Allein das Verwaltungsgebude war noch nutzbar und fungierte in der folgenden Zeit als so effektive Organisations- und Verwaltungs-Zentrale fr alle ausgelagerten Betriebe, dass die Produktion im Sommer 1944 wieder aufgenommen wurde und schon im Juni 1944 in den Regensburger Zweigbetrieben wieder 22 Jagdflugzeuge Me109 pro Tag produziert wurden. Dort wurde ab Ende 1944 im grten funktionsfhigen Messerschmitt-Werk in einer durch die Oberbayerische Forschungsanstalt in Oberammergau konzertierten Aktion noch in groem Stil die Serienproduktion des Strahlflugzeugs Me 262 (Rumpfwerk und Vorflgel) begonnen. In May 1942, Me 163 B-0 V1 (KE+SX) was completed, minus the engine, and was tested as an unpowered glider. While the one carrying the aircraft parts was sunk, the others that were carrying technical manuals managed to reach the German ally. At dawn of August 17, after airmen had gone to their airplanes, England was covered in fog. The 1st Bomb Wing was over German-occupied territory for three hours and thirty minutes, of which two hours and ten minutes, including all of the time spent over Germany itself, saw no fighter support whatsoever. By May 1944, only a small group of fewer than 50 pilots had a chance to fly either the powered or towed versions of the Me 163. In an incredibly ambitious undertaking, the 4th Bombardment Wing would attack the major Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg followed minutes later by an even larger raid by the 1st Bombardment Wing against the ball bearing facilities in the picturesque town of Schweinfurt. While in theory, this should work without any issue, in some cases the dolly would simply bounce off the ground and hit the aircraft from below potentially causing damage to it. The production of Me 163 was initially allocated to the Messerschmitt Regensburg factory. The first true test of the concept was in the Bf 108 Taifun sports aircraft, which would soon be setting all sorts of records. World War II, 24th August 1940, London, England, An RAF Pilot dressed in a Nazi Pilot's uniform shows children a Luftwaffe . This, in theory, would increase the overall production and avoid potentially being targeted by Allied bombers. Diese Dezentralisierung erwies sich als ein Erfolgsrezept, mit dem auch der nchste schwere Rckschlag bewltigt wurde. As a consequence, deep penetration strategic bombing was curtailed for five months. Pointblank operations in April and July 1943 had concentrated solely on the production of the Fw 190 at factories in Bremen, Kassel, and Oschersleben, and although serious losses to the bomber forces had occurred, the attacks had been successful enough to warrant attacking those manufacturing Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Schon vor der Machtergreifung der NSDAP (Januar 1933) und vor der putschartigen bernahme des Brgermeisteramtes in Regensburg durch den Arzt Otto Schottenheim (Mrz 1933), befand sich die Stadt Regensburg in einer wirtschaftlich desolaten Lage. I've googled, checked out Amazon.com and Amazon.de (Germany), and the Wikipedia. On the 1st of September 1944, the production of the Me 163 was officially handed over to Junkers. That particular aircraft would be destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on Klemm. On the other hand, it was overshadowed by a number of critical faults that were never corrected. still looking deadly in the dark corner. The BV1 prototype would be, from this point on, mainly used as a training glider aircraft. South of the barracks, 500 . After a number of attempts to get permission to flight test the Me 163, she was finally allowed to do so at the end of 1942. Schweinfurt was close to the city of Regensburg, where there was a Messerschmitt fighter plane . He was supported in this by BMW's Managing Director Franz Josef Popp who, in a letter to the chairman of MAN, described BFW as a "dead factory, which possesses no plant worth mentioning, and consists very largely of dilapidated and unsuitable wooden sheds situated in a town that is extremely unfavorable for industrial activities and whose status continues to give little cause for enthusiasm". JavaScript is disabled. To continue the training of pilots, the whole operation was temporarily moved to Brieg on the Oder. ", [Aerial view of Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg, Germany after aerial bombing], The James C. Stewart Fighter Ace Collection/The Museum of Flight, The James C. Stewart Fighter Ace Collection (2002-02-13.1098), Box 1, Folder 11, Series I - Photographic materials, circa 1930s-1969, Box: 1, Folder: 11 - Aerial photographs, circa 1942-1945. There's one picture of a hangar at Regensburg in Middlebrook's book, three aerial pictures, and three pictures showing post-raid damage. W. Spate and R. P. Bateson (1971) Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet , Profile Publications, M. Ziegler (1990) Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, Schiffer Publishing, M. Emmerling and J. Dressel (1992) Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet Vol.II, Schiffer Military History, E. T. Maloney and U. Feist (1968) Messerschmitt Me 163, Fallbrook. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding items permitted inside the museum. The administration and research department consisting of 2.200 employees were moved to Conrad-von-Htzendorf barracks in Oberammergau. 1./JG 400 was at this stage prohibited from making combat flights in order to avoid the attention of the Allies. Haywood S. Hansell, Jr., "Balaklava Redeemed", "Bombing of Schweinfurt," from the Third Reich in Ruins webpage by Geoff Walden, "Reality Remembering Scheinfurt" by Wally Hoffman, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SchweinfurtRegensburg_mission&oldid=1134933395, 60 bombers, 3 P-47s, and 2 Spitfires lost, This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 15:47. For this reason, the pilot had to endure altitude chamber training and had a specially designed diet. Da es den Alliierten nicht verborgen blieb, dass die Produktion von Flugzeugen weiterhin erfolgte, wurden im Juli 1944 die Flugzeugwerke in Augsburg, Regensburg und Obertraubling erneut bombardiert und dabei fast vllig zerstrt. B-17s over Schweinfurt on August 17, 1943. At this time the Luftwaffe officials were determined to introduce the Me 163 to service. The Schweinfurt portion of the mission also formed the framework for the novel The War Lover, by John Hersey. plane 4 1/2 hours after the plant had been attacked by B-17's of the 8th A.F. by Cantankerous 04 Jun 2022, 20:01, Return to Luftwaffe air units and Luftwaffe in general. Because of the delayed start of the mission, eight squadrons of RAF Spitfire fighters (96 aircraft) from 11 Group and 83 Group had been added to escort the Schweinfurt force as far as Antwerp, where P-47s would take over and escort it to Eupen. It is from there that the Me 163s attempted to intercept a huge Allied air formation of some 766 bombers, supported with over 14 groups of cover fighters. While the Mosquito pilot managed to fly back to France, he was forced to crash land. - Firearms* Williams personally led the mission, flying as co-pilot in an aircraft of the lead formation, as wingman to the commander of the 91st Bomb Group. For take-off, the Me 163 sat on a simple two-wheel dolly unit. All visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. This was never achieved, as the Allies destroyed the vital C-Stoff fuel production facility at Kiel in August. They also produced the DFS-designed Me 163 Komet, the first rocket-powered design to enter service. This aircraft was to have a redesigned fuselage and cockpit. Thank you. As, at that time, EKdo 16 could not provide a fully operational Me 163, these were instead taken from 1./J.G. [10], Folgen fr die Infrastruktur in Regensburg, Zahlenangaben wahrscheinlich einschlielich Zwangsarbeitern und Kriegsgefangenen, https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messerschmitt_GmbH&oldid=226704177, Wehr- und Rstungswirtschaft im Nationalsozialismus, Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike, Baubeschrnkungen fr den gesamten Stadtwesten wegen Verlust von Baugelnde und Erweiterung des Flugplatzes, Verknappung von Verbrauchsgtern und Preiserhhungen, Mangel an Arbeitskrften, besonders bei Facharbeitern, aber auch bei Behrden, Die hohe Gefhrdung als Angriffsziel fr Bombenangriffe machte die Stationierung von Flaktruppen ntig. Found one book by Schmoll. Die im Verlauf des Zweiten Weltkriegs bis Mitte 1942 erfolgten Nachtangriffe der britischen Luftwaffe erreichten nur West- und Norddeutschland und konnten die deutsche Rstungsindustrie nicht gefhrden. In reality, this backfired, as it caused huge confusion and chaos with the delivery of parts, and poor quality in production. D. Donald (1990) German aircraft of the WWII, D. SHarp (2015) Luftwaffe secret jets of the Third Reich, Mortons Media Group, H. Morgan and J. Weal (1998) German Jet Aces of the World War 2 , Osprey Aerospace. Several factors weighed against the Regensburg force in this air battle. I'd even settle for a history book of Messerschmitt that had some illustrations. Von den 146 ohne Begleitschutz angreifenden Bombern erreichten ca. In Augsburg und Umgebung mussten etliche tausend KZ-Hftlinge zunchst im KZ-Auenlager Haunstetten, ab April 1944 im KZ-Auenlager Augsburg-Pfersee des Auenlagerkomplex Schwaben des Konzentrationslagers Dachau Zwangsarbeit leisten, fr Flugzeuge wie die Me 210, deren Nachfolger Me 410 sowie die Me 262. Nach der Absage der Erweiterung des Messerschmitt-Stammwerks in Augsburg boten sich die im ueren Westen des Stadtgebiets von Regensburg vorhandenen Freiflchen zur Ansiedlung der erforderlichen Produktionsbetriebe an. Photograph of the fighter assembly factory of Messerschmidt at Regensburg taken by an R.A.F. To avoid concentrating the production in one location, given the Allied bombing campaign, Junkers . Everyone who flew the mission stressed the importance of the escorts in reducing losses; the planners grasped only that Schweinfurt would have to be bombed again, soon, in another deep-penetration, unescorted mission.[6]. First wave of attack. Fifteen minutes after leaving the target each task force circled over the town of Meiningen to reassemble its formations, then continued west toward Brussels. The company's management were forced to look for new products with which to maintain their position in the market. The first of Fend's vehicles to enter production at Messerschmitt's Regensburg factory was the KR175. Shortly after she took off, the jettisonable takeoff dolly refused to successfully detach from the aircraft, preventing it from using the landing skid. [9] Spter diente das Gebude als Schule. This was certainly a strength if we take into account the huge shortage of resources and materials that the Germans endured during the later stages of the war. The mission takeoff was delayed until 08:00, when the fog had cleared sufficiently over East Anglia to allow the 4th Bombardment Wing to take off using instruments, a technique they had practiced. - Backpacks The actual responsibility of building these was given to Messerschmitt production plants at Regensburg with assembly at Obertraubling. Z-Stoff was an aqueous solution of calcium permanganate. Each of these was tasked with the delivery and production of parts before being finally assembled at Brandenburg-Briest. Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) was reformed in 1926, in Augsburg, Bavaria, when Udet Flugzeugbau GmbH was changed into a joint-stock company. The Schweinfurt mission in particular foretold the failure of deep penetration raids of Germany without adequate long-range escort. In Regensburg, all six main workshops of the Messerschmitt factory were destroyed or severely damaged, as were many supporting structures including the final assembly shop. This involved getting the Me 163 high above the Allied bombers and then plunging down at them with a dive speed of 885-930 km/h (550-580 mph). In theory, during take-off, both engines would be activated until a certain altitude was reached. This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjernes Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. Once the engine consumed all the fuel reserves, the aircraft essentially became a simple glider that was vulnerable to enemy fighter cover. As you know, this was one of the targets of the Schweinfurt- Regensburg mission on the 17th of Aug 1943, and it was so because an important Messerschmitt factory that was established there. The most obvious change was the completely redesigned fuselage, which was larger and had an overall more aerodynamic shape. RAF Fighter Command squadrons participating were: All break down the claims as 16 for the 56th FG, 2 for the 78th FG, and one for the 353rd FG. It had 6 Me 163s, of which only one was equipped with a rocket engine. German engineer, plane manufacturer, in his factory of Bamberg , 1942. Rocket Powered Fighter Around 370 Built. Mit Zusatztanks ausgerstet konnten sie von England aus Sddeutschland und dann zur Landung Nordafrika erreichen. To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force landing at airfields in North Africa. Messerschmitt AG ( German pronunciation: [msmt]) was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in particular the Bf 109 and Me 262. DISCONTINUED. Im Februar 1944 wurde mit dem Bau des Flughafens begonnen, auf dem neu entwickelte Modelle von Heinkel und Messerschmitt zu Testflgen starten sollten. They were relocated to Wittmundhafen as the airfield at Deelen proved unfit for the Me 163 aircrafts operation. While its speed was great, its maximum burn time for the engine was only slightly longer than 7 minutes, however this capability could be stretched by the pilots ability to switch the engine on and off throughout the flight. US-Luftflotte war mit Bombern vom Typ Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ausgerstet, die auch fr Tagesangriffe geeignet waren. Read our Privacy Policy for more information. In addition all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. [Wiki]The rear wheel was completely steerable and was added to help during take-off and landing. The EG (also known as the Yak-M-11-FR-1, Sh or Yak-EG) was a prototype helicopter designed in 1946 by the Yakovlev OKB. Without escort for much of the mission, the bombers faced wave after wave of Luftwaffe fighters alone. On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany. Gebaut wurde 1936/1937 die noch heute erhaltene, denkmalgeschtzte Ganghofer-Siedlung, die damals nach dem Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe Gring-Heim genannt wurde. During May, a number of unsuccessful combat flights with the Me 163 were undertaken. Mehr als 5000 KZ-Hftlinge des KZ Flossenbrg wurden fr die Produktion des Jagdflugzeugs Bf 109 eingesetzt. Mai 1937 gefeiert. I've googled, checked out Amazon.com and Amazon.de (Germany), and the Wikipedia. For this reason, the Me 163 was tested with some experimental weapon systems. Still, handling the Me 163 fuel without this kind of protection was highly dangerous for the ground maintenance crews. - Water bottles (clear, sealed bottle, up to 20 oz.) The first Me 163B flew in July 1945 but was lost in an accident. In addition the mission length for the Regensburg force was anticipated to be of eleven hours' duration, so that commanders had only a 90-minute "window" in which to launch the mission and still allow the 4th Bombardment Wing B-17s to reach North Africa in daylight. The remaining ground personnel from the I/.J.G.400 were dispatched to the East to fight as infantry in Bavaria. The Me 163 were then used in several failed attempts to intercept the Allied reconnaissance aircraft that made frequent flights over the base. There were also 55 to 95 additional aircraft badly damaged. From this point forward all aircraft built would be transported to Bad Zwischenahn near Oldenburg. Trotz der Einstufung als kriegswichtiger Betrieb waren die Messerschmitt-Werke mit gemeinsamer Konzernfhrung in privatem Besitz, was eine Ausnahme in der nationalsozialistischen Kriegswirtschaftspolitik darstellte. Within a month of being set up, the company was able to supply aircraft to the war ministries of Prussia and Bavaria. I model WWII Luftwaffe aircraft (1/72nd scale) and European Model Railways (HO scale). Founded in 1999. Mission No. The unit was by that time being renamed to Jagdgeschwader 1./JG 400 and stationed at Deelen. Messerschmitt Aircraft Plant in Augsburg-Haunstetten, 11 August 1944 Photo taken August 11, 1944 from a Spitfire MK XI of the 14th Squadron of the 7th PRG. Finally, both P-47 groups were forced to turn back to base after only fifteen minutes of escort duty, without engaging any German interceptors. wurden neben dem Jagdflugzeug Bf 109 (Me 109) im Werk Regensburg an den Standorten in Prfening und im benachbarten Obertraubling auch die Typen Me 210, Me 323, Me 163 und Me 262 produziert. Messerschmitt promoted a concept he called "light weight construction" in which many typically separate load-bearing parts were merged into a single reinforced firewall, thereby saving weight and improving performance. In den folgenden Monaten wurden die bentigten Maschinen geliefert und aufgebaut und die Materiallager aufgefllt. BFW was reconstituted as "Messerschmitt AG" on 11 July 1938, with Willy Messerschmitt as chairman and managing director. was the ball bearing factories, I'm pretty sure that the Messerschmitt factory was affected. by dmeephd 30 Apr 2009, 17:39, Post In the Flossenbuerg factory of the DEST the Messerschmitt Company produced parts for the ME 109 fighter plane. I have been looking all over for some 1940s era photographs of the Messerschmitt factories in Augsburg or Regensburg. It provides a reasonably accurate view of the thinking behind the planners' intention and the decisions that led to the abandonment of the goal of launching a double strike in such a way that the second strike would meet no aerial opposition; and of the action in the air itself. Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum. Deshalb gab es in den nchsten Monaten keine weiteren Angriffe amerikanischer Bomber, bis fr die Boeing B-17-Bomber Begleitschutz verfgbar war. Through manufacturer testing, it was revealed that the EG had very undesirable handling characteristics and excessive vibrations when the Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). At the end of May, the airfield at Bad Zwischenahn was heavily bombed. T-Stoff was stored in one main and two smaller auxiliary tanks. EKdo 16 began receiving the first operational Me 163Bs only in July, or February of 1943. On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany. Existing types, such as the Bf 109 and 110, retained their earlier designation in official documents, although sometimes the newer designations were used as well, most often by subcontractors, such as Erla Maschinenwerk of Leipzig. For example, while the Me 163 was cheap, due to many reasons it was never produced in any sufficient numbers to cause any serious threat to the Allies. These were still prototype aircraft of the B pre-production version. Although the raid caused heavy damage at both factories, 60 of the 376 bombersabout 1 in 6 of those dispatchedwere shot down and more than 600 Airmen were killed, missing, or captured. [citation needed], The Messerschmitt factory also produced prefabricated houses, which were designed as "self-building-kits" mainly based on an alloy framework. Between 16:20 and 17:00 a covering force of 93 P-47s and 95 Spitfires[note 3] arrived to provide withdrawal support, claiming 21 fighters shot down, but eight more bombers were lost before the force reached the North Sea, where three more crash-landed. This had a thrust power ranging from 100 kg (220 lbs) to 1,500 kg (3,300 lbs) or 1,700 kg (3,750 lbs), depending on the source. Photograph of the fighter assembly factory of Messerschmidt at Regensburg taken by an R.A.F. The new factory, Kuno II, was built right into the forest using forced labor from concentration camps. The machinery and the materials were then used for the production of furniture and fitted kitchens. For the surname and people called Messerschmitt, see, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and Messerschmitt, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messerschmitt&oldid=1132330632, Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Germany, Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from August 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2013, Articles needing additional references from August 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, ultra-light parasol-wing single-seat monoplane, fighter, bomber interceptor; later versions sometimes mistakenly marked as "Me 109" on subcontractor's dataplates, high-altitude fighter, developed from Bf 109; not built, project transferred to, STOL reconnaissance aircraft; prototype built by Weserflug AG, lost military contract to, designed to break world air speed record; attempted fighter conversion failed, fighter; update to Bf 109, never produced, twin-engine heavy fighter; also used for reconnaissance, designed as long-range record-setter; three built and used for reconnaissance, twin-engine fighter & attack aircraft; first operational jet-powered fighter, rocket-powered interceptor; advanced development of Me 163, fighter; advanced but underperforming design meant to replace Bf 109, 1 built, pressurized Me 210 development, proposed, large transport aircraft; powered development of Me 321, heavy fighter-bomber; unpowered glider only, tailless fighter, similar to Me 163 (development abandoned), 3-turbojet passenger aircraft (development abandoned), High-altitude fighter project; evolved into Bv 155, twin-engine heavy fighter and fast bomber; development of Me 210, fighter, based on Me 309, with engine located behind cockpit as in, heavy fighter; combined two Me 309 fuselages into one airframe, as with Bf 109Z and Me 409 (development abandoned), 1941 flying wing strategic bomber project, prototype multi-role aircraft, intended improvement of Me 262, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 10:48.
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