Following years of detailed research, this is the second volume in a two-volume study of the Luftwaffe"s legendary Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor. The authors have unearthed incredible new documentary material and previously unpublished photographs, having received co-operation from many former pilots who flew this radical and daunting aircraft as well as Allied pilots who encountered it in combat. Continuing the operational story of the Me 163, this volume includes a detailed diary of point-defense combat operations conducted against the Allied air forces over Northern Europe in 1944-45 using the Me 163 by JG 400. There is also a study of late-war training by the Ergänzungsstaffel/JG 400 and IV./EJG 2, and for the first time, the story of the little-known Italian involvement with the German rocket fighter. The work also gives a detailed overview of Me 163-based design projects and planned swept-wing and ultra-high speed development as well as the story of Allied, Japanese (the MXY8 Akikusa and J8M1 Shusui), French and Soviet testing, including rare photographs of the French-flown Me 163. An essential complement to Classic Publications" acclaimed study of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.