Messerschmitt Me 163

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the only operational rocket fighter aircraft. It required a lengthy development process and entered the war in a very limited fashion only in 1944.

Variants

Me 163A

The first Me 163A models were essentially cleaned up DFS planes, and started production in 1941. At this point in time the engine was not quite ready. A small number of flights took place as gliders to test airworthiness, and then powered flights started. The flights met with limited success as the engines tended to occasionally explode and the aircraft was difficult to land. Nevertheless, between the mishaps the performance was tremendous and plans were made to put Me 163 squadrons all over Germany in 25 mile (40 km) rings.

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Five prototype Me 163As were built, followed by eight production examples designated Me 163A-0.

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Me 163B

Meanwhile Walter had started work on a newer hot engine which added a fuel of hydrazine hydrate and methanol, designated C-Stoff, that burned with the oxygen-rich exhaust for added thrust. This resulted in the significantly modified Me 163B of late 1941. Due to the RLM requirement that it should be possible to throttle the engine, the originally simple powerplant grew complicated and lost reliability. It took another two years before the B models were ready for widespread testing.

Related Topics:
Hydrazine hydrate - Methanol - C-Stoff

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The plane started with a drop off undercarriage. When the plane took off the wheels would be dropped. This arrangement caused many planes to be damaged at take off when the wheels came bouncing up and crashing into the plane.

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Based on a glider equipped with double dongers, the Me 163 landed on a small skid running down the centerline of the plane. Malfunctioning hydraulic dampers could lead to back injuries for the pilot, and the airplane lacked steering or braking control during the landing run (leaving the pilot unable to avoid obstacles). The landing skid also meant that the aircraft was immobile on the field, presenting an obstacle for other Luftwaffe aircraft and a target for the enemy. Another major concern was the short flight time which never met the projections made by Walter. With only 8 minutes of powered flight, the plane truly was a dedicated interceptor.

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The performance of the Me 163 far exceeded that of contemporary piston-engined fighters. After take-off from a dolly it would be traveling over 200 mph (300 km/h) at the end of the runway, at which point it would pull up into an 80 degree climb all the way to the bombers' altitude. It could go even higher if need be, reaching 40,000 ft (12,000 m) in an unheard-of three minutes. Once there it would level off and quickly accelerate to speeds around 550 mph (880 km/h) or faster, which no Allied plane could hope to match.

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Two prototypes were followed by thirty Me 163B-0 aircraft armed with two MG 151/20 cannons and some four hundred Me 163B-1s armed with two MK 108 cannons, but which were otherwise similar to the B-0. Occasional references to B-1a or Ba-1 subtypes are found in the literature on the aircraft, but the meanings of these designations is now unclear.

Related Topics:
MG 151/20 - MK 108

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Me 163S

The 163S was an unpowered trainer version of the 163B. A second cockpit was added for an instructor in the space normally taken up by one of the fuel tanks.

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Me 163C

The Me 163C was designed to overcome the range limitations of the earlier model. It featured a new, stretched fuselage and a new Walter engine that had two combustion chambers, one for take-off and climb, and a less powerful (and therefore less fuel-hungry) "cruise" chamber. Only three Me 163Cs seem to have been built, and only one flight tested, probably only as a glider.

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Me 163D

The Me 163D was larger again than the 163C. It was built by inserting new sections into an Me 163B fuselage, stretching it to accommodate larger fuel tanks. It also featured a tricycle undercarriage. Only one was built, and its development was continued as the Messerschmitt Me 263 (redesignated from the Junkers Ju 248 when that firm was ordered to take over the project, later returned to Messerschmitt).

Related Topics:
Tricycle undercarriage - Messerschmitt Me 263

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Me 163 Japanese versions

As part of their alliance, Germany provided the Japanese Empire with plans and examples of the Me-163. The Japanese versions were designed as trainers, fighters, and interceptors.

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Operational Japanese fighter versions

The Japanese equivalent of the Luftwaffe Me 163 B-1a fighter.

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Mitsubishi Ki-200 Shusui rocket interceptor:

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• Length : 6.05m
• Wing Span: 9.50m
• Height : 2.70m
• Wing Area : 17.73 m²
• Gross Weight : 3,000 kg
• Empty Weight : 1,445 kg
• Main Engine : 1 x Mitsubishi KR10 (Tokuro-2) Rocket, 1,500 kgf (15.2 kN)
• Max Speed : 800 km/h
• Cruise Speed : 347 km/h
• Duration of powered flight : 2.5 min (700 km/h)
• Crew : 1
• Armament : 2x 30 mm Ho155-II machine gun

The Mitsubishi J8M1 Shusui rocket interceptor (Type 19 Experimental Interceptor Shusui) used the same airframe, but substituted the Ho155-II with 30mm Type 5 Machine Guns.

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Proposed versions

The equivalent of the Me 163 C fighter.

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Mitsubishi J8M2 Shusui Model 21 Long range rocket interceptor for the Navy.

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• Length : 6.05m
• Wing Span: 9.50m
• Height : 2.70m
• Wing Area : 17.73 m²
• Engine : 1x Mitsubishi KR10 (Tokuro-2) Rocket, 1,500 kgf (15.2 kN)
• Crew : 1
• Armament : 1x 30 mm Type 5 machine gun

Mitsubishi J8M3 Shusui Model 22 Long range rocket interceptor (Army Ki-202 Shusui-kai) for the Army and Navy.

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• Length : 7.10 m
• Wing Span: 9.75 m
• Hight : 2.70 m
• Wing Area : 18.40 m²
• Gross Weight : 5,100 kg
• Engine : 1x Mitsubishi Tokuro-3 Rocket, 2,000 kgf (19.6 kN)
• Max Speed : 900 km/h
• Duration of Flight : 3.5 min
• Crew : 1
• Armament : 1x 30 mm Type 5 machine gun

The Rikugun Kokukosho/Mitsubishi Ki-202 Shusui-kai rocket interceptor had the same specifications as the Shusui above, but substituted the single Type 5 gun with two 30 mm Ho155-II machine guns.

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Japanese Trainers

Roughly the equivalent of the Me 163 A-0/S trainers, this series of planes were designed to train imperial pilots to effectively intercept US bomber fleets.

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Yokoi Ku-13 Akigusa Rocket Interceptor practice glider(Experimental Shusui Light Glider)

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Ku-13 Akigusa was created as the Ki-200 Syusui Rocket Interceptor practice glider.

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• Length : 6.05 m
• Wing Span: 9.50 m
• Height : 2.70 m
• Wing Area : 17.73 m²
• Crew : 1

Other trainer variants included:

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• Yokoi Experimental Ki-13 Shusui Heavy Glider. This glider was created as the Ki-200 Syusui Rocket Interceptor practice glider. The project was cancelled due to high costs.
• Kugisho/Yokosuka MXY-8 Akigusa Rocket Interceptor practice glider(Experimental Shusui Light Glider). Created as the J8M1 Syusui Rocket Interceptor practice glider.
• Kugisho/Yokosuka MXY-9 Experimental Shusui Heavy Glider. This glider was created as the J8M1 Syusui Rocket Interceptor practice glider, but was cancelled due to high costs.
• Kugisho/Yokosuka MXY-9 Shuka Rocket Interceptor Operative training glider. This plane would have used the Hitachi "Hatsukaze-11" fan jet engine on the MXY-8 "Akigusa" airframe.