eBay: Messerschmitt Me163

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Capt. Vick said:
Is that all that's left of that one?
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To be honest I don't know. There are far more capable people on this forum to answer that question. I do know that the original owner (not the LW!) bought a lot of the captured birds from USAAC as scrap metal. The collector I got it from bought it from him. He didn't have a second wheel so....
 
A large number of Axis aircraft were scrapped out at Freeman Field with the bulk of the airframes being buried in a large pit. They also dumped Axis engines and inert ordnance after testing, too.

The Me163's dolly wasn't a fixed component, so it's possible that it ended up in a seperate scrap heap and was grabbed by souvanier hunters.
 
Capt. Vick said:
Yes, they are digging there, but have yet to hit the rumored gold mine. Was just wondering if an outside contractor was called in to scrap off site.
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I doubt they would have brought in a third party to dismatle/scrap the aircraft.

But there wouldn't have been anything to salvage from the two Komets that were parted out so they were most likely crushed and discarded. However, since the dollies weren't permamently attached, they probably ended up in a junk pile along with other loose items and grabbed by someone before being hauled off to a dump.

Joe Baugher has a pretty good listing of the captured Axis aircraft that ended up at Wright, Freeman and Muroc.
Captured Axis Aircraft
 
FE-500 Messerschmitt Me.163B-1a Komet
(WkNr 191301) '54' Luftwaffe. Noted at Freeman AAF, IN, Sep 30 1945. Later re-serialed as T-2-500 and T2-500. Delvd to
Muroc, CA, for flight testing, May 3 1946. Stored Norton AFB, CA. Transferred to the Smithsonian Institute in 1954.
Displayed, unrestored, at the Paul E Garber Restoration & Storage Facility, Suitland, VA. Loaned to the Mighty Eighth Air
Force Heritage Museum, Savannah, GA, 1996. Displayed at the National Air & Space Museum, Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center,
Chantilly, VA. The display aircraft shows the remains of serial T2-500. (see FE-495)

And now I know!
Excellent list BTW. Coincidentally, I saw this same a/c at Silver Hill five lifetimes ago. Little did I know...
 
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