Messerschmitt 163 Komet

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (Comet) was a single-seat interceptor that operated from 1944 to 1945. It was also the fastest and one of the most radical airplanes of the war. In 1938 Professor Alex Lippisch headed a project that produced the DFS 194 rocket test aircraft, which became the predecessor of Me 163. Lippisch was transferred to Messerschmitt in 1939 and the project transformed into one for a combat aircraft. In August 1943 a prototype Komet was finished, powered by the 1,705kg thrust of a Walter HWK 109-509 rocket. The Me 163B was a small tailless aircraft that took off from a trolley and landrf on a sprung skid. Sitting in a pressurized cockpit in the nose, the pilot could fire two 30mm MK 208 cannon in the wing roots. Later in the war the Me 163B's were equipped with 24 R4/M rockets which could shoot down a B-17 Flying Fortress with a single hit.           The Me 163 was a delightful combination of beautiful handling and unprecedented performance. In just over 2.5 minutes the Komet could climb steeply to 9,144m and then either intercept the bombers or glide for long periods to wait for the bomber formations. It was elusive and extremely difficult to catch; casualties usually resulted not from hostile actions but explosions and collisions on landing, when the two volatile and highly reactive rocket fuels were mixed together as the skid sustained the plane's weight during landing. Late models were equipped with a pressure cabin, a small auxiliary rocket for cruising, extra fuel tanks and a bubble canopy for all-round vision.

	Technical data and/or diagram of Messerschmitt Me 163.
	Dicta Bölcke: the golden rules for all the successful German fighter aces.
	An Me 163 on runway.
	A surviving Me 163B-1A on its trolley.
	An Me 163 during test flight.
	Another view of the Me 163. Notice the small opening of the rocket engine.

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