https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163_Komet
The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German
rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft
ever to have been operational and the first piloted aircraft of any type to
exceed 1000 km/h (621 mph) in level flight. Its design was revolutionary and its
performance unprecedented. German test pilot Heini Dittmar in early July 1944
reached 1,130 km/h (700 mph), an unofficial flight airspeed record unmatched by
turbojet-powered aircraft for almost a decade. Over 300 aircraft were built, but
the Komet proved ineffective in its dedicated role as an interceptor aircraft
and was responsible for the destruction of only about nine to eighteen Allied
aircraft against ten losses.
In the Me 163B and -C subtypes, a windmill generator on the extreme nose of the
fuselage, and the backup lead-acid battery inside the fuselage that it charged,
provided the electrical power for the radio, the Revi16B, -C, or -D reflector
gunsight, the direction finder, the compass, the firing circuits of the cannon,
and some of the lighting in the cockpit instrumentation.
There was an onboard lead/acid battery, but its capacity was limited, as was its
endurance, no more than 10 minutes, hence the fitted generator.
The airspeed indicator averaged readings from two sources: the pitot tube on the
leading edge of the port wing, and a small pitot inlet in the nose, just above
the top edge of the underskid channel. There was a further tapping-off of
pressure-ducted air from the pitot tube which also provided the rate of climb
indicator with its source.
Me 163A
May 1941. By 2 October 1941, the Me 163A V4, bearing the radio call sign
letters, or Stammkennzeichen, "KE+SW", set a new world speed record of 1,004.5
km/h (624.2 mph), piloted by Heini Dittmar, with no apparent damage to the
aircraft during the attempt. Some postwar aviation history publications stated
that the Me 163A V3 was thought to have set the record.
The 1,004 km/h record figure would not be officially approached until the
postwar period by the new jet fighters of the British and U.S., and was not
surpassed (except by the later Me 163B V18 in 1944, but seriously damaged by the
attempt) until the American Douglas Skystreak turbojet-powered research aircraft
did so on 20 August 1947 with no damage. Five prototype Me 163A V-series
aircraft were built, adding to the original DFS 194 (V1), followed by eight
pre-production examples designated as "Me 163 A-0".
During flight testing, the superior gliding capability of the Komet proved
detrimental to safe landing. As the now un-powered aircraft completed its final
descent, it could rise back into the air with the slightest updraft. Since the
approach was unpowered, there was no opportunity to make another landing pass.
For production models, a set of landing flaps allowed somewhat more controlled
landings. This issue remained a problem throughout the program. Nevertheless,
the overall performance was tremendous, and plans were made to put Me 163
squadrons all over Germany in 40-kilometre rings (25 mi) around any potential
target. Development of an operational version was given the highest priority.
Me 163B
Design work on an upgraded design began in December 1941. A simplified
construction format for the airframe was deemed necessary, as the Me 163A
version was not truly optimized for large-scale production. The result was the
Me 163B subtype, which had the desired, more mass-producible fuselage, wing
panel, retractable landing skid and tailwheel designs with the previously
mentioned unsprung "dolly" takeoff gear, and a generally one-piece conical nose
for the forward fuselage which could incorporate a "windmill" generator for
supplementary electrical power while in flight, as well as a one-piece,
perimeter frame-only hinged canopy for ease of production.
Role
Interceptor
Manufacturer
Messerschmitt
First flight
Me 163A V4 on 1 September 1941
Introduction
1944
Primary user
Luftwaffe
Number built
~370
The initial test deployment of the Me 163A, to acquaint prospective pilots with
the world's first rocket-powered fighter, occurred with Erprobungskommando 16,
receiving their eight A-model service test aircraft by July 1943. Their initial
field, then departed permanently following an RAF bombing raid on the area on 17
August 1943. The next day the unit moved out, southwards to the base at Anklam,
near the Baltic coast. Their stay was brief, as a few weeks later they were
placed in northwest Germany, based at the military airfield at Bad Zwischenahn
(at
their first B-series armed Komets in January 1944, and was ready for action by
May while at Bad Zwischenahn, first seeing combat flights on the 13th of the
month.
As EK 16 commenced small-scale combat operations with the Me 163B in May 1944,
the Me 163B's unsurpassed velocity was something that the Allied fighter pilots
were at a loss to counter. The Komets attacked singly or in pairs, often even
faster than the intercepting fighters could dive. A typical Me 163 tactic was to
fly vertically upward through the bombers flying at 9,000 m (30,000 ft), rise up
formation again firing as they went. 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 were prepared for pilots, as gas in the gastrointestinal tract
would expand rapidly during ascent.
Flying the Me 163
Captain Eric Brown RN, Chief Naval Test Pilot and commanding officer of the
Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight, who tested the Me 163 at the Royal Aircraft
Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough, said, "The Me 163 was an aeroplane that you
could not afford to just step into the aircraft and say 'You know, I'm going to
fly it to the limit.' You had very much to familiarise yourself with it because
it was state-of-the-art and the technology used." Acting unofficially, after a
spate of accidents involving Allied personnel flying captured German aircraft
resulted in official disapproval of such flights, Brown was determined to fly a
powered Komet. On around 17 May 1945, he flew an Me 163B at Husum with the help
of a cooperative German ground crew, after initial towed flights in an Me 163A
to familiarise himself with the handling.
The day before the flight, Brown and his ground crew had performed an engine run
on the chosen Me 163B to ensure that everything was running correctly, the
German crew being apprehensive should an accident befall Brown, until being
given a disclaimer signed by him to the effect that they were acting under his
orders. On the rocket-powered "scharfen-start" takeoff the next day, after
dropping the takeoff dolly and retracting the skid, Brown later described the
resultant climb as "like being in charge of a runaway train", the aircraft
reaching 32,000 ft (9.76 km) altitude in 2 minutes, 45 seconds. During the
flight, while practicing attacking passes at an imaginary bomber, he was
surprised at how well the Komet accelerated in the dive with the engine shut
down. When the flight was over Brown had no problems on the approach to the
airfield, apart from the rather restricted view from the cockpit due to the flat
angle of glide, the aircraft touching down at 200 km/h (120 mph). Once down
safely, Brown and his much-relieved ground crew celebrated with a drink.
Beyond Brown's unauthorised flight, the British never tested the Me 163 under
power themselves; due to the danger of its hypergolic propellants it was only
flown unpowered. Brown himself piloted RAE's Komet VF241 on a number of
occasions, the rocket motor being replaced with test instrumentation. When
interviewed for a 1990s television programme, Brown said he had flown five
tailless aircraft in his career (including the British de Havilland DH 108).
Referring to the Komet, he said "this is the only one that had good flight
characteristics"; he called the other four "killers".
Specifications: Me 163 B-1
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 5.98 m (19 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.33 m (30 ft 7 in)
Height: 2.75 m (9 ft 0 in)
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)
Performance
Maximum speed: 959 km/h (596 mph)
Range: 40 km (25 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,100 m (39,700 ft)
Rate of climb: 50 metres per second (9,800 ft/min) at 1000 meters; 160 metres
per second (31,000 ft/min) at 12000m.
Thrust/weight: 0.42
Armament
*
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