Me 163 production

Me 163A

Three Me 163A prototypes (then simply known as Me 163) were ordered, and built in the Messerschmitt factory at Augsburg. Later two more were ordered. The glider test flying took place at Augsburg (Messerschmitt factory) and Lechfeld (a nearby Luftwaffe airfield). Rocket flying appears to be performed solely at Peenemünde.

Note that Me 163A V-numbering is rather confusing. For reasons of security, numbering started at V-4 instead of V-1. This was an attempt to make the project look like a continuation of the Bf 163 program. According to 'Willy Messerschmitt' by Ebert, Kaiser & Peters, the RLM ordered three Bf 163 prototypes in 1935. The design bureau took up the task of designing this VSTOL aircraft, but due to commitments in the Bf 108, 109 and 110 design the work was passed on to Rohrbach Metallflugzeugbau (Berlin), a company in the proces of being absorbed into Weserflugzeugbau (Lemwerder). The design was finalised in 1937. The first prototype (D-UICY) first flew on 19 February 1938. The Fieseler Storch meanwhile was in series production, and after some test flying it was sent to a technical school to serve as an instructional airframe. The other two prototypes (V2 and V3) were never finished.

The strange Me 163A numbering explains much of the confusion around the Me 163A actually produced, and the disagreeent between sources. The lists below still have to merged!

Notes:

• whether crosses or dashes were used in the factory codes has to be checked.
• Van Ishoven (Messerschmitt book) claims that the two prototypes made the first rocket powered flights in July 1941 instead of 13 August and 2 October 1941 respectively.
• It appears strange that the V-4 prototype preceded V-1 to V-3 in achieving a first gliding flight. Especially when considering that the V-4 and V-5 were ordered later.
• Eth65 mentions CD+JM instead of CD+IM, but this can probably attributed to a hand-written Bavarian 'I', which is very close to a 'J' (information courtesy of Kevin O'Brien)

Me 163A-0

Eight Me 163A-0's were built by the Wolfgang Hirth factory. They were equipped with a rocket engine, and were used for the training of Me 163B pilots. Other sources (Lippisch, Nowarra, Van Ishoven) claim that 10 were built (possibly confusing the two extra prototypes with A-0's) and that they were not equipped with a rocket engine. The detailed pilot's stories in Ethell's book, and the picture of a burnt example contradict this.

New attempt at the Me 163A production list - under construction!

Me 163B

After a pre-design study, the design of the Me 163B was started on 1 December 1941. Two prototype Me 163B were ordered from Messerschmitt and built at the Augsburg factory, and given Stammkennzeichen VD+EK and VD+EL. This was followed by an order for seventy aircraft to be built by Messerschmitt in the Regensburg-Obertraubling factory (not the Augsburg factory in which the two prototypes were built). This batch is usually reported to have consisted of 40 B-0 pre-series equipped with 20 mm MG 151/20 guns (if at all), that protrude from the wing root, and 30 B-1 production aircraft equipped with 30 mm MK 108 cannons, that did not protrude from the wing. Installation of Walter rocket engine and armaments was to be performed by Klemm Technik in Stuttgart-Böblingen. Eleven B-0's were lost in a USAAF bombardment of the Messerschmitt Regensburg-Obertraubling factory on 17 August 1943. The gaps in the Werknummern list appear to agree with the eleven lost in the bombardment.

The production of the Walter engine lagged behind considerably, and in January 1944 all B-0's and half of the B-1's were ready, but no engines were available. However, the first delivery of an engined aircraft took place in the same month. Roughly the first half of the batch appears to have been used by Messerschmitt for test flying and development, and roughly the second half was delivered to EK16. The aircraft were not rocket test flown at Stuttgart-Böblingen due to secrecy and the lack of special fuel. The first twelve aircraft were delivered to EK16 without being test flown, and had to be test flown by the unit itself. Thereafter, the finished aircraft were moved to Jesau (near Königsberg, now Kaliningrad) by train. There they were test flown by civilian factory pilots. This took place from February 1944 on.

The Regensburg-Obertraubling factory was needed for the production of Bf 109, and Me 163B production was completely transferred to Klemm Technik in late 1943. The production of the series model was taken over by Klemm Technik in Stuttgart-Böblingen. Important subcontractors were Dornier at Oberpfaffenhofen and Bachman von Blumental in Fürth. The build quality of the Klemm aircraft was much lower than those of the Messerschmitt built examples. The relative inexperience of the Klemm company with metal aircraft was the main reason. The aircraft were partially built by French slave workers, who reportedly sabotaged the aircraft. It is usually reported that Klemm built some 300 Me 163B's before production was ordered to be stopped. Total 1944 deliveries appear to be 327 (including the Regensburg built examples), while 1945 deliveries (solely Klemm) were 37. Production test flying continued to be performed at Jesau. It must have come to a halt in late 1944 because of advancing Russian troops.

A word about the version designations. Many sources use the designations B-0 for the first 40 built (MG 151/20 guns), Ba-1 for the remaining 30 of the Messerschmitt-built batch (with MK 108 canons), and B-1a for Klemm-built series examples. However, these designations do not agree with those mentioned in the 1944 'Me 163B Flugzeug-Handbuch D.(Luft)T.2163B', crash reports or Messerschmitt factory drawings. The first two mention B-0, B-0/R2 and B-1 as version designations. Which designation applies to which production block and installed equipment remains largely unclear however. For example, 440003 and 440184 from the first Klemm production batches are noted as B-0's in crash reports. 191111 from one of the last batches is noted as a B-0/R2. The 'Me 163B Flugzeug-Handbuch D.(Luft)T.2163B' handbook shows that the electrical systems of the B-0/R2 and B-1 are identical. Without further data the version designations are useless, and only 'Me 163B' will be used here unless sources identify the subversion explicitly.

Earlier it was written on this page that the 'Ba-1' and 'B-1a' designations were not be found in any German wartime document, and that they were post-war inventions. This was not correct, as was pointed out by Thomas Hitchcock of Monogram Aviation Publications. He has seen such a designation used in one wartime document. The question remains what the 'a' signifies. There are several possibilities. Firstly, in the early 40's Messerschmitt used the 'a' for 'ausland' (foreign) versions, an example being Bf 109Ga-4. This appears rather unlikely in the case of the Komet; however, it should not be forgotten that the Komet was to be built in Japan too. Secondly, in 1943, while developing the Me 262, lower case suffixes 'a' and 'b' were used to designate different engine types; the Me 262A-1a had the Jumo 004, the Me 262A-1b was fitted with the BMW 003 engine. It is quite well possible that this system was also used for the Komet: the 'a' suffix designating the version(s) equipped with the Walter HWK 109-509, the 'b' for those version(s) fitted with the alternative BMW P 3330A engine. Note that these two engines appear to have had a similar status in the early phase of the Me 163B's development. But since the BMW engine was installed in only one aircraft (V-10) and later dropped from the program, the use of the 'b' suffix would have been very limited. From that point on, only one engine (Walter's) was considered, and the need for the 'a' suffix probably disappeared. This could explain why it is not found in the 'Me 163B Flugzeug-Handbuch D.(Luft)T.2163B'. Still, this is only speculation, and proof has yet to be found.

Werknummern list

Listed below are all known production Me 163B details. The list is compiled from Ethell's book, and is currently extended using Ransom's and Ziegler's data. The list is ordered by the production sequence: the first 70 Messerschmitt built have 310... numbers, followed by Klemm-built batches in the 440..., 190... and 191... series. The Klemm production sequence was deducted from the first appearances of aircraft from these production blocks. There are different interpretations of the 310... Werknummern: old Luftwaffe documents often show 10... or 100-.. numbers, whereas Ransom quotes 16310... numbers. In this list these numbers are standardized to 310...

The sources are often unclear about the painted-on identities of the aircraft. The Werknummer were never seen to be applied to uncamouflaged examples. The camouflages examples sometimes had it applied to the left side of the tail. The factory-assigned registration (Stammkennzeichen) is often still listed for operational aircraft, although it is very likely that they were overpainted after delivery to operational units. EK16 did probably fly some of their aircraft with the Stammkennzeichen and/or Versuchsnummer still applied. It is also unclear whether all aircraft that were assigned a Versuchsnummer actually wore this number.

Notes:

• V-21 flew already on 20 July 1943, one month after first protoype flight?? Check source
• Lippisch claims that V-8 made the first powered flight with a 'cold' R II-209 rocket motor.
• October '43: accident Hanna Reitsch with first B-0 on test flight (unpowered) in Regensburg.
• Possibly the reports of V-3 flying with EK-16 are caused by confusion with V-33/GH+IN ? Check Ethell

Me 163C/D/S

The history of the models following the Me 163B is sketchy, and no attempt is here undertaken to list their history (yet!)

Actual Me 163 part plate

Steve Polyak sent me this interesting picture of an actual part plate from an Me 163. Steve collects parts from WWII German aircraft and has a number of identification plates (Typenschild) from these aircraft.

It's hard to read, but the following information is stamped into the aluminum plate:

Steve reports: the '8' in the sach number (part number) indicates that it is from an airframe part, and not systems or weapons. It was attached with metal rivets so it wasn't directly on a wooden part. It is painted an exterior green, so it was likely on the outside of the airplane. The 118 is the 'sach number', a part reference number. Looking at the Drawings list, it seems that the part was to be found somewhere on the center fuselage. The a manufacturer's code 'hlo' is for 'Klemm, Hans, Flugzeugbau, Leichtflugzeugbau Klemm, Bobingen/Wurtthbg'. The part therefore must have belonged to a completely Klemm built Me 163B, and not a Messerschmitt built airframe. The plate was removed shortly after the war from a JG400 aircraft captured by the British, most likely at Husum, home of II/JG400. It's nicely painted with a dark (late war) green color.

• EthXXX: Ethell, Messerschmitt 163 Komet - Entwicklung und Einsatz des ersten Raketenjägers
• RanXXX: Ransom, Zwischen Leipzig und der Mulde - Flugplatz Brandis 1935-1945
• ZieXXX: Ziegler, Raketenjäger Me163 - Tatsachenbericht von einem der überlebte
• WarXXX: War Prizes
• RieXXX: Karl Ries, Luftwaffe photo-report 1919-1945