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Planes of Fame
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Mitsubishi
J8M1 Shushi
In late 1943, Japan purchased a license to manufacture the Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet. They also bought the rights to the Walter HWK 109-509 rocket engine. Its first powered flight, on 7 July 1945, ended in a crash after the rocket engine failed during takeoff. No other flights took place. By the end of the war, Mitsubishi had built seven Shusui aircraft.
This J8M1 was captured by US forces after the war and was returned to the USA for evaluation. It was acquired by Ed Maloney from a scrap yard in 1950, and is now on static display at the Planes of Fame museum.