Komet 163 Chief test pilot Rudy Opitz
tells it like it was by Tom Atwood,
based on interviews with Rudy Opitz
Historical data & photos
adapted from Jeff Ethell’s book, “Komet The Messershmitt
163” |
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Click
images to enlarge
“One day, our project officer’s Komet 163
was fueled up and ready to fly when three Me 109s came over the field in a
single line formation. I was among 30 pilots watching from the ground.
Späte took off and was immediately upon them; we all saw that he easily
could have picked them off. They tried to come behind him, but with his
extra power and agility, he was soon behind each of them. Everybody was
terribly excited to see what you could do with the new plane.”
Rudy
Opitz and his peers in both the Komet and Me 262 programs were the very
first of a new breed of warrior. They were the first to ride into battle
perched on a tongue of flame. Their hands were wrapped around technology
so new and so leading edge we have little to compare it to in our time.
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Rudy Opitz enters a
Komet Me 163B at Bad Zwischenahn while being assisted by senior
Messerschmitt mechanic Schöffler. His flight suit, boots, underwear
and gloves are made of a non-organic, nylon-like material. Clothing
made of organic material like cotton would burst into flames on
contact with T-Stoff. The pilot was protected by 13mm armor behind
his head and shoulders, and 8mm armor behind his back. A 90mm armor
glass screen gave frontal protection with a 15mm armor nose cone.
The constant speed propeller in front drove a generator for electric
power. | The half century that separates then from now
dulls our appreciation for the enormity of their achievements. And, yes,
they were enemies. Yes, their research was intended to develop ever more
potent weaponry to be used against us. But, first, last and always, they
were technological pioneers who set the stage for an era not even
visionaries like Robert H. Goddard could have forseen. The lethal hazards
they faced on a daily basis were not the bullets of Allied soldiers but
the unknown dangers of pushing aircraft technology beyond known
boundaries.
Without the technological breakthroughs that were
central to the success of the Messerschmitt 163 Komet program, the modern
jet age would have advanced far more slowly. In a huge leap forward for
modern fighter development, the Komet program compressed decades of
research into a few years of intense wartime effort. Rudy Opitz, now 86
years young and still an active glider pilot in Connecticut, was a central
figure in the testing and development of the Komet—the most advanced
fighter of WW II. He was there when the era of modern fighter aircraft was
born. He knows and remembers how it happened.
When Rudy arrived at
the Deutsche Forschung-sinstitut fur Segelflug (German Research Instit-ute
for Glider Flight, or DFS) in the spring of 1936 to enter its glider
school, he had already been a glider pilot and instructor for some years.
His ability soon came to the attention of Alex-ander Lippisch, the
designer of the Me 163, and Heini Dittmar, Lippisch’s chief test pilot.
Rudy eventually became a key member of the Lippisch Deltas flight-test
team.
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Built at Regensburg
as the eighth 163B-series prototype, this Komet side view shows the
extended retractable landing skid and tailwheel. The tailwheel gave
directional control on the ground, and the extended skid provided
shock aborption to the wheel dolly, which is jettisoned after
takeoff. | When, in the Spring of 1941, the
Generalluftzeug-meister (Director of Luftwaffe Equipment) Ernst Udet
observed Dittmar make a low- altitude pass at over 400mph in the Komet
163B, he could hardly believe the plane had no engine. When Dittmar flew
the first rocket- powered test flight in August, Udet realized another
test pilot would be needed and called Rudy to ask if he would be
interested in rejoining Lippisch’s delta-wing research team. Rudy, who had
been unofficially managing the Luftwaffe’s assault glider program (where
he was awarded the Iron Cross, 1st Class, for valor), at first thought it
was a prank by his friends that someone as high ranking as Udet might be
calling. He accepted the offer with elation and rejoined the team at
Peenemünde-West.
Rudy clearly recalls his first look at the 163: “I
tell you, I couldn’t stop looking at that thing. With the 163A the
fuselage really blended into the wings. It was just beautiful—and a rocket
engine, my gosh. I was in heaven to be involved with it.
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With data recording
camara strapped to his head, Rudy checks the cockpit as an assistant
closes the canopy. Note the thick armor glass and embedded Revi 16B
gunsight at the front of the cockpit.
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“For my first flight, Dittmar just turned
the plane over to me and said, ‘Go for it.’ The dolly was just in front of
the CG, so the tailwheel was able to come off the ground fairly easily
once some speed was gained. I had my mind on the cockpit—the pressure
gauge and airspeed indicator—and before I knew it, I was over the end of
the runway and probably 200 feet in the air and had not ejected the dolly.
Although it was not known how the dolly would affect the aerodynamics, I
felt there was no reason to lose the dolly, so I decided to land on it. I
had no breaks and, with the dolly attached, no shock absorbtion, but I
landed without a problem.”
By October 22, 1941, the Messerschmitt
A.G. gave Udet a detailed plan for the construction of 70 Me 163B
interceptors that could lead to an operational fighter group by the spring
of 1943. The eight 163As already built would serve as trainers.
In
November, Dittmar severely injured his back on landing a 163 and was
confined to the hospital. Rudy assumed leadership of the project. By June
1943, the new “hot” engine had been delivered, but the run time was a
disappointing 6 minutes. An early test flight by Rudy proved to be one of
his most harrowing (see “Walking on the Edge”).
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Rudy takes off on a
test flight. The assistant in the foreground lacks ear protection;
this came later. |
As well as serving as a test pilot, Rudy
was responsible for the training of Komet fighter pilots (a tough job
considering the wartime drain on the pilot pool).
Continued
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