[2] The Bumper program to produce and launch a two-stage combination of the V-2 and WAC Corporal rockets was conceived in July 1946 by Colonel Holger N.

In a typical flight, the V-2 engine would fire first, taking the Bumper combination to an altitude of 20 mi (32 km), at which point the WAC Corporal would be released under its own power.

This separation occurred before V-2 Brennschluss (engine cutoff) to ensure that the WAC Corporal had a stable, actively controlled platform to lift off from, and also so that the V-2 would impart close to maximum possible speed to the Bumper's second stage.

[4]: 235, 260 Engineering and limited scientific results (for instance, air resistance at high altitude determined by the rocket's trajectory)[4]: 259  would be obtained from the 25 lb (11 kg) telemetry payload carried by the WAC Corporal second stage.

[2] No German engineers were directly involved with Project Bumper, though some worked on the initial studies regarding the mating of the V-2 and WAC corporal.

[4]: 257–8 In 1949, the Joint Long Range Proving Ground was established at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the east coast of Florida, where the last two Bumper launches would take place.

As intended following V-2 thrust decay the WAC Corporal then fired for 40 seconds achieving only 3,286 mph, slightly over half the speed expected.

[8] Joint Long Range Proving Ground Commander Col. Harold R. Turner announced that the test was "a complete success in every way.

"[8] The myth that the Bumper program at the Cape was a success, when in fact there were significant failures of the missiles, has continued to this day.