Me 163 Vs Allied Heavy Bombers: Northern Europe 1944-45

An illustrated account of the dramatic engagement between the Luftwaffe’s Me 163 units and Allied bombers during the closing years of World War II.

In the summer of 1944, US Army Air Force (USAAF) aircrews flying over the Third Reich reported observing small, high-speed ’batlike’ aircraft flying close to their formations. The Luftwaffe’s extraordinary Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor was making its devastating debut with Jagdgeschwader (JG) 400. Capable of reaching high altitudes in the shortest possible time by using a volatile rocket fuel, the Me 163 was the Luftwaffe’s most impressive yet dangerous aircraft, and the fastest in the world.

Luftwaffe expert Robert Forsyth details the testing of the aircraft and its lethal SG 500 ’Fighter Fist’ weapons system, as well as its deployment against the B17s and B24s of the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force and, from late 1944, the Lancasters and Halifaxes of RAF Bomber Command. These duels started a deadly form of warfare, with the bomber squadrons striking at Germany’s synthetic oil refineries and jet airfields, and the Me 163s of JG 400 trying to stop them using cutting-edge aeronautical technology.

Using specially commissioned artwork, original photographs and rare first-hand interviews with the pilots that fought the decisive dogfights, this exciting book describes the pivotal encounters over Northern Europe.

Robert Forsyth has long been interested in the history of the Luftwaffe and is the author of many books on the subject, including numerous articles for leading aviation journals and magazines. He has been consulted for television on the subject andvis a member of the editorial board of The Aviation Historian journal.
The illustrators for this book are Gareth Hector (cover and battlescene) and Jim Laurier (armament views, three-views and engaging the enemy artwork).