What was the importance of the town of Peenemunde in World War II?

Peenemunde is a town on the
Baltic Sea which housed important German army and Luftwaffe bases during World War II.
Located on the Peene River on the island of Usedom, the town included
Peenemunde Air Field and the Peenemunde Army
Research Center, of which Werner von Braun was the chief director. The
development and testing of the V-1, V-2 and V-3 rockets were begun in Peenemunde, as
well as other experimental German aircraft, such
as

• the Wasserfall, Schmetterling, Rheintochter,
  Taifun, and Enzian missiles


• the Messerschmitt Me 163
  rocket-powered fighter


• the Heinkel He
  176

Peenemunde was the target of
Operation Hydra (part of Operation Crossbow)
in which British bombers made a series of raids against a suspected hydrogen peroxide
plant in 1943. Peenemunde also featured a plant that produced liquid oxygen, and
an experimental supersonic wind tunnel. The town was captured by the Soviets in May
1945.