[1] As originally conceived, it would have been a tailless aircraft similar to his DFS 40, powered by a conventional piston engine driving a pusher propeller.

Lippisch's designs had attracted the attention of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM - Reich Aviation Ministry) who believed that tailless aircraft were the best basis for a rocket-powered fighter.

On January 2, 1939, Lippisch and his team were transferred to the Messerschmitt company to begin work on such an aircraft, under what was known as Project X.

These were followed by glide tests in early 1940 leading to the first powered flight in August with Heini Dittmar at the controls.

The flight went well, the DFS 194 reaching 550 km/h (340 mph), bettering the speed of the earlier (20 July 1939), Walter rocket powered Heinkel He 176.