Messerschmitt Me 163B - WalkAround

Messerschmitt mig 163B
Land	Tyskland
Rolle	Raketdrevne kampfly
Første flyvning	1. september 1941
Bygget	370

Den Messerschmitt mig 163 komet var et tysk raketdrevet jagerfly. Det er designet af Alexander Lippisch og er det eneste raketdrevne jagerfly, der nogensinde har været operationelt, og det første piloterede fly af nogen type, der overskrider 1000 km/t (621 mph) i vandret flyvning. Dens design var revolutionerende og dens ydeevne uden fortilfælde. Den tyske testpilot Heini Dittmar nåede i begyndelsen af juli 1944 1.130 km/t, en uofficiel flyvehastighedsrekord, der ikke har været overgået af turbojetdrevne fly i næsten et årti. Over 300 fly blev bygget, men Komet viste sig at være ineffektiv i sin dedikerede rolle som interceptorfly og var kun ansvarlig for ødelæggelsen af omkring ni til atten allierede fly mod ti tab. Bortset fra tab i kamp blev mange piloter dræbt under test og træning

Kilde: Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet på Wikipedia

Messerschmitt mig 163 være komet gå rundt
Fotograf	John Dælen
Lokalisering	Nationalmuseet for USAF
Billeder	23

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A Flying Bomb in the Service of the Reich

Den Messerschmitt mig 163B Komet was arguably the most radical combat aircraft of World War II. Designed by Alexander Lippisch as a tailless, swept-wing interceptor, it utilized a liquid-fuel rocket motor to reach speeds and climb rates that were decades ahead of its time. However, this performance came at a terrifying cost. The Komet was as dangerous to its pilots and ground crews as it was to the Allied bombers it hunted, earning a reputation as a “suicide machine” due to its highly volatile fuels and treacherous landing characteristics.

Attribute	Technical Specification (Me 163B-1)
Rolle	Point-Defense Rocket Interceptor
Besætning	1 (Pilot)
Motor	1 × Walter HWK 109-509A-2 liquid-fuel rocket
Maximum Speed	960 km/h (596 mph) — Mach 0.83
Climb Rate	Initial: 81 m/s (16,000 ft/min)
Endurance	7.5 to 8 minutes of powered flight
Bevæbning	2 × 30mm MK 108 cannons (60 rounds per gun)
Landing Gear	Jettisonable takeoff dolly / Retractable landing skid

Design Engineering: Chemistry vs. Aerodynamics

The Hypergolic Nightmare: The Komet was powered by T-Stoff (hydrogen peroxide) and C-Stoff (hydrazine hydrate and methanol). These two chemicals were hypergolic, meaning they exploded instantly upon contact. A single drop of one in the other’s tank would destroy the aircraft. They were so corrosive that pilots had to wear special non-organic protective suits to prevent being dissolved alive in the event of a leak.
Tailless Swept Wings: To minimize drag at high subsonic speeds, the Komet lacked a horizontal stabilizer (tail). Its swept wings provided both lift and control, making it exceptionally stable in high-speed dives but notoriously difficult to land because it simply “wanted to keep flying.”
The Two-Part Landing: To save weight, the Komet took off on a two-wheeled “dolly” that was jettisoned once airborne. After exhausting its fuel, the pilot had to glide back and land on a retractable belly skid. If the skid failed to deploy or the landing was too hard, the impact could slosh remaining fuel together, resulting in a fatal explosion.
Nose-Cone Generator: Since the rocket engine produced no electrical power, the Komet featured a tiny wooden propeller on its nose. This “rat” (Ram Air Turbine) spun in the slipstream to power the aircraft’s radio and flight instruments.

Combat History: Seven Minutes of Terror

The Vertical Intercept: A typical Komet mission lasted less than ten minutes. The pilot would blast off the runway at a 70-degree angle, reaching 30,000 feet in under four minutes. They would then dive through the bomber formation at nearly 600 mph, giving them only a fraction of a second to aim and fire the slow-velocity 30mm cannons.
The “Gliding Target”: Once the fuel ran out, the Komet became a heavy, unpowered glider. Allied fighter pilots quickly learned to wait for the rocket flame to go out; once the Komet was “silent,” it was a sitting duck as it struggled to reach its home airfield.
Limited Impact: Despite its psychological terror, the Me 163 was a failure as a weapon system. Fewer than 20 Allied bombers were officially credited to the Komet, while more Komets were lost to landing accidents and engine explosions than to enemy fire.
Sabotage: Many surviving Komets show evidence of sabotage by the forced laborers who built them, including contaminated glue in the wooden wings and rocks placed between fuel tanks and support straps to cause punctures.