Researched 2026-10-11 from the sources listed below. Airframes move between hangars, workshops and loans: check with National Museum Of Flight before travelling to see this one.
The airframe in brief
| Serial / registration | 191659 |
|---|---|
| Type | Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet |
| Built | Me 163B-1a, Werknummer 191659 |
| Units / operator | Luftwaffe JG 400 |
| Captured | Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, 1945; Air Ministry serial AM215 |
| Flown by | Captain Eric Brown, 10 June 1945 (per the museum) |
| Cranfield | College of Aeronautics, 1947 to 1974 |
| Arrived | Loaned to East Fortune, 1976 |
| Status | On display |
| Where | National Museum Of Flight, North Berwick |
The story of 191659
Werknummer 191659 is a Me 163B-1a rocket fighter that served with the Luftwaffe's JG 400. It wears the marking 'Yellow 15'. The type could reach about 600 mph, but its volatile rocket fuels made it dangerous to fly.
British forces captured it at Husum in Schleswig-Holstein in 1945. It was taken to Farnborough and given the Air Ministry number AM215. The museum says the naval test pilot Captain Eric Brown flew it on 10 June 1945. Brown was part of a mission to test German rocket aircraft and bring examples back to Britain.
In 1947 it went to the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield. For years it also toured air shows and outdoor events. Cranfield released it in 1974, and it went to Cambridge for restoration. It then came to East Fortune, where Wikipedia dates the loan to 1976.
On 10 September 2015 Brown visited East Fortune and was reunited with the aircraft, 70 years after his flight. A recorded interview with him was added beside it for the redeveloped hangars, due to open in spring 2016. It is displayed in the military aviation hangar.
Seeing 191659 today
Indoors in the military aviation hangar (Hangar 2). A touch-screen beside it plays Eric Brown describing his flight.
| Museum | Adult entry | Airframes | Headline exhibit |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Museum Of FlightNorth Berwick, East Lothian | £15 | 47 | Concorde G-BOAA, which flew British Airways' first commercial supersonic service in 1976 and arrived here by barge and giant road-crawl… |
Also known as: Me 163 Komet · Messerschmitt Komet · AM215 · Yellow 15 · Eric Brown's Komet
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_163_Komet
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messerschmitt_Me163B-1a_%E2%80%98191659_-_15_yellow%E2%80%99_(38904100645).jpg
- https://edinburghguide.com/news/16252-britains-greatest-pilot-reunited-with-infamous-ww2-aircraft
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_Flight