Junkers Ju 248 V1
Description
Role	Interceptor
Crew	one, pilot
Dimensions
Length	7.83m	25' 10"
Wingspan	9.50m	31' 2"
Height	2.70m	8' 10"
Wing area	17.8m²	191 ft²
Weights
Empty	2,105kg	4,640 lb
Loaded	5,150kg	11,354 lb
Powerplant
Engine	1x Walter HWK 109-509C rocket
Power	16.7kN	3,750 lb
Performance (anticipated)
Maximum speed	1,000km/h	620 mph
Endurance		15 minutes
Service ceiling	16,000m	53,000ft
Rate of Climb	5,000 m/min	16,400 ft/min
Armament
Guns	None production version to carry 2x MK 108 cannon

The Messerschmitt Me 263 was a rocket-powered fighter aircraft developed from the Messerschmitt Me 163 towards the end of World War II. Only two airframes were ever completed, and the type seems never to have actually flown under power.

Early in the project's life, it was redesignated the Junkers Ju 248 resulting from the complicated nature of the later developments of Me 163. After the Me 163's designer, Alexander Lippisch left the project, Junkers was put in charge of finishing development of the Me 163D variant and was issued a new designation for the type.

The aircraft was an attempt to overcome the largest shortcomings of the Me 163, based on the results of tests with the Me 163D (a modified Me 163B, sometimes referred to as the Me 263 V1). The fuselage was considerably stretched to accommodate larger fuel tanks to give longer range, the cockpit was redesigned for pressurisation and fitted with a bubble canopy to improve rear view for the pilot, and the Me 163's skid undercarriage was replaced with a conventional retractable undercarriage. The engine was equipped with two chambers - one to provide power for take-off and climbing, and a second chamber to provide lower power (and therefore lower fuel consumption) for cruising. This arrangement had previously been tested on modified Me 163Bs. By August 1944, one of the prototypes was undergoing glide tests, towed aloft by a Junkers Ju 188. The following month, the type was ordered into production.

In early 1945, the RLM re-assigned the project to Messerschmitt, and re-instated the Me 263 designation, but the aircraft never reached the production line. The production version was intended to be powered by a BMW 708 engine in place of the Walter powerplant. In the meantime, the Junkers factory was over-run by the Red Army and the prototype Ju 248, along with materials and staff, were taken to the Soviet Union.

Further development of the design continued after the war, resulting in the abortive Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 interceptor.

Development Sequence:

• By Messerschmitt as Messerschmitt Me 163D, then Me 263
• By Junkers as Junkers Ju248, resignated Me263 when nearing production
• By Mikoyan-Gurevich as Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270