The only nation to ever have a rocket powered fighter in service or to use them in combat was Germany. This was, of course, the Me-163. Like many of the Luftwaffe's cutting edge weapons, this one did not have the success that was initially hoped and since they were used in the last year of the war when supplies and secure bases were scarce, their affect on the air war was minimal.

In this book on the Me-163 and the only jagdgeschwader to use them; JG 400, the authors provide us with a complete history of the development of the Me-163 as well as a full operational history of JG 400 from inception to the end of the war. Reading this one, I was struck with a sense of familiarity. As it happens, the authors wrote the definitive reference on the Me-163 in the two volumes they wrote for Classic Books back about ten years ago. Much of the research for that book has been included in this Osprey title.

The book provides a goodly number of photos of the aircraft and pilots who flew the plane. There are combat reports from both sides on flight operations and like all Osprey 'Aviation Elite Unit' titles, there are several pages of color profiles. Appendices include a full unit organization, a roster of pilots, biographies of some of the more notable personnel associated with the 163, a flight log of every combat sortie flown by 163s and a section on armament.

It all makes for a fascinating read on an equally intriguing aircraft. A book that I can quite easily recommend to you.

January 2011

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