Talk:Messerschmitt Me 163
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[edit] Splitting off japanese variants
The data for the Japanese variant should either be condensed (the same dimensions are repeated for each variant) or moved to a seperate article. For some reason, the original text used 'grider' instead of 'glider' in a number of spots, was this some sort of joke? Or just an unfortunate translation? Fixed.
- Most likely not a joke. Native Japanese speakers often confuse "r" and "l" when speaking in English, and as a result misspell English words in the same way. The "grider" rendering may have been written by a Japanese. Former colleagues who frequently went on business trips to Japan and would stop in at the "Backus Rounge" in Ipponmatsu, as the sign in front proclaimed. We would spell it "Lounge". —QuicksilverT @ 17:58, 28 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Questions
Quoting first line in this article: "The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the only operational rocket fighter aircraft."
Is this true? .. What of the Messerschmitt 262 and such ?
- I believe the difference is between a rocket engine and a jet engine. The Me 262 and similar planes used jet engines.
- Totally correct, jet engines versus rocket are night and day. The opening sentence is correct.Chairboy 02:10, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I have heard that not only landing was problematic. The engine had also a habit for blowing up without any reason. Can someone verify this?
The Messerschmitt 163 was an interceptor not a fighter. Also, a rocket engine and a jet engine are basically the same concept in this case. And if you want to go off rocket fighters, the Japanese had a rocket fighter entitled Oka, which was intended for kamikaze's. The German's also devoloped a different rocket fighter, the Natter, which was designed to ram the tails of B-17c bombers. And on the exploding issue, that is true. The pilot was surrounded by volitile materials and if he breathed to heavily or heaved his body then there was some possibility of combustion. Also, sometimes the fuels burning would ignite the cockpit and consume the aircraft.
- Couple of misconceptions in the above paragraph. Jets and Rockets are different, and the opening sentence is accurate. Second, an interceptor is a subset of a 'Fighter'. Third, the Natter never entered service. There was a single manned flight, and the pilot was killed.Chairboy 02:10, 21 Jun 2005 (UTC).
Yes, the pilot was surrounded by volatile materials in the 'B' version (Komet) especially, the tanks for one part of the fuel mixture were either side and below him, with fuel feeds behind the bulkhead at head level. No, it is ridiculous to suggest an aircraft designed for combat be at risk of explosion due to the pilot breathing too heavily! The numerous explosions were a result of the extreme volatility of the fuels when mixed, which often occurred in an uncontrolled way e.g. leakage. Even landings risked the plane exploding - the fuel tanks were 'empty' but still a residual amount of the two fuels remained - and a landing that ended up damaging the plane would sometimes be fatal. --Soop62 21:23, 13 July 2006 (UTC)
I heard there is Komet somewhere in Europe or US that is being put to full flight condition with rocket engine (just like in WWII) for the purpose of airshow aerobatics and display flights - sounds really interseting! Does anyone have a link to project website or more info on when it's gonna fly?
- Please sign your messages with ~~~~ to cut down on confusion. I'm not familiar with the one you're mentioning, but XCOR lists this as a future plan, except it'll be a new aircraft instead of a restored 163. See http://www.xcor.com/me163.html for more. Maybe someone/me should write up a blurb about this if it's substantial/likely to happen? Chairboy 23:48, 25 Jun 2005 (UTC)
The Walter R-1-203 cold engine is mentioned in this article and in the one for the ME-263. Does nayone have enough info on that engine to create an article (or even a stub)? Kevin/Last1in 17:43, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Operations
A good source is Rocket Fighter, Mano Ziegler's memoir of his time as a test pilot for the Me 163 development program. His book describes development, flight test, pilot training and air combat techniques. The book is out of print, and even a paperback copy may cost close to US$100, if you can find one. It was originally published in German under the title Raketenjäger Me 163. I read the book around 1990, and some of my contributions to this article today are based on what I remember. Quicksilver 08:51, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Video of the flipping thing!
Hi:
Look at what I found: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=ME163+Komet
Is this it? --69.157.184.139 15:57, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
- It sure is! It would be interesting to find out how the contributor of the video came by it, details of when and where the film was shot, and if it would be possible to post a copy on Wikimedia. --QuicksilverT @ 02:00, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
- A DVD of the Komet is available at http://www.rocket.aero/me163.html
[edit] Why it didn't do more for their war
The combat record sounds like they did more damage than their losses. In principle, they had already lost the war before it started, by firing their Jewish physicists, who went to the U.S. and worked on the atomic bomb. By 1944 there was no rational hope. I read that at the end of the war Lippisch was in Czechoslovakia, working on a (powdered) coal burning, supersonic fighter. Even that would not have helped. Actually, the 163 may have hurt their war effort by taking development effort and H2O2 away from submarines. None ever considered such decisions rationally. That they fought so well is a monument to how much workers (including engineers) and soldiers can accomplish without much help from leadership. David R. Ingham 06:48, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
{By coincidence, my first experience in Germany had a similar aspect. Our leader, Claus Mayer-Böricke, made a negative contribution (like some other leaders I have had), but the work went on anyway.} David R. Ingham 07:07, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Spelling and Legal Issues in "Survivors" Paragraph
First of all, it's swastika, not swastaka, second, German law does have a few exceptions that allow for the display of nazi flags and insignia. Taken from StGB §86a: (3) Absatz 1 gilt nicht, wenn das Propagandamittel oder die Handlung der staatsbürgerlichen Aufklärung, der Abwehr verfassungswidriger Bestrebungen, der Kunst oder der Wissenschaft, der Forschung oder der Lehre, der Berichterstattung über Vorgänge des Zeitgeschehens oder der Geschichte oder ähnlichen Zwecken dient.
This basically means that the flags/insignia may be used e.g. for [...] art, science, research, teachings, reports of current or historical events or similar purposes.
So, displaying a swastika on a WWII-era plane in a museum is absolutely legal, as it is an accurate historical display. Similarly, swastikas may be shown in movies set in the era, like the Indiana Jones series - this does not extend towards computer games, though - the swastikas had to be edited out of the computer games for Indiana Jones Part IV, for example. A somewhat semi-official explanation to this is that movies are considered art, while computer games are not (of course, may computer game enthusiasts will beg to differ here). 84.56.148.122 22:50, 13 August 2006 (UTC)
