The Messerschmitt Me. 163B Komet was the only rocket powered intercepter in history. Find out how piston-engined US P-51 Mustangs managed to down two of these super fast aircraft in dogfights high above Germany in late 1944.
The Komet was designed for point-defence and was the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational and the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1000 km/h (621 mph) in level flight. Designed by Alexander Lippisch, its performance and aspects of its design were unprecedented. German test pilot Heini Dittmar in early July 1944 reached 1,130 km/h (700 mph), an unofficial flight airspeed record unmatched by turbojet-powered aircraft for almost a decade.
Over 300 Komets were built, but the aircraft proved lacklustre in its dedicated role as an interceptor and destroyed between 9 and 18 Allied aircraft against 10 losses.Aside from combat losses many pilots were killed during testing and training, at least in part due to the highly volatile and corrosive nature of the rocket propellant used in later models of the aircraft.
Sources: YouTube; Wikipedia