Messerschmitt P.1103-II | WW2 German Fighter | 28mm

In the dire days of 1944, as most of Germany's industry had been ravaged by Allied bombing raids, multiple aircraft companies began to design cheap, fast interceptors which could help stem the tide of Lancasters and B-24s. One such company was Messerschmitt, which, in 1944, submitted the P.1103 to the *Miniaturjager* design program. This program was meant to create interceptor designs which were as small as possible and as cheap as possible while still being capable of taking down enemy aircraft. However, later that year, the program was halted, being deemed too complicated to be worth the trouble (mainly in terms of launching methods for the aircraft), with only a few of the designs ever being built, such as the Junkers EF 126. The P.1103 was not one of them. The only design to proceed to production was the Bachem Ba 349. The P.1103 came in a few forms, the one presented here being the -II variant. It was very small, being constructed of wood and powered by a single Walter RI 202 liquid-fuel rocket engine. One MK 108 cannon, firing from a probably rather small magazine of 30mm rounds, was fitted below the nose. It took off via a detachable dolly, being towed into the air by a fighter such as a Bf 109 or Me 262, and it landed on a simple skid.