Not a Toy: World's Scariest Aircraft | Last Moments

this is the Messerschmitt me163 Comet it's unusual compact design makes it look like a child's play thing but the comet was the furthest thing from a toy it was by far the fastest aircraft of World War II being the first and only rocket-powered fighter plane ever to be used in combat being state-of-the-art also meant it had to be handled with Extreme Caution however and the comet wound up proving just as dangerous to its own Pilots as the enemy but you weren't just liable to Simply crash or blow up no you'll never guess what gruesome fate this little aircraft could subject you to juicy during World War II the Germans were investigating experimental designs for unpowered aircraft also known as gliders at this time the Germans had already had some experience testing rocket engines the problem with those was they could only sustain flight for short periods before they burned up all their fuel so then why not put a rocket engine in a glider the pilot will have rocket power at his disposal and when the fuel runs out he's piloting a craft that doesn't need power to fly after numerous prototypes testing alterations variations and a handful of dead test pilots and crew the Messerschmitt me163 comment was first deployed in combat operations in 1944. let's take a look at some of the features that made the comet so exceptional and so deadly the tiny aircraft was less than 6 meters in length and held a single seat before takeoff it was fitted with a dolly consisting of two wheels once it was Airborne the dolly was jettisoned off the craft revealing a single skid as its permanent nose gear as the comet would be an unpowered glider once its Rocket Fuel ran out the skid was more suitable for landing but it wasn't without its problems the skate was held in place by an early or pneumatic strut a very common mechanism in modern day aircraft that absorbs the shock when Landing in such a compact aircraft it's very important that this works correctly if it malfunctions or if the pilot had mistakenly left it in the locked position while descending they were in for a very rough Landing during the comet's development three of its main test pilots got to experience this and were hospitalized with serious spinal damage and skull fractures another feature of the craft is the tiny blades on its nose adding to its comical appearance but this wasn't a propeller it was a wind turbine as the craft flew the flowing air caused the turbine to spin which generated power for the comet's on-board equipment like the radio Direction finder compass and the firing circuits for its twin 30 millimeter Cannons of course the comet's most spectacular feature was its rocket engine with this the comet became the only rocket-powered fighter planned to see combat and it also made it the fastest aircraft of the war in fact test pilot hiney didmar twice set on official speed records with the comet reaching a speed of 1130 kilometers per hour it is the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1 000 kilometers per hour in level flight its speed record would not be broken until after the war when the bell X1 reached the speed of 1434 kilometers per hour in late 1947. the problem with the rocket however or rather one of the many problems was its fuel the comet only held enough fuel for a maximum of seven and a half minutes of powered flight in combat the Allies quickly noticed this and would delay engaging the comet until its fuel was exhausted the problem was it was such a well-designed glider that it was still incredibly fast even on powered not just Speedy but agile too every pilot who flew the comet was incredibly impressed with its handling it was virtually impossible to stall or Spin and its Chief test pilot committed that it could fly circles around any other fighter of its time the comet was so good in this regard that it was actually too good the glider was so well designed that even the slightest updraft could cause it to rise up into the air a big problem when coming into land the small gust of wind could cause you to overshoot a Runway and with the fuel gone you weren't going to get the chance for a second Landing pass another problem lay in the comet's immense speed you would simply Zip by a Target in a matter of seconds meaning it required excellent Marksmanship to actually hit anything twin cannons were only accurate to a short range as well so it was basically impossible for the Comets to hit a slow-moving bomber this problem was addressed with a new weapon the Zonda great fun 400 Jaeger Faust it consisted of 10 single shot 50 millimeter guns pointing upwards five guns mounted at each Wing route the guns were attached to a photocell on top of the Comet that detected a change in brightness when there was something above the craft so the comet would swoop underneath an enemy bomber and the photo cell would automatically fire the guns the barrels of which were ejected downwards as they fired making the weapon recoilless it seems this weapon was only used once in combat in 1945 taking down a Lancaster bomber the comet could climb to an altitude of 32 000 feet in less than three minutes impressive but it could also present problems Pilots had to have special low fiber diets as gas in the gastrointestinal tract would expand rapidly during Ascent making for an uncomfortable and sometimes painful climb because the comet's cockpit was unpressurized they also had to undergo training in an altitude chamber even still the human pilot limited what the comet could do as he operated in the stratosphere without a pressure suit a human can only enjoy these conditions for a few minutes before losing Consciousness the comets biggest Hazard though was its fuel it made use of sea stuff a mixture of hydrazine hydrate and methanol and tea staff concentrated hydrogen peroxide they spontaneously ignite when they make contact with each other and had to be handled with Extreme Caution the comet had separate fueling ports for each and two tankers were used to fuel it the first would Supply the sea staff and then leave the area before a second tanker would come in with the tea stuff the comet's engine and fuel storage were thoroughly hosed with water before and after flights the fueled's high volatility resulted in many fires and explosions injuring and killing pilots and ground crew alike this often occurred when fuel lines were ruptured or leaking and with the frequency of rough Landings this made flying the comet a particularly dangerous Venture Pilots would usually try to make sure they'd used up all their fuel before coming into land over 1 1000 liters of sea stuff was stored right behind the cockpit's rear wall and 120 liters of tea stuff sat beside the pilot in tanks at both sides of the cockpit the fact that they were surrounded by this stuff probably caused by not some trepidation but not just because they would ignite in contact with each other they were highly corrosive by themselves t-stuff could only be stored in aluminum sea stuff in enamel or glass as they'd eat away at anything else Pilots wore special rubberized asbestos suits to protect them from the corrosive fuel but it wasn't always enough you also have pills was a 31 year old luftwaffe Ace and recipient of the knights cross the highest award in the military forces of Nazi Germany when he was transferred to a test unit for the messerschmidt comet in 1943. during a takeoff the dolly was jettisoned much too early Bouncing Off The Runway it struck the aircraft and ruptured a teased off line This caused the engine to shut down and pure's was forced to glide into an emergency landing Pilots at the air base watched on as their friend crashed his Comet rushing to his age they encountered a horrific sight in the cockpit heels of peels was drenched in the cross of teastoff his right arm had been dissolved to nothing the other arm as well as his head were little more than a mass of soft jelly pure's best friend major Wolfgang shveta ordered everyone not directly involved with the recovery operation to leave the scene immediately as he silently hoped the crash had instantaneously killed piores or at least knocked him unconscious the Messerschmitt me-163 Comet despite its incredible capabilities proved to have disappointing performance in its combat deployments due to its Myriad of issue in fact it's believed Comet Pilots shot down 9 to 18 Allied bombers but lost 10 comets in return in addition to the numerous pilots and ground crew killed during its development it never saw large-scale deployment and due to its late arrival in the war was quickly rendered useless as Germany faced supply issues with its exotic fuel only one Allied pilot has ever flown a comet with its rocket engine engaged Scotsman Captain Eric Brown despite being aware of the danger and describing the feeling of flying the comet as akin to sitting in a tin coffin Brown made an unauthorized flight to try out the rocket engine shortly after the war while the Allies still occupied the German air base the German Grand crew had protested this trying to warn him of the risk when he safely landed they shared a celebratory drink in his log of the flight Brown simply commented fantastic stick other than this unauthorized flight the Allies never tested the comet under power concluding that it was too dangerous every pilot who survived flying one was thoroughly impressed with its performance and thoroughly terrified by its dangers Daredevil Pilots were tantalized by the prospect of flying this Nimble craft an excitement perhaps only Amplified by the extreme risk in that Spirit the comet could perhaps be regarded as the forbidden fruit of aircraft for its time and a single bite could prove Not Just Deadly but excruciating foreign

Channel: Qxir

Views: 3,344,697

Keywords: messerschmitt, komet, footage, joseph pohs, acid, fuel, rocket, explained, wwii, german, war, fighter, plane, irish

Id: 1pWmHeikZxQ

Length: 11min 29sec (689 seconds)

Published: Fri May 12 2023