January 22nd 1945 Me262 encounter

[Steve Smith]

Hi,

Can anyone confirm if Me262's or Me163's were airborne on this night over Duisburg? I am researching a crew who submitted a combat report for an encounter with two Me262's and sighted two Me163 at around 20:09hrs.

TIA

Steve

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Hello Steve, I doubt the Me 163 were ever flown by night. So far, I have not read about, in several books, including Wolfgange Späte's one.

[RodM]

The simple answer is NO.

Bomber Command went through a "jet- and rocket-scare" between October 1944 and May 1945 - leading to numerous false sightings.

The ONE legitimate occasion when an Me262 was employed against four-engined bombers at night - Stettin, 13-14 January 1945 - Bomber Command crews reported no sightings of jet- or rocket-propelled aircraft (ironically).

For context, here's a table summarising Nighttime Air Combat Claims against Jet- and Rocket-propelled Aircraft by Bomber Command Heavy Bomber Crews, November 1944 - May 1945...

[Month: Destroyed - Probably Destroyed - Damaged]

11/1944: 34-06-01
12/1944: 08-00-04
01/1945: 10-02-02
02/1945: 15-00-01
03/1945: 08-01-01
04/1945: 02-00-00
05/1945: 00-00-00

TOTAL: 77-09-09

None (ZERO) of these claims were recognised by Bomber Command Headquarters and they are not included within the official Bomber Command Air Combat Claim statistics, approved in June 1945.