MESSERSCHMITT ME-168 GEIER

(1945-1946)

Fictional Text and Model by Adam Rehorn

Operational History of the Me-168

As the war in the air over Germany became more and more desperate, a number of ambitious programs were started in order to create a new force of fighters that could drive the Allied bombers from the skies. Some of these programs included the Volksjäger program that spawned the He-162 Salamander and the 'Jägernotprogram' that resulted in a number of quickly designed, simple jet fighters.

The goal of the Jägernotprogram, or “emergency fighter program” was to create a new jet fighter that would be simple to assemble, easy to fly, and cheap to make. One entry was the He-1078, which was a stubby fuselage mated with long swept wings, ending in a sharply down-turned rudder/winglet combination. This design was found to be unsatisfactory, however.

He-1078
Art by Gareth Hector

As far as small and simple, the Messerschmitt company had a number of designs on the drawing board that were jet-powered derivatives of the famous/infamous Komet rocket interceptor (the Li P.15 and Li P.20). It was felt that the Komet's excellent aerodynamics would lend themselves beautifully to jet conversion, and these designs were presented to the RLM.

LP P.15 Artwork by Daniel Uhr

However, as time for the Reich appeared to be running short, the RLM ordered Messerschmitt to take a more direct approach to solving the problem, and to use as much of the Komet's structure and fabrication network as possible. The result was a decision to mount the Jumo 004 engine in the fuselage in place of the Walter rocket, and to make modifications to the structure as required.

The first iteration of what was called the Me-168 project was a very linear descendant of the Komet, and in fact was almost identical, except for the stubbier rear fuselage, and elephant ear intakes on the sides of the body, immediately aft of the cockpit. Wind tunnel tests showed that aerodynamics were not severely compromised by the shift in weight and the addition of the intakes. However, an engineer who had heard of the Horten brothers' flying wings suggested doing away with the drag inducing vertical tail as well. Trials with the wind tunnel model thus modified were carried out, and no significant issues were found with the change. Thus, the decision was made to finalize the design without the tail. The RLM accepted the design in December 1945.

The Me-168 V-1 prototype was converted from a production Me-163B airframe and was ready in just twenty days from the start of conversion. Due to a lack of fuel space in the now mostly engine filled fuselage, twin drop tanks were fitted near the body. These came from the Ar-234 Blitz bomber.

The trolley/skid landing system of the Komet was retained for the sake of simplicity and expedience, and there were almost no changes to the cockpit, except for the removal of the rear windows. Armament originally consisted of two 30mm MK 108 cannons at mid-span, but this was changed to two MG 151 20mm to save weight and room. It was also felt that the cannon's higher rate of fire would result in a higher number of hits per unit firing time.

The first flight took place on January 26, 1946, and was a success. There was little to change in the design, and production was authorized in the beginning of February. The first aircraft were ready for service at the end of February; this rapid production being facilitated by the great number of parts that could be taken directly from Komet production lines or scavenged from operational Komets.

The first squadrons to operate the Geier consisted of pilots drawn from Komet squadrons, mostly former members of JG 400. These men were only too happy to bid the potentially lethal Komet a final farewell, and began training on the new plane on Feb 27, 1946. Because the handling of the Geier was so similar to the Komet, conversion training was very quick. Operations of the new JG 468 began on March 17, 1946, and the first kill was made two days later. Within a week, the pilots had proven the soundness of the plane's design and had developed effective tactics for attacking the bomber stream.

Standard operational doctrine stated that the Me-168s would take off and climb to an altitude higher than the bombers, and orbit with engines throttled back, waiting for them to arrive. (This led to the official nickname Geier, meaning vulture. The popular name was "Kröte" meaning toad, a testament to the dark color and lumpy shape of the Me-168.) The 168s would then dive through the formation, attacking as many bombers and escorts as possible.

The maneuverability of the Geier, even with its drop tanks, was very good, and it proved a very difficult adversary for the P-51s escorting the bombers. Often the Mustangs would break to deal with the Geiers, leaving the bombers open for slashing attacks from either the Me-262s or even “conventional” Komets. When the mission was over, the Geiers would retreat to cover the landing fields for the Me-262s. The endurance conveyed on the Geier by its glider heritage was greater than that of any other German jet fighter, and allowed it to perform airfield defensive missions even after its aerial dog-fighting was over.

The Me-168 was so effective, easy to fly, and easy to build that it managed to make a difference in the war. After losses began to mount, the RAF was forced to send Gloster Meteors to the front to try and swat the little egg-shaped fighters, which had earned the Allied nickname “horsefly“. Even USAAF P-80s were dispatched to deal with the menace provided by the Geier and later German piston fighters - the Dornier Pfeils and Fw Ta-152Hs.

Geiers were also tasked with escorting bomber groups (comprised mostly of Ju-88s and Ar-234s), their relatively long range making them ideal for the role. A special squadron of Me-168s, JG 991, was formed in June 1946, expressly for the purpose of escorting nuclear armed He-177s to targets in Belgium, France and the western U.S.S.R. These planes could be identified by their longer, slimmer drop tanks and their white anti-flash undersides.

Over 700 had been produced (with around 450 entering service) by the time the war ended in August, 1946, and they had destroyed over 300 Allied aircraft, for a loss of roughly the same of their own numbers.