ME-163 Komet - The "Devil's Sledge" Quiz

Answer: Professor Hellmuth Walther

Professor Walther operated the Hellmuth Walter Kommanditgesellschaft, a company which researched and developed different types of rocket engines and other means of propulsion. It took many years and several lives before the idiosyncrasies were finally worked out to a level deemed suitable for operational use. Truth be told, the engine was never safe as wartime conditions made the manufacture of the engine and the acquisition of the exotic alloys needed in such a novel powerplant nearly impossible to acquire.

Answer: Professor Alexander von Lippisch

Professor von Lippisch, a genius, was the man who designed the Komet. His work in gliders during the 1920s was years ahead of its time. He is also the "Father of the Delta Wing", the aeronautical achievement which unlocked the secrets of supersonic flight.

Answer: It took off from a wheeled dolly which fell free once airborne. It then landed on a ski on its belly.

This was one of the most dangerous aspects of a typical Komet flight. Many pilots broke their backs when trying to land on the ski in rough fields. There was precious little suspension and the ski often jammed or froze during the near-sonic flights of the Komet.

Answer: T-Stoff and C-Stoff

C-Stoff was a mixture of hydrazine hydrate and methanol, which was the combustible fuel for the engine. The other chemical was called T-Stoff, which was basically 80% pure hydrogen peroxide which served as an oxidizer. It was by far the most deadly, unstable, and dangerous of the two fuels used and cost many lives in its handling.

Answer: Hypergolic reaction

A hypergolic reaction occurs when two chemicals spontaneously decay upon contact with one another.

Answer: Its speed was so fast the pilot couldn't possibly take an accurate shot at the bombers.

The Komet flew at such mind-numbing speeds that the closure rate was incredibly fast. Flying over 450 miles an hour faster than its intended target, the B-17 bombers would appear as a tiny dot in the gunsights of the Komet, blossom into a huge shape in an instant (where the pilot would have to take immediate evasive action or collide!), and be gone miles behind the ME-163 in mere seconds.

The pilots had little hope of getting off an accurate, lethal shot at the bombers.

Answer: The crewmen and pilots who serviced and flew the aircraft.

The Komet took a fierce toll in blood of the pilots and crew who serviced the aircraft. Many refueling mishaps led to shattering explosions, and fully-fueled Komets lying in wait for the approach of the bombers literally exploded on the ramp for no apparent reason! Hundreds were killed during the testing phases of the Komet alone.

Answer: Two MK-108 30mm cannons

The MK-108 fired soda-can sized high-explosive shells which exploded on contact. It had a slow rate of fire and the heavy rounds had a very short range and poor ballistics capabilities (they dipped quickly and flew wildly.) However, if only one single shell hit the target, it was devastating.

Answer: 16

The Germans kept meticulous records of their wartime statistics. Only 16 enemy aircraft were ever shot down by the 370 Komets built.

Answer: The Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle flight is remarkably similar to that of the long-silent Komet. Launching under the weight of immense rocket power and gliding back to earth to land, Alexander von Lippisch actually helped design the space shuttle before he died in 1976.