Editing Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (section)

==Operational history==
[[File:Me-163Shootdown.JPG|thumb|A Me 163 being shot down, as seen from [[USAAF]] [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt|P-47]] gun camera]]

The initial test deployment of the Me 163A, to acquaint prospective pilots with the world's first rocket-powered fighter, occurred with ''Erprobungskommando 16'' (Service Test Unit 16, EK 16), led by ''Major'' [[Wolfgang Späte]] and first established in late 1942, receiving their eight A-model service test aircraft by July 1943. Their initial base was as the ''Erprobungsstelle'' (test facility) at the [[Peenemünde-West]] field. They departed permanently the day after an RAF bombing raid on the area on 17 August 1943, moving southwards, to the base at [[Anklam]], near the Baltic coast. Their stay was brief, as a few weeks later they were placed in northwest Germany, based at the military airfield at [[Bad Zwischenahn]]<!-- (at {{Coord|53|12|16.48|N|7|59|37.20|E}}) This seems better to have at the airbase page than here--> from August 1943 to August 1944.<ref name = "Ziegler 68">Ziegler 1976, p. 68.</ref> EK 16 received their first B-series armed Komets in January 1944, and was ready for action by May while at Bad Zwischenahn. ''Major'' Späte flew the first-ever Me 163B combat sortie on 13 May 1944 from the Bad Zwischenahn base, with the Me 163B armed prototype (V41), bearing the ''Stammkennzeichen'' PK+QL.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/me163/units.htm |title = Me 163B Komet - Me 163 units - Erprobungskommando 16 (EK 16) |last1 = de Bie |first1 = Rob |website = robdebie.home.xs4all.nl/me163.htm |publisher = Rob de Bie |access-date = 28 September 2013}}</ref><ref name = "lepage 249"/>

As EK 16 commenced small-scale combat operations with the Me 163B in May 1944, the Me 163B's unsurpassed velocity was something Allied fighter pilots were at a loss to counter. The ''Komets'' attacked singly or in pairs, often even faster than the intercepting fighters could dive. A typical Me 163 tactic was to fly vertically upward through the bombers at {{convert|9000|m|ft|abbr=on}}, climb to {{convert|10700|-|12000|m|ft|abbr=on}}, then dive through the formation again, firing as they went. 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 it was possible to make four passes on a bomber, but only if it was flying alone.<ref name="Späte p252">Späte 1989, p. 252.</ref> According to the historian Mano Ziegler, German officials were allegedly considering using the Me 163 to directly ram into enemy aircraft in suicide attacks; this desperate tactic was never actually used.<ref name = "Ziegler 57">Ziegler 1976, p. 57.</ref> During early 1944, routine [[aerial reconnaissance]] flights over German aerodromes had made the Allies aware of the existence of the Me 163.<ref name = "Ziegler 1134">Ziegler 1976, pp. 113-114.</ref>

Prospective Me163 pilots received training in ''[[DFS Habicht|Stummelhabicht]]'' gliders which, like the Komet, had a short wingspan and high landing speed.<ref name="ZieglerM2">Ziegler 1976, p. 11, 154.</ref> Training included gunnery practice with a machine pistol mounted in the glider nose.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Volmar |first1 = Joe |title = I Learned to Fly for Hitler |date = 1999 |publisher = Kron Publications |location = Dundee |isbn = 9780967138909 |pages = 145, 167–173}}</ref> 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 [[Human gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal tract]] would expand rapidly during ascent.<ref name="ZieglerM">Ziegler 1976, p. 3-4.</ref>

Following the initial combat trial missions of the Me 163B with EK 16, during the winter and spring of 1944 ''Major'' Späte formed the Luftwaffe's first dedicated Me 163 fighter wing, [[Jagdgeschwader 400|''Jagdgeschwader'' 400]] (JG 400), in [[Brandis]], near [[Leipzig]].<ref name = "dorr 10910">Dorr 2013, pp. 109-110.</ref> JG 400's purpose was to provide additional protection for the [[Leuna]] [[synthetic fuel|synthetic gasoline]] works which [[Oil Campaign chronology of World War II|were raided frequently]] during almost all of 1944. A further group was stationed at [[Stargard Szczeciński|Stargard]] near [[Stettin]] to protect the large synthetic fuel plant at Pölitz (today [[Police, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Police, Poland]]). Further defensive units of rocket fighters were planned for [[Berlin]], the [[Ruhr]], and the [[German Bight]].<ref name="Galland 1957, p.251">Galland 1957, p. 251.</ref>

[[File:Me 163 at Melbourne c1950.jpg|thumb|Typical appearance of a ''Komet'' after landing, waiting for the airfield's ''Scheuch-Schlepper'' tractor and lifting trailer to tow it back for reattachment of its "dolly" maingear]]

The first actions involving the Me 163B in regular Luftwaffe active service occurred on 28 July 1944, from I./JG 400's base at [[Brandis]], 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 ten Me 163s lost. ''[[Feldwebel]]'' Siegfried Schubert was the most successful pilot, with three bombers to his credit.<ref>Späte 1989, p. XII.</ref> Each engagement would see as many as a dozen Me 163s at a time launched to challenge the B-17s.<ref name = "dorr 136">Dorr 2013, p. 136.</ref>

Allied fighter pilots quickly observed the short duration of the Me 163's powered flight, and adapted their tactics to take advantage of this. The fighters would delay engaging until after the engine had exhausted its propellant before pouncing on the unpowered ''Komet''. Even with this handicap, the aircraft was extremely manoeuvrable in gliding flight and thus was not a straightforward target to down. Another Allied method of engagement was to attack the airfields from which the Komets operated, performing strafing runs upon them after the Me 163s had landed. Due to the skid-based landing gear system, the Komet was immobile until the ''Scheuch-Schlepper'' tractor could back the trailer up to the nose of the aircraft, place its two rear arms under the wing panels, and jack up the trailer's arms to hoist the aircraft off the ground or place it back on its take-off dolly to tow it back to its maintenance area.<ref>Ethell 1978, pp. 94–144.</ref>

At the end of 1944, 91 aircraft had been delivered to JG 400, but a persistent lack of fuel had kept most of them grounded. It was clear that the original plan for a huge network of Me 163 bases would never be realized. Up to that point, JG 400 had lost only six aircraft due to enemy action. Nine Me 163s had been lost to other causes, remarkably few for such a revolutionary and technologically advanced aircraft. Into early 1945, the type continued to be flown to defend high priority targets, such as the [[Mercedes-Benz Group|Daimler Benz]] tank factory in Berlin.<ref name = "dorr 213">Dorr 2013, p. 213.</ref> In the final days of [[Nazi Germany]], the Me 163 was given up in favor of the more successful [[Messerschmitt Me 262|Me&nbsp;262]]. At the beginning of May 1945, Me 163 operations were stopped, the JG 400 disbanded, and many of its pilots sent to fly Me 262s.<ref name="Späte p252"/>

In any operational sense, the ''Komet'' was a failure. Although it shot down sixteen aircraft, mainly four-engined bombers, it did not warrant the effort put into the project. 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. The ''Komet'' also inspired later rocket planes such as the vertical-launch [[Bachem Ba 349 Natter]]. Ultimately, the point defense role that the Me 163 played would be taken over by the [[surface-to-air missile]], Messerschmitt's own example being the [[Enzian]].<ref name = "lepage 249"/>

===Postwar flight===

Captain [[Eric Brown (pilot)|Eric Brown]] RN, Chief Naval [[test pilot|Test Pilot]] and commanding officer of the [[No. 1426 Flight RAF|Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight]], who tested the Me 163 at the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] at [[Farnborough Airfield|Farnborough]], said, "The Me 163 was an aeroplane that you could not afford to just step into the aircraft and say 'You know, I'm going to fly it to the limit.' You had very much to familiarise yourself with it because it was state-of-the-art and the technology used."<ref name="Thompson with Smith pp. 231-232.">Thompson with Smith 2008, pp. 231–232.</ref> Acting unofficially, after a spate of accidents involving Allied personnel flying captured German aircraft resulted in official disapproval of such flights, Brown was determined to fly a powered Komet. On around 17 May 1945, he flew an Me 163B at Husum with the help of a cooperative German ground crew, after initial towed flights in an Me 163A to familiarise himself with the handling.<ref name="Brown">Brown 2006, p. 110-111.</ref>

The day before the flight, Brown and his ground crew had performed an engine run on the chosen Me 163B to ensure that everything was running correctly, the German crew being apprehensive should an accident befall Brown, until being given a disclaimer signed by him to the effect that they were acting under his orders. On the rocket-powered {{-"}}''scharfer-start''{{-"}} takeoff the next day, after dropping the takeoff dolly and retracting the skid, Brown later described the resultant climb as "like being in charge of a runaway train", the aircraft reaching {{Convert | 32000 | ft}} altitude in 2 minutes, 45 seconds. During the flight, while practicing attacking passes at an American B-17 bomber, he was surprised at how well the Komet accelerated in the dive with the engine shut down. When the flight was over Brown had no problems on the approach to the airfield; apart from the rather restricted view from the cockpit due to the flat angle of glide, the aircraft touching down at {{convert|200|km/h|abbr=on}}. Once down safely, Brown and his much-relieved ground crew celebrated with a drink.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p105-106" >Brown 2006, pp. 105–106.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13713648.heroic-test-pilot-reunited-rocket-powered-messerschmitt/ |title = Heroic test pilot is reunited with rocket powered Messerschmitt |publisher = heraldscotland.com |first = John |last = Bynorth |date = 11 September 2015}}</ref>

Beyond Brown's unauthorised flight, the British never tested the Me 163 under power themselves; due to the danger of its [[hypergolic]] propellants it was only flown unpowered. Brown himself piloted RAE's Komet [[United Kingdom military aircraft serials|''VF241'']] on a number of occasions, the rocket motor being replaced with test instrumentation. When interviewed for a 1990s television programme, Brown said he had flown five tailless aircraft in his career (including the British [[de Havilland DH 108]]). Referring to the Komet, he said "this is the only one that had good flight characteristics"; he called the other four "killers".<ref>{{cite episode |title = Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet |series = Wings of the Luftwaffe |network = Discovery Military Channel |time = 44:09 (25:00 minutes) |language = en}}</ref>