Me 163-related Aircrew

[Chris Goss]

Attached were found in the late-Alfred Price's collection; any ideas? Rudi Opitz & Franz Woidich?

[Karoband]

Hi Chris,

I think you are right.

The top photo is definitely Opitz

Woidich, who is wearing Leutnant's insignia but no RK, received his RK on 11 June 1944


best regards,

Jim Geens

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

Both photos appear in the late Jerry Ethell's, Komet The Messerschmitt 163/Ian Allan/1978, (p.124), with the following captions:

Your bottom photo:

Manfred Eisenmann and 'Bubi' Glogner at Lake Zwischenahn while with EK16. Eisenmann was killed while attempting to land his damaged Komet at Brandis/Source:Rolf Glogner.

The upper shot:

Rudolf Opitz at the height of his activity with the Me 163 in 1944. Not only was he responsible for the ongoing Komet test programme but service pilots had to be trained under his leadership, first at Zwischenahn and later at Brandis/ Source: Rudolf Opitz.

Col.

[udf_00]

And not unsurprisingly in Jefffrey L. Ethell & Alfred Price's "The Germans Jets in Combat", JANE'S (1979)
p.107 : "Rudolf Opitz joined the Me 163 test program soon after it begin, and later became chief test pilot for the project. Opitz"
p.127 : "Two of the rocket pilots of JG 400 who fought during the August actions: Feldwebeln Manfred Eisenmann (left) and Rudolf Glogner. Eisenmann was killed when is Me 163 crashed on 24 August. Glogner" .

[Col Bruggy]

Originally Posted by udf_00

And not unsurprisingly in Jefffrey L. Ethell & Alfred Price's "The Germans Jets in Combat", JANE'S (1979)
p.107 : "Rudolf Opitz joined the Me 163 test program soon after it begin, and later became chief test pilot for the project. Opitz"
p.127 : "Two of the rocket pilots of JG 400 who fought during the August actions: Feldwebeln Manfred Eisenmann (left) and Rudolf Glogner. Eisenmann was killed when is Me 163 crashed on 24 August. Glogner" .

udf oo,

Manfred Eisenmann was killed on 7 October, 1944, not 24 August, 1944.

Ransom & Cammann's Me 163 Rocket Interceptor Vol Two:

Photo of Eisenmann and wreckage of Me 163 440013 (p.260):

1/Right and far right - Uffz Manfred Eisenmann of 2./JG 400, seen here by the lake at Bad Zwischenahn while training with Erprobungskommando 16 and before he transferred with 2./JG 400 from Venlo to Brandis. He lost his life on returning from an unsuccessful combat sortie on 7 October 1944, while flying a Klemm-built Me 163B, W.Nr. 440013.

2/ Appendix 6 - Me 163 Flight Log - Production Aircraft.

Variant: B
Werk-Nummer: 440013
Call Sign: BQ+UP
Marking -
Date: 07.10.44
Place: Brandis
Company/Unit: 2./JG 400
Pilot: Eisenmann
Mode: C (Conventional take-off)
Remarks: Combat sortie. Aircraft destroyed; Eiesnmann killed - See Note !

Note 1.

Namentliche Verlustmeldung gives the identity of Eisenmann's aircraft at time he was killed as 440 013. BQ+UD. It is assumed that the entry was wrongly transcribed and that BQ+UD should read BQ+UP.

See:
Me 163 Rocket Interceptor - Volume Two.
Ransom,Stephen & Hans-Hermann Cammann.
Hersham:Classic Publications,2003.
pp.260 & 427.

Col.

[Chris Goss]

Thanks all; these were also in the 163 file and un-named

[Col Bruggy]

Hello,

Bottom photo:

Same photo In Me 163 Rocket Interceptor Volume Two (p.261), with the following caption:

7 October 1944: after an attack on a B-17 of the 96th Bomb Group, Fw. Rudolf Zimmermann, 1./JG 400, was pursued by Lieutenants Taylor, Erfkamp and Farrell from the 364th Fighter Group. Zimmermann escaped the attempts to shoot him down, although his aircraft was hit, and survived the strafing attacks after making a forced landing near Borna despite the claims made by Erfkamp and Farrell. Zimmermann was flying Me 163 BV62, White 7, that day. Fw. Zimmermann began his flying career in 1937 when he was 15 -years old. Between 1940 and May 1943 he received training at Konigsberg, with the Fliegerausbildungsregiment (FAR) 21 at Deblin in Poland, FAR 41 at Eggersdorf, the Fliegerschule at Werneuchen and at La Rochelle in France. In this period he made 609 flights with various types of aircraft. He was posted to 10./JG 27 at Kalamaki, Greece. where he made 60 flights, but never saw combat, in May 1943. He underwent gliding training at Gelnhausen in September 1943 and was posted to EKdo 16 that same month. He transferred to 1./JG 400 at Wittmundhafen in May 1944 and with that unit to Brandis the following July.

Col.

[Karoband]

My apology, Chris. The person on the left in the bottom picture is wearing the insignia of an unteroffizier.

Jim

[Kutscha]

Was the Me163 a 'death trap' as stated many times?

[Karoband]

Photo of Rolf 'Bubi' Glogner:

Google "Sgt. Rolf Glogner - Heaton-Lewis Books".

Scroll down and click on photo for an enlargement of "Manfred Eisenmann" (in insignia of an unteroffizier:

http://luftwaffelovers.blogspot.ca/2...-3-flying.html

I hope these links work.

Jim