🔥 Wunderwaffen / Wonder weapons It dropped its wheels after takeoff, attacked American bombers at nearly 600 mph... and returned to earth as a glider! The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the only rocket-powered fighter ever used operationally. Developed from Alexander Lippisch’s tailless designs, it entered combat with JG 400 in the summer of 1944, tasked with intercepting the Allied bombers pounding Germany. Often called a “jet fighter,” the Komet actually used a Walter rocket motor. Unlike the Me 262’s turbojets, it carried both its fuel and its oxidizer, rather than drawing oxygen from the atmosphere. Its performance was extraordinary: roughly 960 km/h (600 mph), an initial climb rate approaching 5,000 metres per minute, and just 7½ minutes of powered flight. To save weight, it took off on a jettisonable two-wheeled dolly. Once its propellants were exhausted, the pilot glided home and landed on a retractable skid beneath the fuselage. Well, in theory, anyway! ⚠️But the Komet’s greatest danger could come from within. Its T-Stoff oxidizer and C-Stoff fuel reacted violently on contact. Leaks, engine malfunctions or a rough landing with residual propellants aboard could cause catastrophic fires and explosions. Chemical burns and serious landing injuries added to the risks. Even its speed worked against it: pilots had only seconds to aim their two 30 mm cannon during an attack. On the glide home, they were vulnerable to Allied fighters. An astonishing aircraft, but a deeply flawed weapon, with only a handful of aerial victories (Just nine) to show for its promise. Follow @Vanguard_WW2 for more stories behind WWII’s extraordinary machines.