For the fictional aircraft of this designation from Aces: Iron Eagle III, see Messerschmitt Me 263 (fictional)

The Messerschmitt Me 263 was a rocket-powered fighter aircraft developed from the Messerschmitt Me 163 towards the end of World War II. Only one prototype was built as the rapidly deteriorating military situation in Germany prevented the completion of further aircraft. An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... Junkers & Co was a major German aircraft manufacturer. ... Alexander Lippisch earned his PhD in 1943 at the University of Heidelberg. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1944: Events January January 11 - in one of the largest air raids to date, 570 USAAF bombers strike Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben. ... This or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... The Messerschmitt Me 263 is a fictional jet fighter aircraft in the movie Iron Eagle III: Aces, supposedly developed by the Germans towards the end of World War II and flown by the drug-dealing ex-Nazi villain. ... Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... A Soyuz rocket, at Baikanur launch pad. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Early in the project's life, the aircraft was redesignated the Junkers Ju 248 resulting from the complicated nature of the later developments of the Me 163. After the original 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 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. ... Alexander Lippisch earned his PhD in 1943 at the University of Heidelberg. ...

The aircraft was an attempt to overcome the largest shortcomings of the Me 163B, based on the results of tests with the Me 163D (sometimes referred to as the Me 263 V1). The fuselage was considerably modified to accommodate larger fuel tanks to give longer range, the cockpit was redesigned for pressurization and fitted with a bubble canopy to improve the rear view for the pilot, and the Me 163's skid undercarriage was replaced with a conventional retractable undercarriage. The Walter rocket engine was modified to have two chambers - a main chamber to provide power for takeoff and climb, and an auxiliary chamber to provide lower power (and therefore lower fuel consumption) for cruising at altitude. The auxiliary chamber afforded a thrust of 300 kg (660 lb) which was in addition to the main chamber's normal thrust of 1,700 kg (3,750 lb), and the intention was that the aircraft should take off and climb to operational altitude with both rocket chambers operating at full thrust, then cut the main chamber and cruise on the power of the auxiliary chamber alone. This arrangement had previously been tested on modified Me 163Bs. By early August 1944, the prototype was undergoing glide tests, towed aloft by a Junkers Ju 188. Apparently, the Walter engine was fitted in September, but it is not clear if the aircraft was ever tested under power. In late September, the aircraft was ordered into production. Closeup of the front view of an F-16 Fighting Falcon showing the bubble canopy P-51 Mustang on the ground with canopy open A bubble canopy is a canopy made like a soap bubble, providing 360° vision to the pilot. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Ju 188 Rächer (Avenger) was a high-performance medium bomber from Junkers, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88 with better performance and payload. ...

In early 1945, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (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 the more powerful BMW 708 engine in place of the Walter powerplant. In the meantime, the Junkers factory was overrun by the Red Army and the prototype Ju 248, along with materials and staff, were captured and taken to the Soviet Union. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... The Reich Air Ministry (German: Reichsluftfahrtministerium) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933-45). ... Red Army flag The Workers and Peasants Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA or usually simply the Red Army) were the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918 and that in 1922 became the army of the Soviet Union. ...

Further development of the design continued after the war, resulting in the abortive Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 interceptor. The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 (Design Ж (Zh) under Mikoyan-Gurevichs in-house designation sequence, USAF designation Type 12) was a response to a Soviet Air Force requirement in 1945 for a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the point-defence role. ...

Development sequence

• By Messerschmitt as Messerschmitt Me 163D, then Messerschmitt Me 263
• By Junkers as Junkers Ju 248, re-designated Messerschmitt Me 263 when nearing production
• By Mikoyan-Gurevich as Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270

Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... Junkers & Co was a major German aircraft manufacturer. ... Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich, or MiG (Russian: Микоян, Микоян-Гуревич or МиГ) is a Russian military aircraft manufacturer. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 (Design Ж (Zh) under Mikoyan-Gurevichs in-house designation sequence, USAF designation Type 12) was a response to a Soviet Air Force requirement in 1945 for a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the point-defence role. ...

Specifications (Me 263 V1)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.89 m (25 ft 10⅔ in)
• Wingspan: 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in)
• Height: 2.69 m (8 ft 10¼ in)
• Wing area: 17.80 m² (191.59 ft²)
• Empty weight: 2,105 kg (4,640 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 5,150 kg (11,354 lb)
• Powerplant: 1× Walter HWK 109-509C-4 rocket, 19.61 kN (4,410 lb)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 997 km/h (620 mph)
• Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,212 ft)
• Rate of climb: 5,000 m/min (16,404 ft/min)
• Endurance:15 minutes at 11,000 m (36,090 ft)

(All performance figures estimated) The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

Armament

• 2 x 30 mm MK 108 cannon

The MK 108 (German: Maschinenkanone - Machine Cannon) was an autocannon (30mm calibre) manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft. ...

External links

• Luftfahrt History issue no 4 - Messerschmitt Me 263 & Blohm & Voss 155 (German)

Related content

Related development

• Messerschmitt Me 163
• Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270

Comparable aircraft

• Bachem Ba 349

Designation sequence

Go 242 - Go 244 - BV 246 - Ju 248 - BV 250 - Ho 250 - Fw 250 - Me 261 - Fw 261 - Me 262 - Me 263 - Me 264 - Fl 265 - Me 265 The Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Martin Lippisch, was the only operational rocket-powered fighter aircraft during the Second World War. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 (Design Ж (Zh) under Mikoyan-Gurevichs in-house designation sequence, USAF designation Type 12) was a response to a Soviet Air Force requirement in 1945 for a rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the point-defence role. ... Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Colubrid) was a WWII era German experimental rocket-powered interceptor aircraft which was to be employed in a very similar way as surface-to-air missiles. ... The Gotha Go 242 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. // Development The Go 242 was designed by Albert Kalkert in response to a RLM (Reichssluftfahrtministerium - Reich Aviation Ministry) requirement for a heavy transport glider to replace the DFS 230 then in service. ... The Gotha Go 244 was a transport glider used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. // Development The Go 244 was the powered version of the Gotha Go 242. ... The Messerschmitt Me 261 was an airplane designed in the early 1940s by the company Messerschmitt as a surveillance and transport aircraft, which was however never mass manufactured and put into use. ... The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German: Swallow) was the worlds first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. ... The Me 264 Amerika (America) was a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft developed by Messerschmitt during World War II for the Luftwaffe. ... Dr. Alexander Lippisch moved to the Messerschmitt Aircraft Company in Augsburg on January 2, 1939. ...

Related lists

List of military aircraft of Germany This list of military aircraft of Germany includes prototype, pre-production, and operational types. ...