 - Source:NASA
The mission of the rockets was simple to define. Hitting an opponent from a long distance. However, this weapon was used not against Allied soldiers, but mainly civilians - residents of the cities of Great Britain and Western Europe. Wernher von Braun and his "toys" were intercepted by the Americans and used as part of Operation Paperclip - Paperclip. For the construction of rockets that killed innocent people, von Braun did not receive a sentence, but a cooperation offer, which consisted in using his knowledge. You could say that weapons designed to kill people were now intended to serve a legitimate purpose of science and the conquest of space. This sentence, however, would be false and with a hint of propaganda, because behind everything was American industry and the army. They were the main beneficiaries of the development of missile weapons.