When you are hunting big game, you need a big gun. The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet carried two Mk 108 autocannons. Each weapon fired 650 rounds a minute and each explosive round was over one inch in diameter. That’s a lot of punching power. The American .50-caliber aircraft gun seen next to the Mk 108 in the photo is decidedly smaller and lighter.

Making a quick and brutal attack was the only way for a Komet to succeed. Rocketing along (literally) at over 500 miles per hour, the Me 163 had about 8 minutes of fuel to climb, move into position, and make a pass or two at an Allied bomber formation before gliding for home. In those rare moments — split seconds, really — where the hunter and prey are converging at almost 700 miles per hour, a peashooter isn’t going to cut it. You need a knockout blow.