Messerschmitt Me 163 - Operational History

Operational History

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. 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.

More than three years passed before Major Wolfgang Späte could form the first Me 163 combat wing, (Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400) ), in Brandis near Leipzig, which followed the establishment of the Erprobungskommando 16 Me 163B-dedicated test and evaluation unit at Peenemunde-West eleven months earlier. JG 400's purpose 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 from May 1944 to spring 1945. During this time, there were nine confirmed kills with 14 Me 163s lost. Feldwebel Siegfried Schubert was the most successful 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, pounce on the unpowered Komet. However, the Komet was extremely manoeuvrable. Another Allied method was to attack the fields the Komets operated from, and strafe them after the Me 163s landed - the Komet would, after landing, remain immobile on the field until the Scheuch-Schlepper tractor could tow the special trailer to the landed Komet's location, back the trailer up to the nose of the aircraft as it placed its two rear arms under the wing panels, and jack up the trailer's arms to hoist the aircraft off the ground to tow it back to its maintenance area. Establishing a defensive perimeter with anti-aircraft guns ensured that Allied fighters avoided these bases. 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. 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 merely six aircraft due to the enemy actions. Nine were lost to other causes, remarkably low for such a revolutionary and technically advanced aircraft. In those last days of the Third Reich the Me 163 was given up in favor of the more successful and threatening Me 262. In May 1945, Me 163 operations were stopped, the JG 400 disbanded, and many of their pilots sent to fly Me 262s.

In any operational sense, the Komet was a failure. Although they shot down 16 aircraft, mainly expensive four-engined bombers, that did not warrant the efforts put into the project. With the projected Me 263, things could have turned out differently, but due to fuel shortages late in the war, few went into combat, and it took an experienced pilot with excellent shooting skills to achieve "kills" with the Me 163.

The Komet also spawned later weapons like the Bachem Ba 349 Natter and Convair XF-92. Ultimately, the point defense role that the Me 163 played would be taken over by the surface-to-air missile (SAM), Messerschmitt's own example being the Enzian. The airframe designer, Alexander Martin Lippisch went on to design delta-winged supersonic aircraft for the Convair Corporation.