Although the German Me 163 Komet rocket fighter was created as a remedy
for the mass air raids of the Allied air force on Germany, its origins
date back to 1938. Alexander Lippisch then began work at the DFS factory
on a tailless rocket-propelled aircraft, designated as DFS 194. At the
beginnings of 1939, the project was handed over to the Messerschmitt
factory and there it developed into the Me 163A. Two prototypes of this
aircraft - V4 and V5 - were completed in 1941 and flown as gliders. Then
the V4 received a Walter HWK R.II rocket engine with a thrust of 7.5 kN,
and on October 2, 1941 H. Dittmar achieved a speed of 1003 km/h on
mentioned plane. Thirteen Me 163As were built for training.