# WWII WEEKLY DIGEST NEWSREEL GERMAN ME-163 KOMET ROCKET PLANE R-4B HELICOPTERS 85794

This WWII Army Air Forces Weekly Digest newsreel consists of various segments. It begins with an assessment of bomb damage in Pilsen, where marshaling yards were struck by 500 bombers of the 8th Air Force. The Skoda Works is seen heavily damaged. At 1:57 , the newsreel assesses the rocket jet plane Me-163, which first saw combat in 1944. The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, designed by Alexander Lippisch, was a German rocket-powered fighter aircraft. It is the only rocket-powered fighter aircraft ever to have been operational and the first piloted aircraft of any type to exceed 1000 km/h (621 mph) in level flight. Its design was revolutionary and its performance unprecedented. German test pilot Heini Dittmar in early July 1944 reached 1,130 km/h (700 mph), an unofficial flight airspeed record unmatched by turbojet-powered aircraft for almost a decade. Over 300 aircraft were built, but the Komet proved ineffective in its dedicated role as an interceptor aircraft and was responsible for the destruction of only about nine to eighteen Allied aircraft against ten losses At 4:00 , Palawan in the Philippines is the scene where a floating aircraft repair ship is seen. An early helicopter is seen on board the ship, providing liaison service. A B-29 floating repair shop is seen off Iwo Jima, also with a helicopter on board. At 6:00 , a helicopter is seen. As World War II in the Pacific wore on, the military plans to attack Japan following the "island hopping" campaign that brought the…

- Kind: Newsreel
- Genres: War, News, Industrial and advertising
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/85794WeeklyDigestGermanME163)
- Licence or status: none stated by the archive
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/85794WeeklyDigestGermanME163?play=1)