ME-163A Komet - Aircraft of World War II

sunny91 · 05-18-2009, 08:39 AM

ww2 footage, Spanish speaking.

Sunny

Amsel · 05-18-2009, 10:16 AM

What a great video.

Thorlifter · 05-18-2009, 10:35 AM

Anyone know the flight characteristics of the Komet? Did it handle well once at altitude? I know once it ran out of fuel it was just a glider and landing it could "ruin your day" if you weren't careful.

Colin1 · 05-18-2009, 11:16 AM

Take-off looked like fun

I wouldn't want to be bouncing around like that in a kite full of T-stoff and C-stoff, even if the German engineers were likely very thorough about their isolation from one another.

The dolly seemed to have a mind of its own too, achieving a good old bounce when it hit the ground, it almost re-joined the aircraft!

Skilled pilot obviously, he made the landing look easy.

Amsel · 05-18-2009, 11:50 AM

I was worried that the Komet was going to explode, belly landing like that.

Colin1 · 05-18-2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amsel

I was worried that the Komet was going to explode, belly landing like that.

It ditches its main landing gear (the dolly) on take-off and lands on a skid
I believe pilots were under strict instructions to empty the tanks before attempting a landing but a rough landing must have been just that; I've read of a condition among Me163 drivers called 'Komet back' so I guess spinal problems must have been a feature of the type.

RabidAlien · 05-18-2009, 01:15 PM

Great vid! Yeah....landing that thing doesn't leave much room for oopsies and do-overs. Dropping the gears off like that makes one wonder if they even expected the pilots to return...?

Matt308 · 05-24-2009, 05:34 PM

If I recall correctly they only shot down 7 bombers in total (can someone verify this?). Operational profile was climb like hell above the bomber formation, make a single pass and glide to land. Apparently most pilots were not killed in air-to-air combat, but during the precarious landing. It was one of the most deadly airplanes to fly in WWII (for its own pilots)

vikingBerserker · 05-24-2009, 06:54 PM

According to "The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII", of the 300 ME-163B & C's, there were only 9 confirmed victories. For as much press coverage as this plane has gotten, such a low number is really surprising to me. Rest of your post is dead on.

Soundbreaker Welch? · 05-24-2009, 08:17 PM

That Komet can climb like a rocket, pretty impressive. Yep, prop planes would have trouble doing that.

Matt308 · 05-24-2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vikingBerserker

According to "The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII", of the 300 ME-163B & C's, there were only 9 confirmed victories. For as much press coverage as this plane has gotten, such a low number is really surprising to me. Rest of your post is dead on.

And Viking, I think that was JG400 if I recall.

Flyboy2 · 05-24-2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vikingBerserker

there were only 9 confirmed victories.

Heard the same number, I also heard that through the whole Me-163 career more pilots were killed from accidents than Allied airmen killed from being shot down by the Me-163

Matt308 · 05-24-2009, 10:56 PM

If you guys are relying upon Wiki for the 7 or 9 kills, I would not trust it. The Wiki post also states this...

"The Komet was equipped with two 30 mm MK 108 cannons which had a relatively low muzzle velocity, with the characteristic ballistic drop of such a weapon, which meant they were only accurate at short distance, and that it was almost impossible to hit a slow-moving bomber when the Komet was traveling very fast (four or five hits were typically needed to take down a B-17)."

The bold text has no basis in fact nor reality. Perhaps Erich can weigh in here, but I would suspect that those 30mm hits/B-17 kill numbers are VERY conservative. I suspect in reality the Mk 108 cannon was much more effective.

vikingBerserker · 05-24-2009, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt308

And Viking, I think that was JG400 if I recall.

Affirmative.

Butters · 05-25-2009, 01:04 PM

The Komet had excellent handling qualities but landing the thing was extremely dangerous due to the explosive/corrosive nature of the fuels used. It was also at the mercy of the marauding Allied fighters during the landing phase.

Mano Ziegler's, "Rocket Fighter", is an excellent first-hand account of the training and combat methods of Me 163 pilots. I don't know if it's still in print, but I've seen the Bantam paperback fairly often in used-book stores. Definitely worth a read.

JL

05-18-2009, 10:16 AM	#2
Amsel Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,736	What a great video. __________________ http://www.northstarnational.com/200...tte/#more-2513

05-18-2009, 10:35 AM	#3
Thorlifter Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Dallas, Tx Posts: 4,345	Anyone know the flight characteristics of the Komet? Did it handle well once at altitude? I know once it ran out of fuel it was just a glider and landing it could "ruin your day" if you weren't careful. __________________

05-18-2009, 11:50 AM	#5
Amsel Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,736	I was worried that the Komet was going to explode, belly landing like that. __________________ http://www.northstarnational.com/200...tte/#more-2513

05-18-2009, 01:15 PM	#7
RabidAlien Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Hurst, Texas Posts: 2,823	Great vid! Yeah....landing that thing doesn't leave much room for oopsies and do-overs. Dropping the gears off like that makes one wonder if they even expected the pilots to return...? __________________ Pillage, then burn. Argue not with dragons, for thou art crunchy and go well on toast.

05-24-2009, 05:34 PM	#8
Matt308 aka Dickcheese Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Washington State Posts: 13,382	If I recall correctly they only shot down 7 bombers in total (can someone verify this?). Operational profile was climb like hell above the bomber formation, make a single pass and glide to land. Apparently most pilots were not killed in air-to-air combat, but during the precarious landing. It was one of the most deadly airplanes to fly in WWII (for its own pilots) __________________ "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the [U.S.] Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan Master of Duplicate Posts

05-18-2009, 11:16 AM	#4
Colin1 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,760	Take-off looked like fun I wouldn't want to be bouncing around like that in a kite full of T-stoff and C-stoff, even if the German engineers were likely very thorough about their isolation from one another. The dolly seemed to have a mind of its own too, achieving a good old bounce when it hit the ground, it almost re-joined the aircraft! Skilled pilot obviously, he made the landing look easy.

05-24-2009, 06:54 PM	#9
vikingBerserker Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Posts: 3,722	According to "The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII", of the 300 ME-163B & C's, there were only 9 confirmed victories. For as much press coverage as this plane has gotten, such a low number is really surprising to me. Rest of your post is dead on. __________________ "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it" "Those who dwell in the past, condemn the future"

05-24-2009, 08:17 PM	#10
Soundbreaker Welch? Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 1,893	That Komet can climb like a rocket, pretty impressive. Yep, prop planes would have trouble doing that. __________________ "His motor's conked out!" "What's the differance, they're all Nazis!" "Luke, shut up!" "Fear the hook!" "Oh.....I wanna fly." "You mean the kind that go under water and fly up the stairs?" "What you doing? Oh Nooooo!"

05-24-2009, 10:56 PM	#13
Matt308 aka Dickcheese Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Washington State Posts: 13,382	If you guys are relying upon Wiki for the 7 or 9 kills, I would not trust it. The Wiki post also states this... "The Komet was equipped with two 30 mm MK 108 cannons which had a relatively low muzzle velocity, with the characteristic ballistic drop of such a weapon, which meant they were only accurate at short distance, and that it was almost impossible to hit a slow-moving bomber when the Komet was traveling very fast (four or five hits were typically needed to take down a B-17)." The bold text has no basis in fact nor reality. Perhaps Erich can weigh in here, but I would suspect that those 30mm hits/B-17 kill numbers are VERY conservative. I suspect in reality the Mk 108 cannon was much more effective. __________________ "Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the [U.S.] Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan Master of Duplicate Posts

05-25-2009, 01:04 PM	#15
Butters Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: South Shore of Nova Scotia Posts: 303	The Komet had excellent handling qualities but landing the thing was extremely dangerous due to the explosive/corrosive nature of the fuels used. It was also at the mercy of the marauding Allied fighters during the landing phase. Mano Ziegler's, "Rocket Fighter", is an excellent first-hand account of the training and combat methods of Me 163 pilots. I don't know if it's still in print, but I've seen the Bantam paperback fairly often in used-book stores. Definitely worth a read. JL

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