This unique machine was a pinnacle of German piston engine technology of its time, designed to be able to engage Allied bomber formations at very high altitudes and prevail over Mustangs and Spitfires. You could say it was over-engineered with its two-stage three-speed (!) supercharger and two simultaneous boost systems (MW-50 water-methanol for altitudes up to 10 km and GM-1 nitrous oxide for 11+ km). Yes, this is not a typo - this piston-engine aircraft could not only climb above the modern airliners (its ceiling was 13 km), but also be able to dogfight there.

Like most late-war German war machines, there were too few of them to make a difference. By the spring of 1945, when it was too late to intercept Allied bomber formations - Allied ground forces were advancing into the Reich from both the east and the west - only about two dozen aircraft were combat-ready. The few planes were used in the usual fighter roles and, ironically, much closer to the ground than they were built for - covering the takeoffs and landings of the new jet-powered aircraft. This is similar to the story of the Allied P-47 Thunderbolts, which were designed for high-altitude combat and had special systems for it, but ended up spending a good part of their flying time close to the ground because they proved to be the best ground attack fighters of the US Air Army Air Forces.

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