members began to view black powder as a hindrance for rocket propulsion, with Valier himself believing that Paulet's engine was necessary for future rocket development. Paulet would soon be approached by Nazi Germany to help develop rocket technology, though he refused to assist and never shared the formula for his propellant. The Nazi government would then appropriate Paulet's work while a Soviet spy in the VfR, Alexander Boris Scherchevsky, possibly shared plans with the Soviet Union. On June 11, 1928, as part of the Opel RAK program of Fritz von Opel and Max Valier, Lippisch Ente became the first aircraft to fly under rocket power. During the following year, the Opel RAK.1 became the first purpose-built rocket plane to fly with Fritz von Opel himself as the pilot. The Opel RAK.1 flight is also considered the world's first public flight of a manned rocket plane since it took place before a large crowd and with world media in attendance. On 28 June 1931, another ground-breaking rocket flight was conducted by the Italian aviator and inventor Ettore Cattaneo, who created another privately built rocket plane. It flew and landed without particular problems. Following this flight, the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III appointed Cattaneo count of Taliedo; due to his pioneering role in rocket flight, his likeness is displayed in the Space Museum of Saint Petersburg as well as in the Museum of Science and Tech of Milan. World War II The Heinkel He 176 was the world's first aircraft to be propelled solely by a liquid-propellant rocket engine. It performed its first powered flight on 20 June 1939 with Erich Warsitz at the controls. The He 176, while demonstrated to the Reich Air Ministry did not attract much official support, leading to Heinkel abandoning its rocket propulsion endeavours; the sole aircraft was briefly displayed at the Berlin Air Museum and was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in 1943. The first rocket plane ever to be mass-produced was the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet interceptor, introduced by Germany towards the final years of the conflict as one of several efforts to develop effective rocket-powered aircraft. The Luftwaffe's first dedicated Me 163 fighter wing, Jagdgeschwader 400 (JG 400) was established in 1944, and was principally tasked with providing additional protection for the manufacturing plants producing synthetic gasoline, which were prominent targets for Allied air raids. It was planned to station further defensive