Description

The Me 163 Komet was the only rocket-powered aircraft to ever serve and the first fighter aircraft to travel more than 1,000 kilometers per hour. These two factors alone make the Me 163 an exceptional aircraft, but that doesn't even begin to tell the story of this highly unusual aircraft. The Me 163 was designed as an interceptor to combat the ever-increasing numbers of Allied bombers ravaging Germany in the closing stages of World War II. Designed by Alexander Lippisch and although a truly unique aircraft in everything from concept to performance, it ultimately failed in its role with a paltry 18 Allied aircraft shot down for ten losses. In addition to the combat losses, there were nine losses in testing (remarkably few for such a revolutionary aircraft). One of these is the gruesome death of test pilot and fighter ace, Oberleutnant Josef Pöhs, who was killed in 1943 by exposure to the aircraft's highly volatile and corrosive rocket fuel. Armed with two 30mm Rheinmetall Borsig MK 108 guns, the aircraft would launch and climb at an astonishing speed and attack bomber formations. Attacking vertically and at great speed, basically hitting everything, required considerable pilot skill. Once the rocket propellant expired, the plane would slide back to Earth, leaving it vulnerable to attack by Allied fighters. That said, the Komet was very maneuverable and difficult to hit, even in glide mode. Our illustration shows Komets of Jagdgeschwader 400 attacking an American bomber formation in the last desperate days of the air war over the Third Reich. During World War II, 300 Komets were produced. The original idea was to have a vast network of bases of Me 163s intercepting Allied bomber formations, but as with many ambitious and grandiose plans conceived during the Third Reich's history, this was never realized. Weight: 750 g Puzzle dimensions: 68.3 cm x 48 cm Box dimensions: 40 cm x 27 cm x 6.1 cm