Customer Reviews

Messerschmitt Me 263 (X Planes of the Third Reich)

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What if the Germans were able to produce an improved version of the Me-163 Comet? That's what this book is all about. The first 22 pages of this book explain that the Me-163 was a rocket powered interceptor. Built late in WW2, it was dangerous to fly, had to land on skid as it had no wheels. It was very fast, small, hard to hit but only had enough fuel for 2 minutes of combat.

The Me-263 would have had wheels, but maybe as many as four protypes were built. Most of the images in this book are either of a model the author built or digital images of what the plane would have looked like. So why no color?

The photos of the planes that are in the book are very grainy and of poor quality. This is a book for die hard aviation buffs who like to think about what if the Germans had done this or that. Other than that, I would not recommend this book. Get a book on the Me-163 instead.

There are few books available on the subject of the more obscure German "X-Planes" of WWII, of which the ME-263 is an interesting example.
It is unfortunate that such an interesting subject gets such a poorly written and edited book. There are typographical errors, odd formatting (putting all proper names in italics, for example), poor grammar and spelling mistakes on almost every page of the book. It is as if nobody proof read the text at all.

On the other hand, it contains a number of grainy, but interesting and heretofore unpublished pictures of the ME-163B and ME-263. Likewise, many of the "pen and ink" drawings reveal information that is unavailable anywhere else.

In summary, it's a shame the publisher could not have provided this book with the editorial support the subject matter deserves.