Dr Reinhard Opitz - Me163 pilot
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2011
- In WW2, the rocket-powered, tailless Messerschmitt Me163 Komet interceptor was on the leading edge of aerospace technology - its mission, a last-ditch German effort to defend the Reich.
Last year, on a visit organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society's Munich Branch, we had the opportunity to interview one of the few surviving Me163 pilots, Dr Reinhard Opitz, on his experiences in flying this rare aircraft, within the apt surroundings of the Messerschmitt Museum at EADS/Cassidian Manching. The Museum, on the EADS facility, is home to the EADS Heritage Flight, a unique collection showcasing part of German aeronautical history.
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Dr Reinhard Opitz even at the end of his time shows a calibre beyond what you find today. Honour to you knight of the air.
Honour, hey?
Yes indeed.
When Dr. Opitz talked about the first times flying with the rocket engine his face lit up. You can see him remembering them and the excitement he experienced during these flights. Especially because he survived them.
I interviewed Alexander Lippisch at his home in Iowa in the 70s. We talked about his Human Powered Ornithorpter that he designed and built in the 20s. He had just had a heart pacer implanted but was eager to talk about his work in aviation, including the Me163. He also mentioned that Mitchell had worked in his office before the second world war.
In case someone scrolling the comments is curious: sadly, Dr. Reinhard Opitz died in 2011. This was his last interview, recorded a few months before his passing.
it's such a privilege to hear an interview from a 163 pilot. there aren't many people who've flown the face melter and lived to tell of it. *salutes*
Agreed, I believe our Capt Eric Brown did fly a 163 under power.
He was really getting on in years here, and one might get the impression that he was getting a bit confused at times in English, but he's pin sharp when he switches to German. As a pilot, the look on his face when he was asked about his impression of his first flights in the aircraft, I instantly recognize.
that's good to hear
I am fluent in German. Speaking his own language he’s quick and perfectly sharp.
I am native german, he is completely clear, has just some issues with english wording
but anyway I think its great he tried altough he had help
Nothing less than a Knight of the air, an officer and gentleman & one to whom respect and admiration is due.
My prayer is to meet men of this calibre on the streets of Heaven.
Rest peacefully, good sir!
Got Dr Opitz autograph flying the ME163 an amazing aircraft !!
Yes, an amazing interview, he touched upon all aspects of flying science in Germany before, during and after the war. A time capsule for students of history. Thank you.
This is a rare video treat. Happy to run across it. I salute your skill and courage as a pilot. Wishing you good health sir.
I agree, thank you for this rare Interview!
Fantastic personality! And a really smart answer at the end!
Thanks for the up-load. Its a rare treat to hear a Q&A from a pilot that flew the 163. It's an insight I've always wanted to hear. And what a sharp guy. Love at then end hes asked to say something to encourage today's Youth into aeronautics and he said he couldn't. Because the future of aircraft wont have pilots. So true
This man is such a gentleman you _almost_ want to thank him for his *service.*
I think it's justified by now, its been 60 years and Nazism is far from a large ideology. Most European contributors to WWII were not brutal in their tactics, especially in the air- where all you needed to do was destroy the aircraft, not necessarily kill the pilot or crew. While Japan for example, was absolutely brutal and desperate in their measures. Often shooting at parachuting pilots and crew if they had bailed out. To japan it was honour, to everyone else it was unnecessary.
Point is, most soldiers didn't just want to kill the enemy just because they could, but either as a defense of self and country- or because they were required to in an offensive recruitment.
but then you dont because you remember he was serving in the nazi army in 1943 killing americans who were trying to end the genocidal regime
@@dylan4964 Uh ze evil nazi army with it's deadly MG42 killing some americans who bombed your city and maybe killed some of your family members, such heroes.
@@JoelLinus You clearly know alot about ww2 considering you think germany ever bombed a single american city
@@dylan4964 I ment you americans bombing our city while calling yourself heroes, you said germans were the evil side, clearly, and I said he wanted to kill some of your bombers to prevent more death in innocent citys.
Thank you, great opportunity to hear the first hand experience about flying that amazing plane !
Recorded on the left channel only. Low volume. Very difficult to listen to on Bluetooth earphones, or phone speaker. This could easily be republished in listenable format. This is rare content that deserves to be preserved and published.
I read his book on the ME 163 .
Fantastic !
Try Mano Ziegler book Rocket Fighter. I rather get the impression it killed as many friends as foes.
Thanks for posting this. It's amazing to see this man reminisce.
All was interesting to the last minute, eg Donitz interaction etc.
Great man👌
Sehr interessant!!! Sehr wertvoll!
At 26.40 he is lifting his left arm and you can clearly see that he is wearing his original 1940s Hanhart pilots watch!! WOW!
It’s a 1942 Tutima 👍
I enjoyed the history lesson ,just to think all that happened in my lifetime . Absolutely frightening
Glad I found this, worth a watch
That took some serious stones to pilot-'nuff said! John in Texas
Wonderful. An excellent command of English.
Very Good Interview
Thank you for your Service Dr. Opitz. RIP and Respect.
(19:00 minutes) Supersonic speed!! My gosh! I am convinced that the Germans had broken the sound barrier during ww2 before anyone else did!
Of yourse they would... But of course, there were some other more important things to do...
Germans could even create nuclear weapons during ww2, before Americans, Russians and other allies.
When you see the German wartime newsreel of the Komet taking off and going vertical ....i am sure that they broke the sound barrier.....it is a missile going straight up.
*_Of course, only they didn't know it because their counter only marked 950 km._*
@@jorgerafael2256 Good info.
Just goes to shoe or should be a reminder that good people are often born into bad circumstances or nations. It’s not about what nation you come from. It’s hw you try to live your life as a whole. Had I been born in Germany or Japan, I’d probably done what the vast majority of those populations did. From hindsight, good history documentation.... I can easily see the evil of the Nazi leadership and the terrible, terrible things done under their authority. At the same time I can see how good people can be on the wrong side of history. I’m so grateful for these videos and those who take time, money and huge effort to make this kind of documentation available. Thank you.
That or maybe just maybe your side in the war, the victorious side in the war, were not the good or truthful side in the war.. and this interview is just more evidence of that
Imagine; they were the only Rocket fighter pilots ever! Its acceleration etc; wow and that is why with the help of Werner Von Braun we landed on the moon before the Commies from the USSR. Love from New Zealand
English is not his natural language......he must think in German then convert to his surprisingly good English....add that the passage of time and memory....and you can see he is doing quite good.
was
well
Regarding 'Welshpete 12' question of 1 year ago as to why this replica is red ('Fidel Castro's reply is wrong). The replica is painted in the colours of a genuine wartime 163 as flown by Hptm. Wolfgang Spate, Erprobungskommando 16, Bad Zwischenahn, 14 May 1944. The replica also wears the call sign 'PK+ QL' which Spate's 163 is presumed to have carried.
great interview
wow! great interview.....
Good interview.
My left ear enjoyed this a lot more than my right ear.
What a ride it must have been!
Fascinating interview. I don't envy the interviewer his task though... A bit like the Basil Fawlty sketch he's desperately trying not to mention the war, but it's there like an elephant in the room.
This is an amazing interview.
As far as 'raw material' for a possible documentary......this is golden.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to what Dr. Opitz had to say.
Hope to see this in a doc......and I would be pleased if someone would share if it ever has.
Thank-you for doing this !
*Salute from a Soldier*
Awesome!!!
amazing document.,!!
Amazing! is he still living?
I think he passed some 10 to 15 years ago....
The end, so true. Although I doubt there would be no human input at all, "the pilot" will no longer be seated in a cockpit on board the plane, but rather in a "workstation" back at the base.
There was an episode of SG-1 in which O'Neill and Teal'c get to fly some advanced fighters in just such a manner, on another planet.
Such advance would still require piloting skills on part of the operator, but it would not put in danger this life, plus the lack of a living being on board would lift the limitations on the plane, regarding G forces.
Stargate SG-1 , that was a blatant Canadian imitation of Star Trek
Hätte man dieses Interview lieber auf deutsch geführt, wäre da erheblich mehr Interessantes bei rausgekommen. Auf solche einfachen Fragen kommen natürlich auch nur einfache Antworten. Schade :-(
DIe, die sich anmaßen ihn zu interviewen, sind eben nicht in der Lage, deutsch zu lernen.....
eigentlich ein super interview. nur hätte man ihn besser auf deutsch reden lassen und das per voicover oder untertitel übersetzen. ich glaube er hätte mehr auf deutsh sagen können.
sein englisch ist ja nicht wirklich sehr gut und ausreichend für die komplexe thematik. leider ist er seit 2010 verstorben
Fantastic to hear a person who outlived the war aand this very remarkable project. Talk about days of thunder. Probably nothing could worry this grand ol man. Interesting however,, the idea of joining yanks and brits to "fight" the Russians..
(that was exactly the 'unwritten/unspoken' plan if 'Valkyrie' had succeeded..."We'll surrender, but only under our conditions! Russia must never be allowed to cross the Rhine...or we will fight on until all of us are dead! Stalin intends to destroy Germany forever because of Hitler, and we will not allow that! We will fight on as'Allies' in our own Country, and fight the Russians to a stand-still") Many in the 'General Staff' put-up only 'token resistance' to the American/British invasion, and entire Divisions surrendered en mass...many wanted the 'Western Allies' to reach Germany ahead of the Red Army...only the 'S.S.' were ferocious in both offense/defense to the Allies. (no wonder Hitler was enraged by the 'Regular Army'actions in France! )
@@gerrynightingale9045 Gruesome Harvest and Hellstorm describe the result of their terrible folly.
A great mean, in all modesty...
World war 2 era German jet, is the best thing I know!
Eric Brown wrote that the 163 would not have been able to go supersonic due to the instabillity which all tailless aircraft displayed in those days
It was fantastic to run acroos this! And at a time when I am doing a paper on German jets from the Third Reich. To hear that this jet was nudging the sound barrier is amazing! I have found a wealth of information in other places about prototypes as well. You Germans were working on the Flying Wing! During the 40's nonetheless! Amazing, I thought that was modern! I love being proved wrong on the topic of aviation!
I have words for you moon landing deniers later....
How to be dignified,also what a ride ,all about speed,I bet he drives a Porsche
Over the years he drove Mercedes, BMW and in the end an Audi. His license plate was Me 163.
@@mrod2b216 How do you know? You're right (except for the final model), but how..?
Reinhard was like an uncle to me. I rode with him in his Mercedes and later BMW. I still communicate with his only daughter. He sent me a picture of his Audi with license plate not too long before he passed away.
@@mrod2b216 I see! I'm a family member of his, so this was a surprising comment to see. His last car model was a VW Tiguan, the licence plate is still in use by my family today.
@@m.m.4423- I looked through my old emails from him and could not find the picture. He probably sent it via regular mail with a letter or card. I thought it was a white (or light colored) car parked in front of a garage with that license plate. I remembered Audi, but it may have been VW. The parent company is the same, so some of the cars look similar. I was a little surprised that it wasn't a BMW, since he had been driving BMW's for many years before that.
OMG! What a machine. Went like stink I reckon. Must have been bloody scary but good fun!
What's the score with the bright red ME 163? I swear I read somewhere that there were reports of an unknown red aircraft being spotted by US bomber crews over German territory. Had anyone else heard of this?
Manfred von Richtofens ghost?
I wonder if the pilot he met was Captain Winkle Brown ? He did fly the 163 after the war .
That was before flying the thing was banned. What a pilot “Winkle” was. 300 or 500 different aircraft. Unbeatable today.
Does anyone know where he was born in Germany? My grandmother’s family name was Opitz, and her folks were from Schonbach, Silesia. Great interview 🇩🇪 🍺
born in Landshut in Silesia
He was born in Rüdesheim am Rhein, Hessia.
@@m.m.4423- thank you 👍
I wonder why he dint ad tiptanks for more range or underwing tanks .
It was very interesting but maybe it would have been a better idea to conduct the entire interview through the interpreter.
how bout the people who were actually there, the people who watched them take off, the people who watched it on T.V.? yes television can lie, but it was the 60s and i can almost gerantee that it was actuall footage. im willing to place a bet on it any day.
I'm assuming Reinhard is the brother of Rudolf 'Rudi' Opitz, the famous chief test pilot of the Komet Program? Can't find any info, other than Rudi Opitz' obituary which states he was preceded in death by his three brothers. Anyone know? Would be an interesting story!
Reinhard was no relation to Rudi, but he was a very good friend as well as his adjutant. At the end of the war, Rudi commanded II JG400 (Group) and Reinhard was one of his squadron commanders. They remained very good friends until Rudi passed away in 2010.
according to the subtitles at 27:35 it wasn't actually Dönitz who succeeded Hitler.
My right ear feels lonely
Try some Noch Worst
Rlaxox '""
Rudy Opitz, surely? CFO of the Nutmeg Gliding Club, MA in the 1970´s /80´s. Naturalized US Citizen, both sons on the US National Team
No, they are different people who share a last name. They were not related, however.
BLITZED, by dr Opitz.
Если вместо поршневых самолетов германия с 1939года полностью перешла на выпуск реактивных то за всю войну могла выпустить около 22тыщ реактивных самолетов если каддый реактивный самолет стоил 5поршневых то могло получиться 15тыщ швальбе несколько тыщ арадо несколько тыщ комет вот с такой мощью мог столкнуться весь мир причом всю войну они могли ращвивать все реактивы совершенствовать их стремясь сделать их околозвуковвми и сверхзвуковыми а если они и все танки переделали в реактивные и ракетные вот это была мощь пусть их и получилось а пять раз меньше 15тыщ таких танков
That comet is a flying molotov cocktail
Don't forget the P-38 also encountered the supersonic speed regime as well and that was 3 years before the ME 163. But we can never know for sure. Like the ME 163 pilot in the video said, they had no instruments for showing Mach numbers. On top of that, supersonic knowledge was very limited at that time. I agree that knowing which country "broke" the sound barrier first is a fuzzy subject, but the X1 is the official aircraft with proof to exceed Mach 1 safely in my opinion ;-)
Can't help being reminded a bit of Dr. Strangelove.
Headphone users will only hear in the left ear.
If the C-stoff leaked into the T-stoff the pilot would be P-stoff.
Man sollte die Piloten auf deutsch interviewen. Das ist super nervig weil er Schwierigkeiten hat sich auf englisch auszudrücken und man dann weniger erfährt von dem was er sagen will. Wenn er dann mal deutsch spricht ist es viel besser und man kann es einfach in flüssiges englisch übersetzen. Aber neiin... Jetzt ist es zu spät. (Lebt er noch?)
Davi Lu Ich spreche ein wenig deutsche. Ich habe deutsch gelernt in den USA und Ich denke auch, das Interview besser ware, auf deutsch.
Camden Caswell für die, die nicht deutsch sprechen könnte man Untertitel hinzufügen die besser übersetzt wurden.
Davi Lu Ich habe deine Text gelesen. Ich habe nicht ein Ubersetzung gelesen. Und ja, der Untertitel ist besser fur neue Deutsch Lautsprecher wie Ich. Danke fur das Gesprach mit mir. Entschuldigung für Fehler.
@@mr.caswell2388 Hat sich dein Deutsch mittlerweile verbessert?
@@JoelLinus So ein bisschen. Es ist zwei Jahre her seit ich in der Schule Deutsch gelernt habe, und deshalb muss ich selber üben. Es war klar, als ich meine früher Kommentare las, dass mein Deutsch jetzt fortgeschrittener ist.
Dr Strangelove
Why is this modern copy red , does any one know ?
+welshpete12 There have been many functional copies of the ME-163 made without engines for glider pilots to use. essentially they are post war civilian powerless gliders
+Fidel Castro No you misunderstand me . What I meant was , why painted red ?
welshpete12 so that they are highly visible, an unpowered aircraft is harder to evade
The Germans painted some of the earliest ones red
For testing purpose and better visibility. The first four or five Me-163 were painted in such well reproduced orange tone.
Can't watch, I hope you didn't hurt anyone that was defending their Family and home.🙏🏽
he was defending his family and home
What a waste of talent and labor.
One more German Hero! Like Rudel, Hartmann and many others!