Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet by GasPatch

1/48 scale
Kit No. 20-48236
Cost: $40.00
Decals: Six versions – four Luftwaffe, and two captured examples, one French, one British
Comments: Engraved panel lines, highly detailed cockpit, gun bay, 30mm gun assemblies and landing skid; separately mounted ailerons and trailing edge wing slats; optional position canopy with canopy mask provided; optional position gun bay panels

History

The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, which preceeded the twin-engined Me 262 jet fighter into service by roughly two months, was the original point-defense interceptor, representing an inventive approach to the problem of how to bring down heavily armed Allied bombers which flew in defensive “box” formations designed to place machine gun fire from multiple directions onto any attacking aircraft. The Me 163’s designation is somewhat misleading, since Messerschmitt AG had little to do with its development, which was the work of Dr. Alexander LIppisch, the creator of the revolutionary rocket plane who also was responsible for ushering it into Luftwaffe service.

In the Spring of 1941, the prototype of the aircraft began trials as a glider; towed to an altitude of 26,250 feet, it was soon achieving speeds of up to 530 mph while retaining a high degree of controllability. In the Summer of 1941 it was sent to the rocket development establishment at Peenemunde-West on the Baltic coast, to be fitted with a rocket motor. This was an improved version of the Walter R1 incorporating a degree of thrust control but using two highly volatile liquids, T-stoff (a mixture of mostly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, oxine, and water) and Z-stoff (calcium permanganate and sodium permanganate) as its fuel. There were several accidents during the development program at Peenemunde, some fatal, since on multiple occasions the volatile fuels spontaneously exploded, in one instance demolishing an entire building.

Despite the danger, the Me 163 V1 repeatedly broke the world speed record, until pilot Heini Dittmar finally exceeded 620 mph (Mach 0.80), almost killing himself as the compression shockwaves radically altered the airflow over the wings, inducing negative lift and massive vibration. But Dittmar managed to regain control and land safely. Impressed, the RLM ordered prototypes of an operational aircraft, the Me 163B, armed with a pair of MG 151 20mm cannon and fitted with an even more powerful engine, the 509-A2 rocket motor using the somewhat less unstable combination of T-stoff and C-stoff (a mixture of 57% methanol, 30% hydrazine hydrate, and 13% water) as fuel, producing 3,300 pounds of thrust. Two tons of this propellant, or nearly half the weight of the aircraft, was enough to propel it to an operational ceiling of 39,000 feet in 3.35 minutes, at which point the pilot had a further 4.5 minutes of powered flight available. When the fuel gave out, the Me 163 became a glider, returning to Earth.

Early in 1943, two Me 163 B-1 aircraft were delivered to a special Luftwaffe unit for pilot familiarization, but it was July before any training began. The Komet’s high landing speed of 140 mph, combined with the fact that the pilot would always be committed to the landing from the outset, regardless of topography or other factors, having no fuel to go round for a second attempt, led to many accidents, many of them fatal. The first operational unit to deploy the Me 163 B-1, armed now with two 30mm cannon in the wing roots and incorporating armor protection for the pilot, began forming at WIttmundhaven in May 1944.

A unit of JG/400, the first operational Me 163 wing, made its first interception of Allied bombers on August 16, 1944 without success. Early combat experiences demonstrated a number of problems that prevented the Me 163 from ever becoming an effective weapon. Although the aircraft’s two MK 108 30mm cannons were capable of downing a four-engine bomber with only three or four hits, the Komet’s high speed, coupled with the cannons’ slow rate of fire and short range made effective gunnery nearly impossible against the slow moving bombers. As a result, Me 163 pilots recorded a total of only nine kills. The unit scored its first success some days later, when Leutnant Hartmut Ryll downed a B-17 near Leipzig.

Although capable of reaching its service ceiling of 12,100 m (39,690 ft) in just under three-and-a-half minutes, the Me 163 carried only enough fuel for eight minutes of powered flight. After one or two firing passes, the pilot had to glide back to base with no means of escaping Allied escort fighters. In all, some 300 Me 163’s in various versions were built before the war’s end, with a handful being sold to Japan, but the Komet was a limited success, due partly to its dangerous fuel but mostly to its limited endurance.

According to Allied records, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet is believed to have accounted for 12 American B-17 bombers shot down by May 1945. An improved version, known originally as the Junkers Ju 248, was produced by Junkers and then taken over by Messerschmitt as the Me 263. It was larger, with a wheeled undercarriage rather than skids, and was powered by a Walter 509C rocket motor. It would likely have been more effective with similar armament and improved endurance, but was produced in prototype form only.

As a point defense interceptor the Me 163 was a technological marvel that terrified Allied aircrews for a few months, as it was heavily armed and moved at such speed that it was all but impossible to shoot down. But like the Me 262, it came too late to alter the course of the air war; it was deployed in relatively small numbers and had limited endurance, since the effective operational phase of each flight lasted less than five minutes. Finally, it was dangerous. Not only was it powered by highly volatile fuels that could easily ignite and vaporize both pilot and plane before they even got airborne, but once the mission was over, there was no guarantee of walking away from what would have to be an unpowered landing in glider mode at well over 100 mph.

The Kit

GasPatch’s Messerschmit Me 163B Komet is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 134 parts, including six parts for the canopy, rear bulkhead, side windows and armored windshield. In addition, there are 23 photo-etched detail parts for the seat straps, rudder pedal straps, cockpit sidewall, trailing edge wing flaps. landing skid, and gun compartments. In addition, two resin jigs are provided to asset with the alignment of the two MK 108 30mm cannon in their respective compartments. The cockpit is richly detailed with raised relief and separate parts for the control yoke, rudder pedals and sidewall instrumentation; it is also complemented by a detailed paint guide. There are no decals for the instrument panel in this kit; the part for panel features ample raised relief and the instructions provide a paint guide to make the most of it.

The landing skid is quite detailed and consists of ten parts. Each of the 30mm cannon consists of five parts and are accompanied by a designated resin jig to assist with proper alignment into the gun compartments. There is a separately mounted rudder, and an option for an open panel on the dorsal section of the fuselage aft of the cockpit. There is a detailed fall-away main landing gear and a detailed tail wheel, and a well-molded gun sight to be cemented to the armored windshield. This kit has actual gun bays with panels in the wing roots that can be left closed, or open to reveal the inner details of the Komet’s weaponry. Although it is not entirely clear from the instructions where it will be mounted in the cockpit, the cockpit instrumentation includes a compass with a decal. Finally, there is a photo-etch part for the interior of the exhaust pipe for the rocket motor.

While a paint guide is provided, GasPatch have decided to be purists and refer to most colors by their RLM number only — one means of ensuring accuracy! Two RAF colors, Trainer Yellow and Dark Green, are thrown in, but this is only for those modelers who chose to depict the captured Komet in British markings

Markings

A detailed paint guide is provided for the six versions of the Komet for which markings are provided.

The first two Luftwaffe versions are aircraft of JG 400. The first, Yellow 26, serial number 191916 bears a splinter camouflage scheme of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82 over light blue grey/RLM 76, and sports a yellow nose cap with a black tip. This machine was based at Brandis during April 1945. The second Luftwaffe version, Yellow 15, serial number 191659, was with JG 400 during 1945, location unknown. It bears an identical paint scheme as the first aircraft, with the exception that its nose cap is all yellow.

The third Luftwaffe aircraft, White 14, serial number unknown, was based at Brandis during February 1945. It bears a splinter camouflage scheme on the wings only of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82 over light blue grey/RLM 76, and sports a white nose cap. Its fuselage is painted in a mottle camouflage of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82 over light blue grey/RLM 76.

The fourth and final Luftwaffe aircraft, serial number 191477, returns to the splinter camouflage scheme of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82 over light blue grey/RLM 76, and sports an all-yellow nose cap. It operated with EJG 2 in the Spring of 1945.

The captured French aircraft, Yellow 13, splinter camouflage scheme of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82 over light blue grey/RLM 76, and its nose cap follows the camouflage pattern of the remainder of the fuselage. French roundels are provided for this version, bearing serial number 310061, and is designated an aircraft of “Air Ministry 203,” which may have been a specially designated squadron for captured aircraft. A decal is provided that likely represented letters in white chalk or possibly paint scrawled on the left side of the rear fuselage near the tail pipe: “AIRMIN303.”

The captured British aircraft bears RAF markings, “Circle P” in yellow on the tail, the visual British designation for experimental or prototype aircraft, and is assigned to VF 241. It bears on its wings only a splinter camouflage scheme of brown violet/RLM 81 and light green/RLM 82, with the under surfaces painted trainer yellow. The upper fuselage and rudder bears a mottled scheme of light green over light blue grey/RLM 76, but the vertical tail (minus the rudder) is painted British Dark Green.

Conclusion

Overall, this kit features such attention to detail that one wonders if GasPatch raided an archive of Messerschmitt’s  blueprints and stumbled upon the original engineer’s drawings for the Komet.  Highly recommended, and a quantum leap above the Testors/Hawk kit of the 1960’s.

References

• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum ~ https://airandspace.si.edu
• Germany’s Secret Weapons in World War II by Roger Ford; Copyright 2000 by MBI Publishing Company, Osceola, Wisconsin