Why the Me 163 Komet's Fuel Was More Dangerous Than the Enemy

In December 1943, a 43-victory fighter ace took off in the Luftwaffe's rocket fighter. The take-off wheels bounced back into the belly, a fuel line was damaged, the motor stopped, and Josef Pöhs died before he ever saw an enemy aircraft. The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet was the only rocket-powered fighter ever flown in combat, and the unit that flew it lost more Komets to crashes and accidents than to the enemy. This is why: two propellants that ignite the instant they touch, roughly half the aircraft's take-off weight in fuel, T-Stoff tanks on both sides of the pilot, explosions at engine start, under eight minutes of power, dead-stick landings on a skid, and why the British only ever flew their captured Komets as gliders. Chapters 0:00 December 1943: Josef Pöhs takes off 1:06 The Me 163 Komet 1:34 Nine shot down, fourteen lost 2:14 The fuel: T-Stoff and C-Stoff 3:24 Half the aircraft was fuel 3:40 Tanks beside the pilot 4:18 Why fly it at all 4:52 Twelve thousand metres in three and a half minutes 5:52 The landing 6:58 The cost 7:18 JG 400 at Brandis 8:17 Captured: Husum, Farnborough, America 9:08 Why the fuel was more dangerous than the enemy Sources include the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (Me 163B 191301 and the Me 163 flying jacket),… 📎 SOURCES & CREDITS (used in this video) YouTube: • Me 163 Komet walkaround, Museum of Flight Scotland — LandmarkScout — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUHQeJBNysA • Messerschmitt Me 163B walkaround — netmaquettes — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZRbhSeMMsI • Messerschmitt Me 163 B-1a Komet — WeekendClassicAviation — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivyQCuXKCog • Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet, NASM — pzl11c — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLqawomoWSg • Me 163 B-1a Komet, RAF Museum London — WeekendClassicAviation — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=109P6imGp2M • Me 163 Komet at the Udvar-Hazy Center — AirandSpaceChannel — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJUgN3dzvBQ • HWK 109-509 A-1 rocket motor — PaulBriden — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5rCnUgC9Sc • Walter HWK 109-509 rocket motor — OkraJoe — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQZNu9eh0AE • Me 163B Komet, RAF Museum Cosford — AirflowNZ — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uru4H5icgO0 Wikimedia Commons: • poehs.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • Messerschmitt Me 163 V8 on the ground.jpg — Royal Air Force official photographer (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messerschmitt_Me_163_V8_on_the_ground.jpg • Me 163 taking off at Bad Zwischenahn 1944.jpg — Australian armed forces (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Me_163_taking_off_at_Bad_Zwischenahn_1944.jpg • Me 163 A V4.jpg — Ray Wagner Collection Photos (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Me_163_A_V4.jpg • Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-058-62, Raketenjäger Me 163 A-V4.jpg — Unknown author Unknown author (CC BY-SA 3.0 de), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1972-058-62,_Raketenj%C3%A4ger_Me_163_A-V4.jpg • Messerschmitt Me 163 - The Luftwaffe 1939-1945 CH15664.jpg — Royal Air Force official photographer (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messerschmitt_Me_163_-_The_Luftwaffe_1939-1945_CH15664.jpg • mus_cos_9p0.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • Messerschmitt Me163.png — Unknown author Unknown author (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messerschmitt_Me163.png • Walter HWK 109-509 Berlin.jpg — W2k2 (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walter_HWK_109-509_Berlin.jpg • lippisch.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • walter.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • dittmar.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • mus_netmaq_87p0.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • reitsch.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons • mus_uhc_26p5.jpg — Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons Internet Archive: • Hitler's Secret Weapons - Significant Aircraft Developments — Hitler's Secret Weapons (USAAF film, NARA 342-USAF-14005) — US Air Force — public domain — https://archive.org/details/HitlersSecretWeapons • Captured German News Reels — Captured German News Reels (NARA 342-USAF-21504) — US Air Force — public domain — https://archive.org/details/USAF-21504 • ME 163 Komet Flown By Test Pilot Rudy Opitz — Me 163 Komet flown by test pilot Rudy Opitz (MID 3638) — @logibear64 (archive.org mirror) — https://archive.org/details/me-163-komet-flown-by-test-pilot-rudy-opitz • Fighter Planes Raid Germany — Fighter Planes Raid Germany (War Dept BPR-841, NARA 13693) — public domain — https://archive.org/details/BPR-841 All footage, images and recordings belong to their respective owners and are used under their stated licenses or as fair-use commentary/education. Contact us for credit updates or removal.