Rocket Attack by Nicolas Trudgian.

It required more than a little nerve to fly a fighter into the barrage of fire sprayed out by the gunners of a box of B17 bombers; it took even greater courage to do so in the rocket propelled Me163 Komet. With rocket science still in its infancy, these small aircraft were still in the experimental stage, and piloting what amounted to a flying bomb was in itself a perilous business, let alone flying them into combat. But these were desperate times. The day and night bombing assault on Germany was bringing the mighty war machine to its knees, and aything that might help stem the tide was thrown into battle. Powered by a mixture of two highly volatile chemicals, the slightest leak, or heavy landing could cause a huge explosion, and the mix was so corrosive that in the event of even a minor accident, the pilot could literally be dissolved. Sitting in a cramped cockpit, surrounded by dangerous chemicals and ammunition, the intrepid aviator would be launched into the sky on what was, at best, a four minute mission. After, hopefully, engaing the enemy, he would glide powerlessly back to the nearest airfield to be refuelled so as to attempt the hazardous operation all over again. Though limited to a handful of victories, the Komet did make the Allied crews wonder what else the Luftwaffe had hidden up its sleeve, and had the distinction of being the forerunner of aircraft technology that eventually took aircraft into space. Capable of nearly 600mph and climbing to 30,000ft in less than two minutes, this tiny rocket propelled Me163 Komet was typical of Germanys ingenuity in its desperate attempts to stem the havoc being wreaked by the USAAFs daylight bombers.

Signed limited edition of 600 prints. Image size 13 inches x 8 inches (33cm x 20cm). Price £95.00

Signed by Oberleutnant Franz Woidich (deceased).

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Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Image size 13 inches x 8 inches (33cm x 20cm). Price £155.00

Signed by Oberleutnant Franz Woidich (deceased).

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Limited edition of publishers proofs. Image size 13 inches x 8 inches (33cm x 20cm). Price £145.00

Signed by Oberleutnant Franz Woidich (deceased).

Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer

Remarque Edition prints. Image size 13 inches x 8 inches (33cm x 20cm). Price £280.00

Signed by Oberleutnant Franz Woidich (deceased)

ITEM CODE NT0263