To safeguard the important Leuna chemical complex, the first Me 163 Komet rocket-fighter squadron was deployed at Brandis
Due to the loss of German oilfields on the Eastern Front by retreating forces, Germany was dependent on its own infrastructure, especially for the production of coal-based synthetic oil. But the more powerful Allied air forces could reach them. General Carl Spaatz, the commander of the US Strategic Air Forces, embarked on a new offensive in 1944 with the intention of sapping the German war machine of fuel.
During the summer of 1944, the USAAF’s Oil Campaign gained speed and began to attack these refineries and plants with its daylight-heavy bombers. German communications that had been decrypted revealed that the Oil Campaign was having an impact on the Wehrmacht.
According to Steven J. Zaloga’s explanation in his book The Oil Campaign 1944–45 Draining the Wehrmacht’s Lifeblood, Me 163 Komet rocket fighters were among the Luftwaffe aircraft participating in defending the Reich during the Oil Campaign
In the middle of August, there were several raids on oil refineries, but few of them were devoted specifically to fuel targets. Mission 556, which took place on August 16 and involved 976 bombers and 612 fighters, was the only significant Oil Campaign raid. All five Me 163 rocket fighters from 1./JG 400 were among the 121 fighters that the I. Jagdkorps successfully launched into the air. It’s important to note that this Staffel was specially sent to the Brandis airbase to guard the enormous Leuna complex and the Leipzig fuel complex.
Two of the new rocket fighters were destroyed, one by P-51 of the 359th Fighter Group and the other by B-17 gunners. Three “shot-out-of-formation” victories for the Me 163 fighters were recorded, despite the fact that none of the B-17s were really shot down. Ten B-17s, mostly from JG 302, and three P-51 Mustangs were among the other claims. 32 German fighters were said to have been downed by escort fighters.
On August 24, the Oil Campaign continued with Mission 568, which included numerous well-known synthetic fuel targets, including Brüx, Misburg, Stade, and Leuna/Merseburg. Only 99 of the 222 fighters launched by the I. Jagdkorps made interceptions. The 1st Bomb Division was stopped by the Gefechtsverband in the vicinity of Lüneburg, and they reported 16 total losses, with 10 B-17s destroyed and seven more shot out of formation or destroyed stragglers.
With the largest commitment to date of eight rocket fighters, the Me 163 fighters returned to combat. The common strategy was for the fighters to fly over the bomber formations with high acceleration. Afterward, they could either turn off their rocket motors to save fuel and glide through the American bombers or turn them on to rapidly descend into the bomber line. The two 30mm MK 108 cannons were deadly against bombers, although it was quite challenging to target the bombers as they were rapidly descending.
That same day, Leutnant Bott of the same Staffel claimed to have shot a B-17 out of formation at around the same position a short while after Feldwebel Schubert claimed to have shot down two B-17s northwest of Leipzig at 1208-1209. The Me 163 fighters also engaged in a pointless battle with the P-51 fighters that were escorting them.
The Oil Campaign 1944–45 Draining the Wehrmacht’s lifeblood is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by: Edouard A. Groult via Osprey
