Messerschmitt Me163A 'First Rocket Fighter'

The Messerschmitt Me 163A was the world's first rocket-powered aircraft produced in larger numbers. Production aircraft were used for testing as well as for the training of the pilots who were to fly later with the true fighter version known as the Me 163B. On October 2, 1941, German pilot Heini Dittmar, flying in the Me 163A V1, became the very first man to exceed a speed of 1000 km/h (in fact, he reached 1003.67 km/h). The rocket powered Komet took off using a two-wheel jettisonable dolly and landed on a skid retracting from under the lower fuselage. The kit comprises a frame of plastic parts, an injected clear canopy part, resin parts to enhance the cockpit area and a PE-fret. The decal sheet caters for three Me 163A machines.