Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a, WNr. 191907
History
Werknummer 191907 was manufactured in late 1944 as part of the Me 163B series, a variant of the Komet designed for high-speed interception missions. The aircraft was assigned to II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400), a Luftwaffe unit specializing in rocket-powered interceptors. However, due to the depletion of rocket fuel supplies in early 1945, the aircraft likely never became operational. It was captured by British forces at Husum, Northern Germany, on 8 May 1945, following Germany's surrender.
After its capture, WNr. 191907 was shipped to the United Kingdom for evaluation by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was allocated the RAF Air Ministry number AM222 and was dispatched from Farnborough to No. 6 Maintenance Unit (MU) at RAF Brize Norton on 8 August 1945. On 21 March 1946, it was recorded in the Census of No. 6 MU and was subsequently allocated to No. 76 MU at RAF Wroughton on 30 April 1946 for crating and shipment to Australia
In 1946, the aircraft was shipped to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base at Laverton, Victoria, along with a Bf 109G-6 (WNr. 163284) as part of a war prize collection. For many years, WNr. 191907 was displayed at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. In 1986, the aircraft was transferred to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) for refurbishment. It was stored at the AWM Treloar Technology Annex in Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, where it was refurbished and reassembled. The aircraft is now on display at the AWM in Canberra, alongside other significant aviation artifacts.