For the fictional aircraft of this designation from
The was a
Rocket -powered
Fighter Aircraft developed from the
Messerschmitt Me 163 towards the end of
World War II . Only one prototype was built as the rapidly deteriorating military situation in
Germany prevented the completion of further aircraft.
Early in the project's life, the aircraft was redesignated the
Junkers Ju 248 resulting from the complicated nature of the later developments of the Me 163. After the original designer,
Alexander Lippisch left the project, Junkers was put in charge of finishing development of the Me 163D variant and was issued a new designation for the type.
The aircraft was an attempt to overcome the largest shortcomings of the Me 163B, based on the results of tests with the (sometimes referred to as the '''Me 263 V1'''). The fuselage was considerably modified to accommodate larger fuel tanks to give longer range, the cockpit was redesigned for pressurization and fitted with a
Bubble Canopy to improve the rear view for the pilot, and the Me 163's skid undercarriage was replaced with a conventional retractable
Undercarriage . The Walter rocket engine was modified to have two chambers - a main chamber to provide power for takeoff and climb, and an auxiliary chamber to provide lower power (and therefore lower fuel consumption) for cruising at altitude. The auxiliary chamber afforded a thrust of 300 kg (660 lb) which was in addition to the main chamber's normal thrust of 1,700 kg (3,750 lb), and the intention was that the aircraft should take off and climb to operational altitude with both rocket chambers operating at full thrust, then cut the main chamber and cruise on the power of the auxiliary chamber alone. This engine arrangement had previously been tested on modified Me 163Bs. By early August
1944 , the prototype was undergoing glide tests, towed aloft by a
Junkers Ju 188 . Apparently, the Walter engine was fitted in September, but it is not clear if the aircraft was ever tested under power. In late September, the aircraft was ordered into production.
In early
1945 , the
RLM re-assigned the project to Messerschmitt, and re-instated the Me 263 designation, but the aircraft never reached the production line. The production version was intended to be powered by the more powerful
BMW 708 rocket engine in place of the Walter powerplant. In the meantime, the Junkers factory was overrun by the
Red Army and the prototype Ju 248, along with materials and staff, were captured and taken to the
Soviet Union .
Further development of the design continued after the war, resulting in the abortive
Mikoyan-Gurevich I-270 interceptor.
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plane
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jet
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1
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789 m
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25 ft 10⅔ in
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950 m
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31 ft 2 in
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269 m
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8 ft 10¼ in
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1780 m&2
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19159 ft&2
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2,105 kg
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4,640 lb
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5,150 kg
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11,354 lb
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Walter HWK 109-509 C-4
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rocket
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1
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1961 kN
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4,410 lb
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997 km/h
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620 mph
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15,000 m
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49,212 ft
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5,000 m/min
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16,404 ft/min
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