Nach Kriegsende blieben in Regensburg und auch in St. Georgen/Gusen nur Ruinen des leistungsfhigen und produktiven Flugzeugwerkes Messerschmitt GmbH zurck. In reality, due to many delays, lack of unity in German aviation circles, and problems with its design and production, the Me 163 never managed to fulfill the role that its designer had intended for it. Not for publication. Learn how your comment data is processed. Photograph of the fighter assembly factory of Messerschmidt at Regensburg taken by an R.A.F. Before each flight, the fuel tanks had to be thoroughly washed with water. Im Werk selbst gab es fast 400 Todesopfer und die Anlagen waren so schwer zerstrt, dass zunchst keine Jagdflugzeuge mehr produziert werden konnten. [citation needed] In practice, all BFW/Messerschmitt aircraft from the Bf 108 four-seat touring monoplane, to the Bf 163 light observation aircraft (which competed unsuccessfully for the government contract won by the rival Fieseler Fi 156 design) were prefixed "Bf", all later types with "Me". These chemicals were extremely flammable and dangerous to handle and thus required safety procedures to be used properly. They also produced the DFS-designed Me 163 Komet, the first rocket-powered design to enter service. I have been looking all over for some 1940s era photographs of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg. Schon im Jahr 1935 wurde der bereits sehr erfolgreiche Prototyp vorgestellt, und damit war dessen Massenproduktion in Augsburg absehbar. I've googled, checked out Amazon.com and Amazon.de (Germany), and the Wikipedia. Once these were successfully tested, they would be then allocated to the 1./J.G. Because of the delayed start of the mission, eight squadrons of RAF Spitfire fighters (96 aircraft) from 11 Group and 83 Group had been added to escort the Schweinfurt force as far as Antwerp, where P-47s would take over and escort it to Eupen. The fuel could never be produced in sufficient quantities. Once the engine consumed all the fuel reserves, the aircraft essentially became a simple glider that was vulnerable to enemy fighter cover. Otherwise, Nada. On occasion, there were accidents involving this system, when, for example, the dolly refused to release from the aircraft, or even worse, it could bounce off the ground and strike the aircraft from below. While its speed was great, its maximum burn time for the engine was only slightly longer than 7 minutes, however this capability could be stretched by the pilots ability to switch the engine on and off throughout the flight. She later requested permission to fly the Me 163 again, but was explicitly rejected and was forbidden from flying it. Allein das Verwaltungsgebude war noch nutzbar und fungierte in der folgenden Zeit als so effektive Organisations- und Verwaltungs-Zentrale fr alle ausgelagerten Betriebe, dass die Produktion im Sommer 1944 wieder aufgenommen wurde und schon im Juni 1944 in den Regensburger Zweigbetrieben wieder 22 Jagdflugzeuge Me109 pro Tag produziert wurden. Ihre Infrastruktur wurde an das Netz der Stadt Regensburg angeschlossen und durch Ausbau neuer Straen, Verlngerung von Straenbahnlinien und der zugehrigen Wasser-, Strom- und Gasversorgungsleitungen verbessert. The EG was designed with a coaxial rotor configuration and had an ambitious performance estimation. Otherwise, Nada. FREEAdmission & Parking. B-17s over Schweinfurt on August 17, 1943. For this reason, the Me 163 was tested with some experimental weapon systems. - Purses Nearly all of the buildings are affected to some degree. Instagram: plane_encyclopedia In der Ende 1940 errichteten Produktionssttte Obertraubling wurden zwei sogenannte Russenlager fr rund 2750 Ostarbeiter aufgebaut. For ten years after World War II, the company was not allowed to produce aircraft. In late 1944 II./JG400 was repositioned at Stargard. The industry's infrastructure, while vulnerable to a sustained campaign, was not vulnerable to destruction by a single raid. The factory consisted of hangars, barracks, and a shooting range to adjust the jet's . Cheers David. 203 civilians were also killed in the strike. - Coolers Once at sufficient altitude the dolly was jettisoned from the bottom of the aircraft. [citation needed], On 6 June 1968, Messerschmitt AG merged with the small civil engineering and civil aviation firm Blkow, becoming Messerschmitt-Blkow. It was named Mitsubishi Ki-200, for the army, and J8M1 for the navy. - Water bottles (clear, sealed bottle, up to 20 oz.) The same thing had happened with the aircraft from the predecessor company run by Gustav Otto. While the commanders of EKdo 16 were against such a decision, there was little they could do and, by the end of September, the unit was on its way to Brandis. Of these, some 25 were transported back to the UK to be properly examined. In Augsburg und Umgebung mussten etliche tausend KZ-Hftlinge zunchst im KZ-Auenlager Haunstetten, ab April 1944 im KZ-Auenlager Augsburg-Pfersee des Auenlagerkomplex Schwaben des Konzentrationslagers Dachau Zwangsarbeit leisten, fr Flugzeuge wie die Me 210, deren Nachfolger Me 410 sowie die Me 262. Within a month of being set up, the company was able to supply aircraft to the war ministries of Prussia and Bavaria. The crews of the Me 163 were often instructed to destroy their own aircraft to prevent them from falling into the enemys hands, but despite this, the Allies managed to capture a number of intact Me 163. Most were used for training, either as gliders, or with an operational engine. Previously, because of this large number of groups, "provisional combat bomb wings" had been formed in April to control the groups tactically during large missions. This mission was enshrined in fiction as the "Hambrucken raid" in Beirne Lay and Sy Bartlett's novel, Twelve O'Clock High. B. Direktor Karl Linder oder Generalstabs-Ingenieur Roluf Lucht, regelmig zwischen Regensburg und St. Georgen. [28], Albert Speer reported an immediate 34 percent loss of production,[29][note 7] but both the production shortfall and the actual loss of bearings were made up for by extensive surpluses found throughout Germany in the aftermath of the raid. Preserved photographs seem to indicate that these precautions were not always strictly adhered to. Note the brightly colored nose. ", Stamped on verso: "Passed for personal use only. Minds: @PlaneEncyclopedia. The company then changed its name to Messerschmitt-Blkow-Blohm (MBB). November 1937 begann die Produktion mit einem Serienauftrag fr die Fertigung der Messerschmitt Bf 108, auch genannt Taifun. At the same time, 1./JG 400 and other available Me 163 were being relocated to new positions at Brandis. Given its small size and limited overall weight, the onboard batteries had a limited capacity. The development of a network of supporting airfields for the Me 163 was also never completed. Am Ende des Jahres 1944 wurden auf Initiative des Jgerstabes unter strengster Geheimhaltung wesentliche Teile der Betriebseinrichtungen und des Personals des Fertigungskreises Regensburg in den U-Verlagerungsbetrieb B8 Bergkristall bei St. Georgen an der Gusen verlagert. If the safety procedures were not followed, there was a great risk of explosion, which happened on occasion. Because of this the Germans simply had to reduce the number of aircraft that they used for combat, as there wasnt enough fuel for all of them. The development of the rocket engines was very slow and plagued with many setbacks, especially the limited production of fuel, which eventually led to huge delays in the Me 163 production. Im Februar 1944 wurde mit dem Bau des Flughafens begonnen, auf dem neu entwickelte Modelle von Heinkel und Messerschmitt zu Testflgen starten sollten. The production of Me 163 was initially allocated to the Messerschmitt Regensburg factory. In addition, the Germans planned for the Me 163 to be positioned at a series of auxiliary airfields along Allied bomber routes. Glad you like it and thanks for the comment! A few days later, another accident occurred when the towing aircraft lost power to one of its engines. BFW was reconstituted as "Messerschmitt AG" on 11 July 1938, with Willy Messerschmitt as chairman and managing director. 11.000 Beschftigte Ende 1942 bis auf 13.000 am Kriegsende.[Anm. Freeman states that the gunners' claims were later reduced to 148, and that actual German loss was "only 27 fighters". That is until it ran out of fuel, at that point it was completely helpless and could only glide back to base. It provides a reasonably accurate view of the thinking behind the planners' intention and the decisions that led to the abandonment of the goal of launching a double strike in such a way that the second strike would meet no aerial opposition; and of the action in the air itself. The question of how many Me 163B were produced during the war is difficult to pinpoint precisely. The former I/.J.G.400 commander Wolfgang Spate, flying one of the remaining operational Me 163, managed to destroy 5 additional Allied bombers by the end of the war. It was known in Japan as J8M1 Shuri (Rigorous Sword). After a number of attempts to get permission to flight test the Me 163, she was finally allowed to do so at the end of 1942. It was probably in the spring of 1922 that Castiglioni and Popp persuaded MAN to give up its shares in BFW, so that now the company belonged exclusively to Castiglioni. Dort wurden bis zum 23. [18], At 14:57 approximately 40 B-17s remained of the lead wing when it dropped its bombs on the target area containing five factories and 30,000 workers, followed over a 24-minute span by the remainder of the force. Therefore the Germans worked on developing safer types of dollies. But this situation would be rare given the fact that Me 163 was a short-range and unique interceptor that operated on its own without support from other aircraft. The 103 CG had 11 from the 303d and 6 from the 379 BG. Thank you. The problem with fuel was even complicated by the increase in production of the Me 163. On the 16th of August, five Me 163 attacked a group of B-17s, and even managed to shoot down two of the bombers. . The unit received its first operational Me 163 on the 10th of March, and seven more were to arrive by late April 1944. (About a gazillion books on the aircraft themselves, it was and is a popular modeling subject!). In an incredibly ambitious undertaking, the 4th Bombardment Wing would attack the major Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg followed minutes later by an even larger raid by the 1st Bombardment Wing against the ball bearing facilities in the picturesque town of Schweinfurt. This had a thrust power ranging from 100 kg (220 lbs) to 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) or 1,700 kg (3,750 lbs), depending on the source. The number of prisoners working for Messerschmitt increased greatly after the bombing of Messerschmitt's Regensburg plant on 17 August 1943. . On the 24th of August, eight Me 163 managed to shoot down three more bombers while successfully evading enemy fighter cover. For this reason, Brandis would become the main key point for the Me 163 combat operations. (Left) The first bombs hitting the Messerschmitt plant at Regensburg on August 17, 1943. Two are located in German museums: Luftwaffenmuseum at Berlin-Gatow and Deutsches Museum in Munich. 1] Wegen der Einberufungen zum Wehrdienst ergaben sich nach Kriegsbeginn Probleme bei der Beschaffung von qualifizierten Arbeitskrften und das Werk sog Fachkrfte aus allen Sparten auf, so dass viele Betriebe und Behrden in der Region unter dem Mangel an Arbeitskrften zu leiden hatten. While the cockpit was not pressurized, it could be jettisoned to help the pilot escape the aircraft in case of emergency. However, for the second half of the war, Messerschmitt turned almost entirely to jet-powered designs, producing the world's first operational jet fighter, the Me 262 Schwalbe ("Swallow"). The original mission date of August 7 could not be met because of bad weather, and the B-24s flew Operation Juggler on August 13 without participation by the Eighth Air Force, which was still hampered by unacceptable weather conditions. During refueling, the ground and the aircraft had to be sprayed with large amounts of water. Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. Given its phenomenal speed during dive attack at the enemy formation, the Me 163 was essentially immune to enemy fighter cover and was unable to do much against it. was the ball bearing factories, I'm pretty sure that the Messerschmitt factory was affected. In order to provide the necessary power, the Germans simply added a small windmill generator which was placed on the nose of the fuselage. Alle Straen der Siedlung waren benannt nach toten Mrtyrern der SA und die zugehrige Schule war nach dem toten Sturmfhrer der SA Horst Wessel benannt. [1], Diese Entwicklung fr das Werk Augsburg erforderte die Grndung eines Zweigwerkes fr die Produktion der Flugzeuge vom Typ Messerschmitt Bf 108 eines auch militrisch nutzbaren Kurierflugzeugs, das auch Taifun genannt wurde. [acesflyinghigh.wordpress.com]Close-up view of the Me 163 cockpit and instruments. DISCONTINUED. plane 4 1/2 hours after the plant had been attacked by B-17's of the 8th A.F. Schon vor der Machtergreifung der NSDAP (Januar 1933) und vor der putschartigen bernahme des Brgermeisteramtes in Regensburg durch den Arzt Otto Schottenheim (Mrz 1933), befand sich die Stadt Regensburg in einer wirtschaftlich desolaten Lage. [19], Three B-17s were shot down by flak over Schweinfurt. To resolve this issue the unit personnel began drilling wells to collect water. He was supported in this by BMW's Managing Director Franz Josef Popp who, in a letter to the chairman of MAN, described BFW as a "dead factory, which possesses no plant worth mentioning, and consists very largely of dilapidated and unsuitable wooden sheds situated in a town that is extremely unfavorable for industrial activities and whose status continues to give little cause for enthusiasm". Since World War I aircraft were largely built from wood to keep their weight down, BFW was equipped with the very latest joinery plant. The sources give different numbers, for example, most state around 400 of all models, of which some 370 were estimated to be of B-version, were built by the wars end. The 101 CG was made up of B-17s from the 381st (7), 351st (6), and 91st (6) BG. More than 700 bombs fell within the target area causing severe damage. For the surname and people called Messerschmitt, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and Messerschmitt, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messerschmitt&oldid=1132330632, Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany, Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from August 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2013, Articles needing additional references from August 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, ultra-light parasol-wing single-seat monoplane, fighter, bomber interceptor; later versions sometimes mistakenly marked as "Me 109" on subcontractor's dataplates, high-altitude fighter, developed from Bf 109; not built, project transferred to, STOL reconnaissance aircraft; prototype built by Weserflug AG, lost military contract to, designed to break world air speed record; attempted fighter conversion failed, fighter; update to Bf 109, never produced, twin-engine heavy fighter; also used for reconnaissance, designed as long-range record-setter; three built and used for reconnaissance, twin-engine fighter & attack aircraft; first operational jet-powered fighter, rocket-powered interceptor; advanced development of Me 163, fighter; advanced but underperforming design meant to replace Bf 109, 1 built, pressurized Me 210 development, proposed, large transport aircraft; powered development of Me 321, heavy fighter-bomber; unpowered glider only, tailless fighter, similar to Me 163 (development abandoned), 3-turbojet passenger aircraft (development abandoned), High-altitude fighter project; evolved into Bv 155, twin-engine heavy fighter and fast bomber; development of Me 210, fighter, based on Me 309, with engine located behind cockpit as in, heavy fighter; combined two Me 309 fuselages into one airframe, as with Bf 109Z and Me 409 (development abandoned), 1941 flying wing strategic bomber project, prototype multi-role aircraft, intended improvement of Me 262, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 10:48.
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