Science Art: Storage and Launching of A.4. Rocket Projectile, 1940s.

from https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000453637/
from https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000453637/

from https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000453637/Click to embiggen

This is how Allied intelligence pictured German V2 rockets being used during World War II. A decade and a half later, this was how we put things (and, eventually, people) into space.

Image from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.