Happy Anniversary ME163

I corresponded several times with Komet pilot Hans Bott who had a couple of B-17 kills in the 163. He said the aircraft was a delight to fly (discounting take off and landing) and he would take every opportunity on the glide back to base to spend as much time as possible doing aerobatics.

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Here’s a photo of a Komet I took about a month ago at the Museum of the United States Air Force.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/108521746@N08/with/10998748115/

Rob

A gentleman of my acquaintance did two flights during the War then promptly deserted; it was a death-trap!!

G’day 😉

Here’s a couple from UK museums.

I bought one yesterday!

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Many thanks John and Ant. I am relieved the claim is true. It is quite amazing that he could pull it off let alone find a serviceable aircraft and a supply of fuel. What a guy! He is scheduled to put in an appearance at The Aviation Bookshop on 14 December on the occasion of a new book signing if anyone wants to meet him.

The clandestine powered flight is mentioned in some detail in his book “Wings on my Sleeve”. It’s been a while since I read it, but I don’t remember an exact date being mentioned.

During Eric Brown’s talk at Middle Wallop on Wednesday he stated that he only flew the Me163 under power the once, after which he was very happy it didn’t explode on landing as any fuel left over, as little as a wineglass full, would cause this to happen.
He also mentioned that this flight took place AFTER the order had gone out that no powered flights were to take place, and that therefore this had to be flown ‘clandestinely’. No dates were mentioned but I was under the impression it took place in Germany as he had to rely on German groundcrew.
This had to have happened after mid April 1945 as that is when he first went to Germany, the army having secured the airfield where the Me163 wing was stationed.

Hope this helps,
John

Today I sat next to the remarkable Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown who regaled with tales of the Me 163 and wrote a nice dedication in Jeff Ethel’s book on the 163….I had no idea of the significance of todays date!

Just curious. Whilst I am aware that Eric Brown flew the Me 163 several times as a glider being towed aloft by a Spitfire, is it factual that he had earlier flown the type under power in Germany? I have seen mention of a clandestine flight. Does anyone know when and where this flight took place.

I remember reading somewhere that when the Canadians restored a 163 they found that the glue used for the wooden wings had been contaminated with soap and sharp stones had been placed under the securing straps of the fuel tanks. Evidence of the Germans using slave labour to build their aircraft and evidence that the workers fought back. Sabotage has also been credited with the short life of the German jet engines

Just to prove that you can justyify anything with statistics I also remember reading that the bf 109 had a higher percentage of pilot fatalities in landing accidents than the Me 163 did. Presumably it was just the way the pilot died in the 163 (oxidised by the fuel) that gives the aircraft its bad reputation.

Happy Geburtstag, Komet…

Today I sat next to the remarkable Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown who regaled with tales of the Me 163 and wrote a nice dedication in Jeff Ethel’s book on the 163….I had no idea of the significance of todays date!

Wonder no more:

http://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Fighter-Mano-Ziegler/dp/0553273485/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346531151&sr=1-1&keywords=rocket+fighter

Wasn’t the fuel the main problem, being a little on the `volatile` side. Not to mention corrosive.

From Wiki:

The fuel system was particularly troublesome, as leaks experienced during hard landings easily caused fires and explosions. Metal fuel lines and fittings, which failed in unpredictable ways, were used as this was the best technology available. Both fuel and oxidizer were toxic and required extreme care when loading in the aircraft, yet there were occasions when Komets exploded on the tarmac from the propellants’ hypergolic nature. The corrosive nature of the liquids, especially for the T-Stoff oxidizer, required special protective gear for the pilots.

And if the skid didn’t come down for landing it could be a back-breaker

And the endurance was somewhat limited too. With full power it was claimed to be a maximum of eight minutes, after that it then became a glider.

Rob

Wasn’t the fuel the main problem, being a little on the `volatile` side. Not to mention corrosive.

There’s the example at the Museum of Flight, up here at East Fortune.

Wouldn’t have fancied flying one of them – well, under power, anyway!

From Wikipedia: “however, the Komet proved ineffective as a fighter, having been responsible for the destruction of only about nine Allied aircraft (16 air victories for 10 losses, according to other sources).”

Surviving: “It has been claimed that at least 29 Komets were shipped out of Germany after the war and that of those at least 10 have been known to survive the war to be put on display in museums around the world. Most of the 10 surviving Me 163s were part of JG 400, and were captured by the British at Husum, the squadron’s base at the time of Germany’s surrender in 1945. According to the RAF museum, 48 aircraft were captured intact and 24 were shipped to the United Kingdom for evaluation, although only one, VF241, was test-flown”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163

Did it score any kills and do any of these examples still survive?
There seem to be quite a few still around, at least in the UK.
Nice article in one of the Model Mags regarding the 163 this month including this little gem

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH72183

I also have a very nice book by Jeffery Ethell called Komet.
ISBN 0 7110 0827 2