ME 163 Komet: The Nazi’s Acid Fueled Interceptor

Comments · 331

• ME

  @megaprojects9649 · 2 years ago · pinned

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• FL

  @Flight_of_Icarus · 2 years ago

  Poor Robert Goddard. Never appreciated in his time nor ours. Everyone still thinks the V2 was the first liquid fuel rocket.

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• JA

  @jamesharmer9293 · 2 years ago

  The pilots were on low fibre diets but it wasn&apos;t to stop them farting. It was to stop them producing intestinal gas at all. The early model comets weren&apos;t pressurised and they were very fast. So fast that gas in the intestine would quickly expand as the pilot rapidly ascended to high altitude, causing intense pain and/or rupturing their intestines. This might put them off their flying. <br>Also a bit distracting was the positioning of the fuel tanks down either side of and behind the cockpit which were filled with corrosive fuel. There were occasions where pilots had a minor and normally survivable crash landing, but were then subsequently dissolved.

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• SO

  @sol1spartan584 · 2 years ago

  Looks at the video description: So Luftwaffe pilots were required to drop acid to fly this death machine… seems legit.

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• KE

  @kevinlane1219 · 2 years ago

  Here’s the explanation for the acid fuel: “The rocket motor was powered by two liquids, “T-Stoff” (80-90% hydrogen peroxide) and “C-stoff” (methanol, hydrazine, calcium permanganate, and water), which, when combined, qualified as a high explosive and instantly burst into flame. The compounds were so corrosive and volatile that the Komet’s tanks had to be specially constructed of aluminum (for T-stoff) or lined with enamel or glass (for C-stoff), and the fueling process completely separated using different crews and fuel trucks, and hosing down the plane and engine with water between fueling each liquid.”

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• MA

  @markowsley4954 · 2 years ago

  When I was around 8 or 9 I met one of my dad&apos;s co workers at Eastern Airlines who as teenager had flown the Komet late in the war. He had some very interesting stories about it. Unfortunately he passed away with a heart attack a couple of years later before I had the chance to really go into details with him.

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• HY

  @hyrumbosen1844 · 2 years ago

  I got to see this aircraft at the Smithsonian this weekend. Such an amazing tiny aircraft!

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• QU

  @Quasarnova1 · 2 years ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2oDLSw3ToM&amp;t=639">10:39</a> A couple of mistakes here. First, the Shuusui was heavily based on the Me163, but it was not a 1:1 copy. Second, J8M was the Navy&apos;s designation for it, not the Army&apos;s (J is the Navy&apos;s designation for a land based fighter, something that the Army had no need to specify). The Army&apos;s designations was the Ki-200.

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• SE

  @seangelarden9543 · 2 years ago

  Should have played the interview with Hanna Reich about her experience flying the komet

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• CP

  @cpt_bill366 · 2 years ago

  You missed a perfect opportunity to mention the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka, a rocket-powered kamikazi aircraft japan first flew in June 1945. I&apos;m sure there was just a little influence from the Komet.

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• BM

  @bmobert · 2 years ago

  The rocket of the Komet was the direct progenitor of the rockets powering the Black Arrow; so far, that nations only orbital rocket.

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• KE

  @kevintaylor791 · 2 years ago

  Have you done one on the Welland Canal in Canada? <br><br>It&apos;s a heck of a thing. It&apos;s so important, it&apos;s been made 3 separate times. <br><br>It&apos;s how big ass ships get around Niagara Falls.

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