This weapon consisted of five rockets usually placed under each wing, but on the Me 163 it was actually mounted vertically in the wings. While the cockpit was not pressurized, it could be jettisoned to help the pilot escape the aircraft in case of emergency. That is until it ran out of fuel, at that point it was completely helpless and could only glide back to base. The administration and research department consisting of 2.200 employees were moved to Conrad-von-Htzendorf barracks in Oberammergau. Theater Censor ETOUSA. The Me 163B in standard camouflage. Fifteen minutes after leaving the target each task force circled over the town of Meiningen to reassemble its formations, then continued west toward Brussels. more than a third of the production at the Regensburg factory originated in Flossenbrg and Gusen alone; only the final assembly was done in Regensburg. It is from there that the Me 163s attempted to intercept a huge Allied air formation of some 766 bombers, supported with over 14 groups of cover fighters. by Cantankerous 04 Jun 2022, 20:01, Return to Luftwaffe air units and Luftwaffe in general. Messerschmitt AG (German pronunciation: [msmt]) was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in particular the Bf 109 and Me 262. Several other designs were also ordered, including the enormous Me 321 Gigant transport glider, and its six-engined follow on, the Me 323. To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force landing at airfields in North Africa. By the time the fog had sufficiently cleared over the Midlands, the Regensburg force had already reached the coast of the Netherlands, which indicated that reacting German fighters would have sufficient time to land, replenish, and attack the second task force. At this time the Luftwaffe officials were determined to introduce the Me 163 to service. Delays in delivering essential parts, such as weapons, caused setbacks in the Klemm Me 163 production. However, major quality problems were encountered at the start. Haywood S. Hansell, Jr., "Balaklava Redeemed", "Bombing of Schweinfurt," from the Third Reich in Ruins webpage by Geoff Walden, "Reality Remembering Scheinfurt" by Wally Hoffman, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SchweinfurtRegensburg_mission&oldid=1134933395, 60 bombers, 3 P-47s, and 2 Spitfires lost, This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 15:47. Die Ansiedlung des Flugzeugwerks verbunden mit dem Zuwachs an Bevlkerung brachten Regensburg auf den Weg zu einer Grostadt, in der das neue Werk mit vielfltigen kulturellen Aktivitten auch fr eine Verbesserung des Freizeitangebotes sorgte. Due to poor ground conditions for Me 163 operations, the aircraft was relocated back to Bad Zwischenahn in late August. 1./JG 400 was at this stage prohibited from making combat flights in order to avoid the attention of the Allies. 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. This unit, which was formed in April of 1942, had the primary function of testing and evaluating the newly built Me 163 and helping in the development and improvement of its overall design. In order for the pilot to enter the cockpit, a ladder was placed on the left side of the aircraft. 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. 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. RAF Fighter Command squadrons participating were: All break down the claims as 16 for the 56th FG, 2 for the 78th FG, and one for the 353rd FG. [walterwerke.co.uk]. After ninety minutes of combat the German fighter force broke off the engagement, low on fuel and ammunition. As a consequence, deep penetration strategic bombing was curtailed for five months. About half of those became prisoners of war and 20 were interned. - Coolers Die Siedlung umfasste 1140 Wohnungen in 152 Einzel- und Mehrfamilienhusern. Deshalb gab es in den nchsten Monaten keine weiteren Angriffe amerikanischer Bomber, bis fr die Boeing B-17-Bomber Begleitschutz verfgbar war. However, 15 miles from Schweinfurt, the opposing fighters, after shooting down 22 bombers, disengaged and landed to refuel and re-arm in order to attack the force on its way out. (About a gazillion books on the aircraft themselves, it was and is a popular modeling subject!). As the seat of a factory of the powerful Messerschmitt corporation, Haunstetten became a wartime production center during World War II. The Americans listed 55 of their bombers with 552 crewmen as missing after the August 17 double-target mission. Im Februar 1944 erfolgte der zweite Angriff amerikanischer B-17-Bomber, bei dem das Hauptwerk in Prfening mit allen Produktionshallen vllig zerstrt wurde. P.R.U. There's a fairly good physical description of the Regensburg factory and its surroundings in Martin Middlebrook's book. The last wing formation of bombers was fifteen miles behind the first and nearly out of visual range. Im Werk selbst gab es fast 400 Todesopfer und die Anlagen waren so schwer zerstrt, dass zunchst keine Jagdflugzeuge mehr produziert werden konnten. by dmeephd 01 May 2009, 13:46, Post [17], The Schweinfurt task forces followed the same route as the Regensburg force. Da es den Alliierten nicht verborgen blieb, dass die Produktion von Flugzeugen weiterhin erfolgte, wurden im Juli 1944 die Flugzeugwerke in Augsburg, Regensburg und Obertraubling erneut bombardiert und dabei fast vllig zerstrt. (About a gazillion books on the aircraft themselves, it was and is a popular modeling subject!). [1][2][3], In Regensburg, all six main workshops of the Messerschmitt factory were destroyed or severely damaged, as were many supporting structures including the final assembly shop. Die 1926 in Augsburg gegrndeten Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke (BFW) wurden nach der Machtergreifung der NSDAP und nach dem NSDAP-Beitritt des Chefkonstrukteurs Willy Messerschmitt von den NS-Behrden mit weitreichenden Auftrgen zur Entwicklung des neuen Jagdflugzeugs Messerschmitt Bf 109 bedacht. In late April I/.J.G.400 would be disbanded and its remaining few operational Me 163 were allocated to the J.G 7. As it was overburdened with other projects, it would then be allocated to a much smaller Klemm factory where less than 60 aircraft were built in total. Youtube To avoid concentrating the production in one location, given the Allied bombing campaign, Junkers dispersed it across numerous smaller companies. In the final analysis, the Me 163 theoretically possessed great potential for a rocket-powered aircraft. 40,000 inmates from Spain, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, France, Russia, Hungarian Jews and twenty other nationalities were murdered during the production of these aircraft at KZ Gusen. During its development, the Me 163B was tested with a series of different rocket engines. The BV1 prototype would be, from this point on, mainly used as a training glider aircraft. . The tail wheel may have been the long or short variety. [wiki]. Although you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. The problem with fuel was even complicated by the increase in production of the Me 163. I found this site which may have some info if you contact them - sorry my German ain't that good. Then, in May of the same year, when the Italian-born investor was able to acquire BMW's engine business from Knorr-Bremse AG, nothing more stood in the way of a merger between the aircraft company BFW and the engine builders BMW. VerticalScope Inc., 111 Peter Street, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2H1, Canada. At dawn of August 17, after airmen had gone to their airplanes, England was covered in fog. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. When the second attack on Schweinfurt came on October 14, the loss of more than 20% of the attacking force (60 out of 291 B-17s) resulted in the suspension of deep raids for five months. The task force consisted of seven B-17 Groups totalling 146 aircraft, each group but one flying a 21-aircraft combat box tactical formation. [26] 35,000 m2 (380,000 square feet) of buildings in the five factories were destroyed, and more than 100,000 m2 (1,000,000 square feet) suffered fire damage. Da absehbar war, dass fr die Beschftigten des neuen Werkes auch neue Siedlungsgebiete erforderlich waren, wurden die drei Regensburg sdlich und westlich unmittelbar benachbarten Drfer Ziegetsdorf, Dechbetten und Groprfening eingemeindet. The SchweinfurtRegensburg mission was a strategic bombing mission during World War II carried out by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces on August 17, 1943. [8][9][10] The 4th Bombardment Wing, using B-17s equipped with "Tokyo (fuel) tanks" for longer range, would attack the Messerschmitt Bf 109 plants in Regensburg and then fly on to bases in Bne, Berteaux and Telergma (French Algeria). [luftwaffephotos.com]While this takeoff and landing system offered the desired reduction in weight, it was not without its problems. Shortly after she took off, the jettisonable takeoff dolly refused to successfully detach from the aircraft, preventing it from using the landing skid. Due to its main cannons low velocity, and in order to avoid collision with the target, the pilot had only a few seconds available to engage the enemy. Gab: @plane-encyclopedia The production of Me 163 was initially allocated to the Messerschmitt Regensburg factory. A forum community dedicated to Model train and railway owners and enthusiasts. While the Mk 108 had sufficient firepower to outright destroy or heavily damage enemy aircraft, it was plagued with low velocity. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. The Regensburg force then turned south to cross the Alps, confronted by only a few twin-engined fighters soon forced to disengage by lack of range. First wave of attack. In comparison to the predecessor, the B-version had a number of modifications. According to Coffey: 70 men, 77 women, 48 children, and 8 foreign workers. The Me 163 was notorious for having only a limited powered flight endurance of 7 minutes and 30 seconds before its fuel reserve was spent. Willy Messerschmitt joined the company in 1927 as chief designer and engineer and formed a design team. Our Public Suggestions List [Google Sheets], Donate to us on Subscribestar! The 1st Bomb Wing was over German-occupied territory for three hours and thirty minutes, of which two hours and ten minutes, including all of the time spent over Germany itself, saw no fighter support whatsoever. 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