' Wunderwaffe ' ( for Phil, Rob and all who asked) by neiwil
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Description
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was designed by Alexander Lippisch, it is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have seen operational deployment. Its design was revolutionary, and the Me 163 was capable of performance unrivaled at the time. In 1944 Messerschmitt test pilot Rudy Opitz reached 1,123 km/h (698 mph). Over 300 Me 163's were delivered, but fuel shortages kept the vast majority on the ground.
Active combat operations began in May 1944, although on a small scale. 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), rise up to an altitude of 10,700–12,000 m (35,100–39,000 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.
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 were prepared for pilots, as gas in the gastrointestinal tract would expand rapidly during ascent.
The first Me 163 combat wing, (Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400) ), based at Brandis near Leipzig, was to provide additional protection for the Leuna synthetic gasoline works which were raided particularly heavily and frequently at the end of 1944. A further group was stationed at Stargard near Stettin to protect the large synthetic plant at Pölitz (today Police, Poland). Further defensive units of rocket fighters were planned for Berlin, the Ruhr and the German Bight.
The first actions involving the Me 163 occurred at the end of July, when two USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress were attacked without confirmed kills. Combat operations continued til spring 1945, during this time, there were nine confirmed kills with 14 Me 163s lost. Feldwebel Siegfried Schubert was the most successful Me 163 pilot, with three bombers to his credit.
Allied fighter pilots soon noted the short duration of the powered flight. They would wait, and when the engine died they would pounce on the unpowered Komet. However, the Komet was extremely manoeuvrable and could pull out of a turn much later than any Allied fighter. Another Allied tactic was to attack the fields the Komets operated from, and strafe them after the Me 163s landed.Establishing a defensive perimeter of anti-aircraft guns quickly ensured that Allied fighters avoided these bases. At the end of 1944, 91 aircraft had been delivered to JG 400 but still a continuous lack of fuel had kept most of them grounded. It was clear that the original plan for a huge network of Me 163 bases was never going to happen. Up to that point, JG 400 had lost only six aircraft due to enemy actions.Eight were lost to other causes, a remarkably low number for such a revolutionary and technically advanced aircraft. In the last days of the Third Reich the Me 163 was given up in favour of the more successful and threatening Me 262. In May 1945, Me 163 operations were stopped, JG 400 was disbanded, and many of it's pilots sent to fly Me 262s.
In any operational sense, the Komet was a complete failure, although they shot down 16 aircraft in total, mainly expensive four-engined bombers, this did not warrant the amount of vital resources poured into the project.
At the end of the war, the Komets designer Alexander Lippisch was 'relocated' to America under Project Paperclip. He went on to design delta-winged supersonic aircraft for the Convair Corporation.
Tomorrow, "More speed"....
Comments (31)
ollienorthie
outstandig. Great render and great history.
preeder
I agree "OUTSTANDING" and as always the write-up you provide only adds to the enjoyment one gets from the picture. Keep the German X-Planes coming mate - "PLEASE".
flavia49
astonishing picture!
Richardphotos
excellent render and models
bmac62
Outstanding modeling, action and historical write-up Neil. It is a good thing these flights were of short duration...both for the physical well being of the pilot and for the survival of our big, slow bombers. I've seen two of the remaining twelve...one in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio and the other near home here at the Flying Heritage Collection. Great job.
peedy
Fantastic! Corrie
warder348
Wow, excellent render and the story is topnotch as usual!!
debbielove
I bow before you O master! You are the one!!!!!! This is BRILLIANT! It Rocks! And that's the Render... The info that goes with it is stunning in its depth.. Wonderful mate.. I look forward to more.. From you and anyone else who wants a bash! I plan a 'better Effort' myself! Fave of course.. Will this be available in the store? Rob
dixievb
AMAZING! And huge thanx for the explain!
Maxidyne
Totally awesome rendering mate! Remember reading up on these as a kid and although it must have been an experience like no other speed wise for the pilot chances of a safe landing must have been pretty remote. Just waiting for the postie to deliver Vue so I can have a crack at some of these.
steelrazer
Nice action! Very nice dismantling of the Liberator's wing. This is a good one Neil! I especially like the fireball. Great job.
UVDan
Wonderful explosion!
Osper
Nice job on the Lib! Nice job overall!
android65mar
Another aspect of world war two I wasn't aware of. Rocket powered jet fighters, what next- Nazi flying saucers?
T.Rex
Darn, Neil! Where did you get that photograph! You've out-done yourself again. The wing explosion is fantastic! Not to mention textures and lighting. I guess Bill and Rob have said it all, but please accept my accolades, too! I'm saving this page. Looking eagerly foreward to your next work of art and fantastic history lesson. I've learned more about the Me 163 than I've known before. Great class room, great teacher! And that's coming from an old, experienced teacher. Cheers! Nazi flying saucer (android65mar)? They had something like it on the drawing board, probably inspired by the foo-fighters seen over Germany. Cheers again! :-)
gorgnosh
Very nice! I just watched a documentary interview with Hanna Reitsch, the woman who was one of the test pilots for the Me 163. Fascinating. You can find it on YouTube, in 3 parts (Hanna Reitsch - The Last Interview). She also talks about some other planes.
fly028
Fantastic image, superbly done! All is already said...great, great work!!!
Tamarrion
Excellent action scene! The crew of the bomber are still probably wondering what the heck happened. I've seen the one on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Quite the machine!
auntietk
The angles you've accomplished here make it look sleek and fast ... just right! Excellent work, my friend.
jac204
This brings to mind an often seen clip where a bomber wing is severed like that. Must have been very difficult if not impossible for the crew to escape. Thanks for the image and historical account.
Tholian
Yep! A real pleasure to fly as long as you didn't get poisoned by the toxic and hypergolic fuel (it could explode just from the fuel getting a whiff of the oxidizer... fun!) It was almost impossible to land because of it's glider roots. But it did set speed records that were not beaten until 1957. Interesting image and article.
Penters
another great pic and unit history. I did'nt realise thier losses were that low.
dbrv6
Excellent write up and render!
coyoteviper
Oh, the agony! One of my favorite planes has been de-winged. Awesome work, but then, that's no surprise
Briney
Mmm, hardly a failure, it allowed the designer to strut his stuff for his future employer? And Hitler met all the expenses??? The conspiracy theorists might speculate that all these engineers building "wonderweapons" were already with the Allies in their heart of hearts... helping to choke Nazi production lines with magical ahem "toys..."? Albeit rather deadly machines for anyone getting in the way...
danapommet
Super render Neil and Bill is spot on about the timing of this aircraft.
shamstar
One of the things I read was that the speed and vibration of the Komet was such that they made a poor gun platform but, if they hit, they did fearsome damage. Great effects on the kill shot.
kjer_99
Great illustration, Neil!
MacMyers
Very Nice Image. Hope I get that good some day!
junge1
Great render and great information.