Messerschmitt 163B-1a Komet by flavia49

Photography • Aviation • posted on Jun 24, 2009

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Description

This is dedicated to all Aviation fanatics!! Canada Aviation Museum Me 163 B, Werknummer 191659 (AM215) or 191914 (AM220), is held at the Canada Aviation Museum, Ottawa. This aircraft was part of JG 400 and captured at Husum. It was shipped to Canada in 1946. Werknummer 19116 (but more probable 191916) and 191095 (AM211) also seem to have been held at one time in this museum. The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft to date. Although revolutionary and capable of performance unrivaled at the time, it proved ineffective as a fighter and resulted in the destruction of very few Allied aircraft. Operations began in 1944. As expected, the aircraft was extremely fast, and for a time the Allied fighters were at a complete loss as what to do about it. Singly or in pairs, the Komets attacked, often faster than the opposing fighters could dive in an attempt to intercept them. A typical Me 163 tactic was to zoom through the bomber formations at 9,000 m (30,000 ft), up to an altitude of 10,700-12,000 m (35,000–40,000 ft), then dive through the formation again. This approach afforded the pilot two brief chances to fire a few rounds from his cannons before gliding back to his airfield. The pilots reported that it was possible to make four passes on a bomber, but only if it was flying alone. As the cockpit was unpressurized, the operational ceiling was limited by what the pilot could endure for several minutes while breathing oxygen from a mask, without losing consciousness. Pilots underwent altitude chamber training to harden them against the rigors of operating in the thin air of the stratosphere without a pressure suit. Special low-fiber diets also had to be prepared for pilots as any gas in the gastrointestinal tract would expand rapidly as the aircraft rocketed toward the high-flying bomber formations. One fighter wing, Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400), commanded by Major Wolfgang Späte, was equipped with the craft in two groups, with the mission of defending synthetic gasoline installations during May 1944. First actions occurred at the end of July, attacking two USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress bombers without confirmed kills and continuing in combat from May 1944 to spring 1945. During this time, there were nine confirmed kills with 14 lost. Allied fighter pilots quickly noted the short lifetime of the powered flight. They would wait it out, and as soon as the engine went dead they would pounce on the unpowered, gliding Komet. At the end of 1944, 91 aircraft had been delivered to JG 400 but a continuous lack of fuel had kept most of them grounded. In May 1945, Me 163 operations were stopped.(Wikipedia) Crew: 1 Length: 5.70 m (18 ft 8 in) Wingspan: 9.33 m (30 ft 7 in) Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in) Wing area: 18.5 m² (200 ft²) Empty weight: 1,905 kg (4,200 lb) Loaded weight: 3,950 kg (8,710 lb) Max takeoff weight: 4,310 kg (9,500 lb) Powerplant: 1× Walter HWK 109-509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket, 17 kN (3,800 lbf) Maximum speed: 960 km/h (Mach 0.83) (596 mph) Range: 40 km (25 mi) Service ceiling: 12,100 m (39,700 ft) Rate of climb: 60 m/s[25] (525 ft/s) Wing loading: 213 kg/m² (43 lb/ft²) Thrust/weight: 0.42 Armament Guns: *2 × 30 mm (1.18 in) Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 cannons (60 rpg) The new episode of Canals of New Mars Adventures is taking off ;-D!

Comments (46)

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Faemike55

9:29PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Cool photos and wonderful information! I looked at the tiny props and tried to imagine them pulling this plane along at any speed.... Thank you

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brycek

9:41PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Wonderful captures and info!!

Tamarrion

9:49PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Excellent! Thanks for sharing. I've been to that museum a couple of times, and those that Komet looked familiar :) A bit of additional info: The Komet had no landing gear. The trolly it is sitting on was only used for takeoff, and remained on the ground. The aircraft itself landed on it's thick "keel". Not sure but I suspect the little propellor on the nose was likely for an on-board generator.

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Richardphotos

9:53PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

first time to see a picture of this out of a book.excellent shots.

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danapommet

9:57PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Fabulous collage and learned a bunch of new information about this plane. Thanks for the great narrative. Dana

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NoobasaurUS

10:14PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Expert background and photos!!! Very thorough and interesting!!!!! Glad to see and hear you are having great fun in Canada!!!! Looking forward to the next installment!!!!!! Bravo!!!!!

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MOSKETON

10:27PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

preciosas imagenes.

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Sea_Dog

10:36PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Very interesting narrative and images.

West_coaster07

10:37PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Fantastic capture!

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Darkwish

11:13PM | Wed, 24 June 2009

Cool shots!

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Minda

12:04AM | Thu, 25 June 2009

amazing work and great info..

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Thetis

12:27AM | Thu, 25 June 2009

fabulous captures and interesting infos! I remember that in the fifties Messerschmidt built funny little cars, in which two people had to sit one behind each other, the Kabinenroller. they looked like pilot cabins turned into a car. and the steering wheel looked like a crooked bycicle handle bar.

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pops

1:27AM | Thu, 25 June 2009

Awesome photos and plane

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bmac62

2:36AM | Thu, 25 June 2009

The low fiber diet requirement must have been extremely important. Big time gas pains could sure divert your attention from being an effective fighter pilot:-) Glad you posted this. Hope you two are having the time of your lives! Oh, Dayton has one of these on display too.

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