Greenhill, 2000, ISBN 1-85367-404-4, $15, 72 pages

Volume 14 of the Luftwaffe at War series concentrates on the ME-163 Komet and all its variations, but also includes other rocket planes such as the adaptations of the ME262 using rocket engines and the Ba 349 Natter.

The core component of these booklets are the multitude of photographs along with extensive captions. German Rocket Planes contains 106 photos (10 color, the rest in black and white). A four-page introduction explains overall design and production, but those captions explain the details. Some apparent questions occur in the introduction:

"The first major combat action occurred on 13 May 1944 when Major Wolfgang Spate tried to shoot down a P-47 over northern Germany; Spate's rocket fighter went too fast, broke the sound barrier, and overshot his intended victim." (pg. 6).

He "broke the sound barrier"? I guess Chuck Yeager was second...

"The production of the ME 163 was considered to be a total of some 360 of 454 projected aircraft, of which more than 433 were estimated to be ready for delivery before January 1945." (pg. 7)

This sentence is unclear to me. Was it 360 or 433? "...more than 433 were estimated..." is also unclear. A mass of production numbers appearing in succeeding paragraphs sheds no light and would have been better off in a table. If I pick out the numbers correctly, May to September 1944 production was 55-65 planes, of which 16 were handed over to the Luftwaffe and 13 others to what seems to be a quality control organization. In October, 1944, 61 were produced, with 10 to 20 more almost completed. In November, 22 were handed over to the Luftwaffe. In December, 89 were produced, followed by about 30 more in January, three in February and four in March.

I don't want to get hung up on numbers, for the series concentrates on the photos rather than trying to be a definitive tome on the ME-163, but those two points stood out.

And finally, just another point I picked out, which tells when the first unit was activated. It's interesting that it apparently took another three or so months to shake out and position these short-range interceptors so they could engage in combat on May 13, 1944:

"The first combat ready aircraft, the ME163 B V14, arrived at Zwischenahn in January 1944....By 31 January 1944 the first ME163 Staffel with 12 ME163s was subordinated to the command of Luftflotte Reich." (pg 5)

All in all, the marvelous photos make this another success in the series. The less information you know about the ME163 Komet and Ba349 Natter, the more you will appreciate this booklet.

Sample Page

Below is reduced size version of page 30 (Actual page size is 7.5x10.25 inches). The book's cover also offers some dramatic evidence of photo selection.

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