| Me 262 Schwalbe |
|
|
| Messerschmitt Me 262A |
| Role |
Fighter aircraft |
| Manufacturer |
Messerschmitt |
| First flight |
18 April 1941 with piston engine
18 July 1942 with jet engines[1] |
| Introduction |
April 1944[2][3] |
| Retired |
1945, Germany
1951, Czechoslovakia[4] |
| Primary users |
Luftwaffe
Czechoslovak Air Force (S-92) |
| Number built |
1,430 |
The
Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (English: "Swallow") was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft.
[5] Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the
Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Compared with Allied fighters of its day, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor, it was much faster and better armed.
[6] One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II,
[7] the Me 262 was used in a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions.
Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied kills
[8] (although higher claims are sometimes made).
[Notes 1]
The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by
attacking the aircraft on the ground and while taking off or landing.
Engine reliability problems and attacks by Allied forces on fuel
supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation also reduced the
effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me
262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war as a result of its
late introduction and the consequently small numbers that were deployed
in operational service.
[10] The Me 262 influenced the designs of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet.
[7]
Contents
- 1 Design and development
- 1.1 Origins
- 1.2 Test flights
- 2 Operational history
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.2 Anti-bomber tactics
- 2.3 Counter-jet tactics
- 2.4 High-speed research
- 2.5 Production
- 2.6 Postwar history
- 2.7 Flyable reproductions
- 3 Variants
- 3.1 Postwar variants
- 3.2 Reproductions
- 4 Operators
- 5 Survivors
- 6 Specifications (Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a)
- 7 Notable appearances in media
- 8 See also
- 9 References
- 9.1 Explanatory notes
- 9.2 Citations
- 9.3 Bibliography
- 10 External links
Design and development
Origins
Several years before World War II, the Germans foresaw the great potential for aircraft that used the
jet engine, constructed by
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain in 1936. After the successful test flights of the first jet of the world, the
Heinkel He 178, they adopted the jet engine for an advanced fighter aircraft. As a result, the Me 262 was already under development as
Projekt 1065 (P.1065) before the start of World War II.
Plans were first drawn up in April 1939, and the original design was
very similar to the aircraft that eventually entered service. The
progression of the original design was delayed greatly by technical
issues involving the new jet engine. Funding for the jet engine program
was also initially lacking as many high-ranking officials thought the
war could easily be won with conventional aircraft.
[11] Among those were
Hermann Göring, head of the
Luftwaffe, who cut the engine development program to just 35 engineers in February 1940;
Willy Messerschmitt, who desired to maintain
mass production of the piston-powered
Bf 109 and the projected
Me 209; and
Major General Adolf Galland,
who supported Messerschmitt through the early development years, flying
the Me 262 himself on 22 April 1943. By that time, problems with engine
development had slowed production of the aircraft considerably. One
particularly acute problem arose with the lack of an alloy with a
melting point high enough to endure the high temperatures involved, a
problem that by the end of the war had not been adequately resolved.
[11]
The project
aerodynamicist on the design of the Me 262 was
Ludwig Bölkow. He initially designed the wing using
NACA airfoils modified with an elliptical nose section.
[12]
Later in the design process, these were changed to AVL derivatives of
NACA airfoils, the NACA 00011-0.825-35 being used at the root and the
NACA 00009-1.1-40 at the tip.
[13] The elliptical nose derivatives of the NACA airfoils were used on the horizontal and vertical
tail surfaces. Wings were of single-spar cantilever construction, with
stressed skins, varying from 3 mm (0.12 in) thick at the root to 1 mm (0.039 in) at the tip.
[14] As a conservation measure, late in the war, wing interiors would not be painted.
[15] The wings were fastened to the fuselage at four points, using a pair of 20 mm (0.79 in) and 42 8 mm (0.31 in) bolts.
[16]
In mid-1943,
Adolf Hitler envisioned the Me 262 as an offensive
ground-attack/
bomber rather than a defensive interceptor. The configuration of a high-speed, light-payload
Schnellbomber
("fast bomber") was intended to penetrate enemy airspace during the
expected Allied invasion of France. His edict resulted in the
development of (and concentration on) the
Sturmvogel variant. It is debatable to what extent Hitler's interference extended the delay in bringing the
Schwalbe into operation.
[17][18] Albert Speer, then Minister of Armaments and War Production, claimed in
his memoirs
that Hitler originally had blocked mass production of the Me 262 before
agreeing in early 1944. He rejected arguments that the aircraft would
be more effective as a fighter against the Allied bombers that were
destroying large parts of Germany, and wanted it as a bomber for revenge
attacks. According to Speer, Hitler felt its superior speed compared to
other fighters of the era meant it could not be attacked, and so
preferred it for high altitude straight flying.
[19]
Although the Me 262 is often referred to as a "
swept wing" design, the production Me 262 had a
leading edge sweep of only 18.5°, too slight to achieve any significant advantage in increasing the
critical Mach number.
[20]
Sweep was added after the initial design of the aircraft, when the
engines proved to be heavier than originally expected, primarily to
position the center of lift properly relative to the center of mass. On 1
March 1940, instead of moving the wing backward on its mount, the outer
wing was repositioned slightly aft; the trailing edge of the midsection
of the wing remained unswept.
[21] Based on data from the AVA
Göttingen and
wind tunnel results, the middle section's leading edge was later swept to the same angle as the outer panels.
[22]
Test flights
The first test flights began on 18 April 1941, with the Me 262 V1 example, bearing its
Stammkennzeichen radio code letters of PC+UA, but since its intended
BMW 003 turbojets were not ready for fitting, a conventional
Junkers Jumo 210
engine was mounted in the V1 prototype's nose, driving a propeller, to
test the Me 262 V1 airframe. When the BMW 003 engines were installed,
the Jumo was retained for safety, which proved wise as both 003s failed
during the first flight and the pilot had to land using the nose-mounted
engine alone.
[1]
This airframe,
Wrknr. 111711, was the first Me 262 to come into
Allied hands when its test pilot defected in March 1945. It was
subsequently lost in August 1946, the US test pilot parachuting to
safety.
[23]
The V3 third prototype
airframe, with the code PC+UC, became a true jet when it flew on 18 July 1942 in
Leipheim near
Günzburg, Germany, piloted by
Fritz Wendel.
[24] This was almost nine months ahead of the British
Gloster Meteor's first flight on 5 March 1943. The
conventional gear
— producing a pronounced tail-down attitude on the ground — of the Me
262 V3 caused its jet exhaust to deflect off the runway, with the wing's
turbulence negating the effects of the
elevators, and the first takeoff attempt was cut short.
[25]
On the second attempt, Wendel solved the problem by tapping the
aircraft's brakes at takeoff speed, lifting the horizontal tail out of
the wing's turbulence.
[25] The first four
prototypes (V1-V4) were built with this configuration. Changing to a
tricycle arrangement (initially a fixed undercarriage on the fifth prototype (V5), with fully retractable on V6 (with
Stammkennzeichen code VI+AA) and subsequent aircraft) corrected this problem.
[Notes 2]
Test flights continued over the next year, but engine problems
continued to plague the project, the Jumo 004 being only marginally more
reliable than the BMW 003. Airframe modifications were complete by 1942
but, hampered by the lack of engines, serial production did not begin
until 1944, and deliveries were low, with 28 Me 262s in June, 59 in
July, but only 20 in August.
[7]
This delay in engine availability was in part due to the shortage of
strategic materials, especially metals and alloys able to handle the
extreme temperatures produced by the jet engine.
[citation needed]
Even when the engines were completed, they had an expected
operational lifetime of approximately 50 continuous flight hours; most
004s lasted just 12 hours, even with adequate maintenance. A pilot
familiar with the Me 262 and its engines could expect approximately
20–25 hours of life from the 004s. Changing a 004 engine was intended to
require three hours, but this typically took eight to nine due to
poorly made parts and inadequate training of ground crews.
[citation needed] With one engine out, the Me 262 still flew well, with speeds of 450–500
km/h (280–310
mph; 240–270
kn),
but pilots were warned never to fly slower than 300 km/h (190 mph;
160 kn) on one engine, as the asymmetrical thrust would cause serious
handling problems.
[citation needed]
Due to their low compression ratios, early turbojet engines developed less thrust at low speed than contemporary
propeller
powered aircraft, and as a result, low-speed acceleration was
relatively poor. This was particularly noticeable in the Me 262, since
early jet engines (before the invention of
afterburners) also responded slowly to throttle changes. The introduction of a primitive
autothrottle late in the war helped only slightly.
[citation needed] Conversely, the superior power of jet engines at higher speeds meant the Me 262 enjoyed a much greater
rate of climb. Used tactically, this gave the jet fighter an even larger speed advantage in climb than in level flight at top speed.
[citation needed]
Operationally, carrying 2,000 l (440 imp gal; 530 US gal) of fuel in
two 900 l (200 imp gal; 240 US gal) tanks, one each fore and aft the
cockpit, and a 200 l (44 imp gal; 53 US gal) tank beneath,
[Notes 3] the Me 262 would have a total flight
endurance of 60 to 90 minutes. Fuel was usually brown
coal-derived J2, with the option of
diesel oil or a mixture of oil and high
octane B4
aviation petrol.
[27]
Consumption was double the rates experienced upon typical twin-engine
fighter aircraft of the era; as such, this led to the installation of a
low-fuel warning indicator in the cockpit to notify pilots when the
remaining fuel fell below 250 l (55 imp gal; 66 US gal).
[27]
Unit cost for an Me 262 airframe, less engines, armament, and electronics, was
RM87,400.
[28][Notes 4] To build one airframe took around 6,400 man-hours.
[28]
Operational history
Introduction
On 19 April 1944,
Erprobungskommando 262 was formed at
Lechfeld just south of
Augsburg, as a test unit (
Jäger Erprobungskommando Thierfelder, commanded by
Hauptmann Werner Thierfelder)
[3][30] to introduce the 262 into service and train a core of pilots to fly it. On 26 July 1944,
Leutnant Alfred Schreiber with the 262 A-1a W.Nr. 130 017 damaged a
Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft of
No. 540 Squadron RAF PR Squadron, which was allegedly lost in a crash upon landing at an air base in Italy.
[31] Other sources state the aircraft was damaged during evasive manoeuvres and escaped.
[32]
It was the first victory for a turbojet fighter aircraft in aviation history.
[33] Major Walter Nowotny was assigned as commander after the death of Thierfelder in July 1944, and the unit redesignated
Kommando Nowotny.
Essentially a trials and development unit, it holds the distinction of
having mounted the world's first jet fighter operations. Trials
continued slowly, with initial operational missions against the Allies
in August 1944 allegedly downing 19 Allied aircraft for six Me 262s
lost, although these claims have never been verified by cross-checking
with
USAAF
records. The RAF Museum holds no intelligence reports of RAF aircraft
engaging in combat with Me 262s in August, although there is a report of
an unarmed encounter between an Me 262 and a Mosquito.
[34]
Despite orders to stay grounded, Nowotny chose to fly a mission
against an enemy bomber formation flying some 30,000 feet above, on 8
November 1944. He claimed two P-51Ds destroyed before suffering engine
failure at high altitude.
[35]
Then, while diving and trying desperately to restart his engines, he
was attacked by other Mustangs, and forced to bail out. Historians
Morgan and Weal proposed Nowotny's victor was P-51D pilot Lt. Robert W.
Stevens of the 364th Fighter Group.
[36]
The exact circumstances surrounding the death of Walter Nowotny remain
uncertain to this day. It is also possible he was hit by "friendly"
flak.
[36][37] The
Kommando was then withdrawn for further
training and a revision of combat tactics to optimise the 262's strengths.
[citation needed]
By January 1945,
Jagdgeschwader 7
(JG 7) had been formed as a pure jet fighter wing, although it was
several weeks before it was operational. In the meantime, a bomber
unit—I
Gruppe,
Kampfgeschwader 54
(KG 54)—had re-equipped with the Me 262 A-2a fighter-bomber for use in a
ground-attack role. However, the unit lost 12 jets in action in two
weeks for minimal returns.
[citation needed] Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) was another Me 262 fighter unit, of
Staffel (squadron) size given the low numbers of available personnel, formed in February 1945 by
Lieutenant General Adolf Galland, who had recently been dismissed as
Inspector of Fighters. Galland was able to draw into the unit many of the most experienced and decorated
Luftwaffe fighter pilots from other units grounded by lack of fuel.
[38]
During March, Me 262 fighter units were able, for the first time, to
mount large scale attacks on Allied bomber formations. On 18 March 1945,
37 Me 262s of JG 7 intercepted a force of 1,221 bombers and 632
escorting fighters. They shot down 12 bombers and one fighter for the
loss of three Me 262s. Although a 4:1 ratio was exactly what the
Luftwaffe
would have needed to make an impact on the war, the absolute scale of
their success was minor, as it represented only one per cent of the
attacking force. In 1943 and early 1944, regardless of the presence of
the small numbers of Me 262s, the USAAF was able to keep up offensive
operations at loss ratios of roughly 5%.
[citation needed]
Me 262B-1a/U1 night fighter, Wrknr. 110306, with
Neptun radar
antenna on the nose and second seat for a radar operator. This airframe
was surrendered to the RAF at Schleswig in May 1945 and taken to the UK
for testing
Several two-seat
trainer variants of the Me 262, the Me 262 B-1a, had been adapted through the
Umrüst-Bausatz 1 factory refit package as
night fighters, complete with on-board
FuG 218 Neptun high-VHF band radar, using
Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antennae with a set of shorter dipole elements than the
Lichtenstein SN-2 had used, as the B-1a/U1 version. Serving with 10
Staffel,
Nachtjagdgeschwader 11,
near Berlin, these few aircraft (alongside several single-seat
examples) accounted for most of the 13 Mosquitoes lost over Berlin in
the first three months of 1945.
[citation needed] However, actual intercepts were generally or entirely made using
Wilde Sau
methods, rather than AI radar-controlled interception. As the two-seat
trainer was largely unavailable, many pilots made their first jet flight
in a single-seater without an instructor.
[citation needed]
Despite its deficiencies, the Me 262 clearly signaled the beginning
of the end of piston-engined aircraft as effective fighting machines.
Once airborne, it could accelerate to speeds over 850 km/h (530 mph),
about 150 km/h (93 mph) faster than any Allied fighter operational in
the European Theater of Operations.
[citation needed]
The Me 262's top
ace[Notes 5] was probably
Hauptmann Franz Schall with 17 kills, which included six four-engine bombers and 10
P-51 Mustang fighters, although night fighter ace
Oberleutnant Kurt Welter
claimed 25 Mosquitos and two four-engine bombers shot down by night and
two further Mosquitos by day flying the Me 262. Most of Welter's
claimed night kills were achieved in standard radar-less aircraft, even
though Welter had tested a prototype Me 262 fitted with
FuG 218 Neptun radar. Another candidate for top ace on the aircraft was
Oberstleutnant Heinrich Bär, who claimed 16 enemy aircraft while flying the Me 262.
[citation needed]
Anti-bomber tactics
B-17G 44-6387 of the
815th Bombardment Squadron
was lost on the mission to Ruhland, Germany on 22 March 1945, it was
hit first by Flak, then finished off by an Me 262. Eight of the crew
survived as POWs
The Me 262 was so fast that German pilots needed new tactics to
attack American bombers. In the head-on attack, the closing speed, of
about 320 m per second (350 yd), was too high for accurate shooting.
Even from astern, the closing speed was too great to use the
short-ranged 30 mm cannon to maximum effect. Therefore, a roller-coaster
attack was devised. The 262s approached from astern and about 1,800 m
higher (5,900 ft) than the bombers. From about 5 km behind (3.1 mi),
they went into a shallow dive that took them through the escort fighters
with little risk of interception. When they were about 1.5 km astern
(0.93 mi) and 450 metres (1,480 ft) below the bombers, they pulled up
sharply to reduce their excess speed. On levelling off, they were 1,000 m
astern (1,100 yd) and overtaking the bombers at about 150 km/h
(93 mph), well placed to attack them.
[39]
Since the 30mm
MK 108 cannon's short barrels and low muzzle velocity of 540 m/s (1,800 ft/s)
rendered it inaccurate
beyond 600 m (660 yd), coupled with the jet's velocity, which required
breaking off at 200 m (220 yd) to avoid colliding with the target, Me
262 pilots normally commenced firing at 500 m (550 yd).
[40]
Allied bomber gunners found their electric gun turrets had problems
tracking the jets. Target acquisition was difficult because the jets
closed into firing range quickly and remained in firing position only
briefly, using their standard attack profile, which proved more
effective.
[citation needed]
Captain
Eric Brown, Chief Naval Test Pilot and C.O. Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight
Royal Aircraft Establishment, who tested the Me 262 noted: "This was a
Blitzkrieg
aircraft. You whack in at your bomber. It was never meant to be a
dogfighter, it was meant to be a destroyer of bombers... The great
problem with it was it did not have
dive brakes.
For example, if you want to fight and destroy a B-17, you come in on a
dive. The 30mm cannon were not so accurate beyond 600 meters. So you
normally came in at 600 yards and would open fire on your B-17. And your
closing speed was still high and since you had to break away at 200
meters to avoid a collision, you only had two seconds firing time. Now,
in two seconds, you can’t sight. You can fire randomly and hope for the
best. If you want to sight and fire, you need to double that time to
four seconds. And with dive brakes, you could have done that."
[40]
Eventually, German pilots developed new combat tactics to counter Allied bombers' defenses. Me 262s, equipped with
R4M rockets,
approached from the side of a bomber formation, where their silhouettes
were widest, and while still out of range of the bombers' machine guns,
fired a
salvo of rockets with
Hexogen-filled warheads. One or two of these rockets could down even the famously rugged
B-17 Flying Fortress.
[41]
Though this tactic was effective, it came too late to have a real
effect on the war, and only small numbers of Me 262s were equipped with
the rocket packs.
[42] Most of those so equipped were Me 262A-1as, members of
Jagdgeschwader 7.
[43]
This method of attacking bombers became the standard until the
invention and mass deployment of guided missiles. Some nicknamed this
tactic the Luftwaffe's
Wolf Pack,
as the fighters often made runs in groups of two or three, fired their
rockets, then returned to base. On 1 September 1944, USAAF
General Carl Spaatz
expressed the fear that if greater numbers of German jets appeared,
they could inflict losses heavy enough to force cancellation of the
Allied bombing offensive by daylight.
[citation needed]
Counter-jet tactics
The Me 262 was difficult for its opponents to counter because its
high speed and rate of climb made it extremely hard to intercept. As
with all other early jets, the Me 262's engines did not provide a lot of
thrust at low air speeds (a key criterion for good turn performance at
low speeds), and throttle response was slow. Another disadvantage all
early jet engines shared was a relatively high risk of
flameout if the pilot used the throttle too aggressively (as is common in a
dogfight).
[citation needed]
Pilots were instructed to operate the throttle gently and avoid quick
changes. German engineers introduced an automatic throttle regulator
later in the war but it only partly alleviated the problem. On the plus
side, thrust at high speed was much greater than on propeller-driven
aircraft.
[citation needed]
The plane had, by contemporary standards, quite a high wing loading (60.2 lbs/ft
2, 294.0 kg/m
2)
and its turn radius at low speeds was therefore correspondingly wide.
This, coupled with the low thrust at slow speeds and high chance of a
flameout if the throttle was worked too aggressively, resulted in Me 262
pilots being told to avoid low speed dogfights with the Allied
piston-engine fighters.
[citation needed]
The high speed of the Me 262 also presented problems when engaging
enemy aircraft, the high-speed convergence allowing Me 262 pilots little
time to line up their targets or acquire the appropriate amount of
deflection.
This problem faces any aircraft that approaches another from behind at
much higher speed, as the slower aircraft in front can always pull a
tighter turn, forcing the faster aircraft to overshoot. The Me 262 faced
this problem frequently as its cruising speed alone was up to 200 km/h
(120 mph) faster than that of any piston-engine fighter of the period.
[citation needed]
"I passed one that looked as if it was hanging motionless in the air
(I am too fast!). The one above me went into a steep right-hand turn,
his pale blue underside standing out against the purple sky. Another
banked right in front of the Me's nose. Violent jolt as I flew through
his airscrew eddies. Maybe a wing's length away. That one in the gentle
left-hand curve! Swing her round. I was coming from underneath, eye
glued to the sight (pull her tighter!). A throbbing in the wings as my
cannon pounded briefly. Missed him. Way behind his tail. It was
exasperating. I would never be able to shoot one down like this. They
were like a sack of fleas. A prick of doubt: is this really such a good
fighter? Could one in fact, successfully attack a group of erratically
banking fighters with the Me 262?"
Luftwaffe pilots eventually learned how to handle the Me 262's
higher speed, and the Me 262 soon proved a formidable air superiority
fighter, with pilots such as Franz Schall managing to shoot down 12
enemy fighters in the Me 262, 10 of them American P-51 Mustangs. Other
notable Me 262 aces included
Georg-Peter Eder, also with 12 enemy fighters to his credit (including 9 P-51s),
Walther Dahl with 11 (including three
Lavochkin La-7s and six P-51s) and
Heinz-Helmut Baudach with 6 (including 1 Spitfire and 2 P-51s) amongst many others.
[citation needed]
Pilots soon learned that the Me 262 was quite maneuverable, despite
its high wing loading and lack of low-speed thrust, especially if
attention was drawn to its effective maneuvering speeds. The controls
were light and effective right up to the maximum permissible speed and
perfectly harmonized. The inclusion of full span automatic leading edge
slats,
[Notes 6]
something of a "tradition" on Messerschmitt fighters dating back to the
original Bf 109's outer wing slots of a similar type, helped increase
the overall lift produced by the wing by as much as 35% in tight turns
or at low speeds, greatly improving the aircraft's turn performance as
well as its landing and take off characteristics.
[47]
And as many pilots soon found out, the Me 262's clean design also meant
that it, like all jets, held its speed in tight turns much better than
conventional propeller-driven fighters, which was a great potential
advantage in a dogfight as it meant better energy retention in
maneuvers.
[48] Luftwaffe test pilot and flight instructor
Hans Fey
stated, "The 262 will turn much better at high than at slow speeds and,
due to its clean design, will keep its speed in tight turns much longer
than conventional type aircraft."
[49]
Me-262 being shot down, as seen from
USAAF P-51 Mustang gun camera
Too fast to catch for the escorting Allied fighters, the Me 262s were almost impossible to head off.
[Notes 7]
As a result, Me 262 pilots were relatively safe from the Allied
fighters, as long as they did not allow themselves to get drawn into
low-speed turning contests and saved their maneuvering for higher
speeds. Combating the Allied fighters could be effectively done the same
way as the U.S. fighters fought the more nimble, but slower, Japanese
fighters in the Pacific.
[citation needed]
Allied pilots soon found the only reliable way of dealing with the jets, as with the even faster
Me 163 Komet rocket fighters, was to attack them on the ground and during takeoff or landing.
Luftwaffe airfields identified as jet bases were frequently bombed by
medium bombers, and Allied fighters patrolled over the fields to attack jets trying to land. The
Luftwaffe countered by installing extensive
flak
alleys of anti-aircraft guns along the approach lines to protect the Me
262s from the ground—and by providing top cover during the jets'
takeoff and landing with the most advanced
Luftwaffe single-engined fighters, the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D and (just becoming available in 1945)
Focke-Wulf Ta 152H.
[51] Nevertheless, in March–April 1945, Allied fighter patrol patterns over Me 262 airfields resulted in numerous jet losses.
[citation needed]
The British
Hawker Tempest
scored a number of kills against the new German jets, including the
Messerschmitt Me 262. Hubert Lange, a Me 262 pilot, said: "the
Messerschmitt Me 262's most dangerous opponent was the British Hawker
Tempest — extremely fast at low altitudes, highly-manoeuvrable and
heavily-armed."
[52] Some were destroyed with a tactic known to the Tempest 135 Wing as the "Rat Scramble":
[53]
Tempests on immediate alert took off when an Me 262 was reported to be
airborne. They did not intercept the jet, but instead flew towards the
Me 262 and
Ar 234 base at
Rheine-Hopsten.
[54][Notes 8]
The aim was to attack jets on their landing approach, when they were at
their most vulnerable, travelling slowly, with flaps down and incapable
of rapid acceleration. The German response was the construction of a
"flak lane" of over 150 quadruple 20 mm (.79 in) guns at Rheine-Hopsten
to protect the approaches.
[55][Notes 9] After seven Tempests were lost to flak at Rheine-Hopsten in a single week, the "Rat Scramble" was discontinued.
[56]
High-speed research
Adolf Busemann
had proposed swept wings as early as 1935. Messerschmitt researched the
topic from 1940. In April 1941, Busemann proposed fitting a 35° swept
wing (
Pfeilflügel II, literally "arrow wing II") to the Me 262,
[57] the same wing sweep angle later used on both the American F-86 Sabre and Soviet
MiG-15 Fagot fighter jets. Though this was not implemented, he continued with the projected HG II and HG III (
Hochgeschwindigkeit, "high-speed") derivatives in 1944, which were designed with a 35° and 45° wing sweep, respectively.
[58]
Interest in high-speed flight, which led him to initiate work on
swept wings starting in 1940, is evident from the advanced developments
Messerschmitt had on his drawing board in 1944. While the Me 262 HG I
actually flight tested in 1944 had only small changes compared to combat
aircraft, most notably a low-profile
canopy (tried as the
Rennkabine
(literally "racing cabin") on the Me 262 V9 prototype for a short time)
to reduce drag, the HG II and HG III designs were far more radical. The
projected HG II combined the low-drag canopy with a 35° wing sweep and a
butterfly tail. The HG III had a conventional tail, but a 45° wing
sweep and turbines embedded in the
wing roots.
[59]
Messerschmitt also conducted a series of flight tests with the series
production Me 262. In dive tests, they determined that the Me 262 went
out of control in a dive at
Mach 0.86,
and that higher Mach numbers would cause a nose-down trim that the
pilot could not counter. The resulting steepening of the dive would lead
to even higher speeds and the airframe would disintegrate from
excessive negative
g loads.
[citation needed]
The HG series of Me 262 derivatives was believed capable of reaching transonic Mach numbers in level flight
[citation needed],
with the top speed of the HG III being projected as Mach 0.96 at
6,000 m (20,000 ft) altitude. Despite the necessity to gain experience
in high-speed flight for the HG II and III designs, Messerschmitt made
no attempt to exceed the Mach 0.86 limit for the Me 262. After the war,
the
Royal Aircraft Establishment,
at that time one of the leading institutions in high-speed research,
re-tested the Me 262 to help with British attempts at exceeding Mach 1.
The RAE achieved speeds of up to Mach 0.84 and confirmed the results
from the Messerschmitt dive tests. The Soviets ran similar tests. No one
tried to exceed the Mach limit established by Messerschmitt.
[citation needed]
After Willy Messerschmitt's death, the former Me 262 pilot
Hans Guido Mutke
claimed to have exceed Mach 1, on 9 April 1945 in a Me 262 in a
"straight-down" 90° dive. This claim is disputed because it is only
based on Mutke's memory of the incident, which recalls effects other Me
262 pilots observed below the speed of sound at high indicated airspeed,
but with no altitude reading required to determine the actual speed.
Furthermore, the
pitot tube
used to measure airspeed in aircraft can give falsely elevated readings
as the pressure builds up inside the tube at high speeds. Finally, the
Me 262 wing had only a slight sweep, incorporated for trim (
center of gravity)
reasons and likely would have suffered structural failure due to
divergence at high transonic speeds. One airframe (Me 262 HG1 V9,
Werknummer 130 004, with
Stammkennzeichen of VI+AD
[60]) was prepared with the low-profile
Rennkabine
racing canopy and may have achieved an unofficial record speed for a
turbojet-powered aircraft of 975 km/h (606 mph), altitude unspecified.
[61]
Production
Underground manufacture of Me 262s
About 1,400 Me 262s were produced, but a maximum of 200 were
operational at the same time. They destroyed about 150 enemy planes, but
the Allies destroyed about 100 Me 262s in the air.
[51]
While Germany was bombed intensively, production of the Me 262 was
dispersed into low-profile production facilities, sometimes little more
than clearings in the forests of Germany and occupied countries. Through
the end of February to the end of March 1945, approximately 60 Me 262s
were destroyed in attacks on
Obertraubling and 30 at
Leipheim;
[62] the
Neuberg jet plant itself was bombed on 19 March 1945.
[63]
Large, heavily protected underground factories were constructed to
take up production of the Me 262, safe from bomb attacks, but the war
ended before they could be completed. Wings were produced in Germany's
oldest motorway tunnel at
Engelberg to the west of
Stuttgart. At
B8 Bergkristall-Esche II at St. Georgen/Gusen, Austria, forced laborers of
Concentration Camp Gusen II produced fully equipped fuselages for the Me 262 at a monthly rate of 450 units on large assembly lines from early 1945.
[64]
Postwar history
After the end of the war, the Me 262 and other advanced German
technologies were quickly swept up by the Americans (as part of the
USAAF's
Operation Lusty),
British, and Soviets. Many Me 262s were found in readily-repairable
condition and were confiscated. Both the Soviets and Americans desired
the technology to serve as a basis for their own jet fighters.
During testing, the Me 262 was found to have advantages over the early models of the
Gloster Meteor.
It was faster, had better cockpit visibility to the sides and rear
(mostly due to the canopy frame and the discoloration caused by the
plastics used in the Meteor's construction), and was a superior gun
platform, as the early Meteors had a tendency to snake at high speed and
exhibited "weak" aileron response.
[65] The Me 262 did have a shorter combat range than the Meteor.
The USAAF compared the
P-80 Shooting Star
and Me 262 concluding, "Despite a difference in gross weight of nearly
2,000 lb (900 kg), the Me 262 was superior to the P-80 in acceleration,
speed and approximately the same in climb performance. The Me 262
apparently has a higher
critical Mach number, from a drag standpoint, than any current Army Air Force fighter."
[66]
The Army Air Force also tested an example of the Me 262A-1a/U3 (US
flight evaluation serial FE-4012), an unarmed photo reconnaissance
version, which was fitted with a fighter nose and given an overall
smooth finish. It was used for performance comparisons against the P-80.
During testing between May and August 1946, the aircraft completed
eight flights, lasting four hours and 40 minutes. Testing was
discontinued after four engine changes were required during the course
of the tests, culminating in two single-engine landings.
[67] These aircraft were extensively studied, aiding development of early U.S. and Soviet jet fighters. The F-86, designed by
engineer Edgar Schmued, used a slat design based on the Me 262.
[68]
The Czechoslovak aircraft industry continued to produce single-seat (
Avia S-92) and two-seat (
Avia CS-92)
variants of the Me 262 after World War II. From August 1946, a total of
nine S-92s and three two-seater CS-92s were completed and test flown.
They were introduced in 1947 and in 1950 were supplied to the 5th
Fighter Squadron, becoming the first jet fighters to serve in the
Czechoslovak Air Force. These were kept flying until 1951,
[4] when they were replaced in service by more advanced jet fighters of Soviet origin. Both versions are on display at the
Prague Aviation museum in Kbely.
Flyable reproductions
Reproduction of a Messerschmitt Me 262 in 2006
In January 2003, the American
Me 262 Project, based in
Everett, Washington,
completed flight testing to allow the delivery of near-exact
reproductions of several versions of the Me 262 including at least two
B-1c two-seater variants, one A-1c single seater and two "convertibles"
that could be switched between the A-1c and B-1c configurations. All are
powered by
General Electric J85
engines and feature additional safety features, such as upgraded brakes
and strengthened landing gear. The "c" suffix refers to the new J85
powerplant and has been informally assigned with the approval of the
Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany
[69]
(the Werk Number of the reproductions picked up where the last wartime
produced Me 262 left off – a continuous airframe serial number run with a
50 year production break).
Flight testing of the first newly manufactured Me 262 A-1c
(single-seat) variant (Werk Number 501244) was completed in August 2005.
The first of these machines (Werk Number 501241) went to a private
owner in the southwestern United States, while the second (Werk Number
501244) was delivered to the Messerschmitt Foundation at Manching,
Germany. This aircraft conducted a private test flight in late April
2006, and made its public debut in May at the
ILA 2006. The new Me 262 flew during the public flight demonstrations.
[70]
Me 262 Werk Number 501241 was delivered to the Collings Foundation as
White 1 of JG 7. This aircraft will be offering ride-along flights
starting in 2008.
[71] The third replica, a non-flyable Me 262 A-1c, was delivered to the
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in May 2010.
[72]
Collings Foundation's Me 262 in Manara AZ, April 19, 2013
Variants
- Me 262 A-0
- Pre-production aircraft fitted with two Jumo 004B turbojet engines, 23 built.
- Me 262 A-1a "Schwalbe"
- Primary production version, usable as both fighter(interceptor) and fighter-bomber.
- Me 262 A-1a/R1
- Equipped with provisions for R4M air-to-air rockets
- Me 262 A-1a/U1
- Single prototype with a total of six nose mounted guns, two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannons, and two 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannons.
- Me 262 A-1a/U2
- Single prototype with FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 90 MHz radar transceiver and Hirschgeweih antenna array, for trials as a night-fighter.
- Me 262 A-1a/U3
- Reconnaissance version modified in small numbers, with Reihenbilder
RB 20/30 cameras mounted in the nose (sometimes one RB 20/20 and one RB
75/30). Some retained one 30 mm (1.18 in) cannon, but most were
unarmed.
- Me 262 A-1a/U4
- Bomber destroyer version, two prototypes with an adapted 50 mm (2 in) MK 214 (or BK-5) anti-tank gun in nose.
- Me 262 A-1a/U5
- Heavy jet fighter with six 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108s in the nose
- Me 262 A-1b
- As A-1a but powered with BMW 003 engines. Few were built, two are
known to have existed at experimental establishments; maximum speed of
800 km/h (500 mph).
- Me 262 A-2a "Sturmvogel"
- Definitive bomber version retaining only the two lower 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108s.
- Me 262 A-2a/U1
- Single prototype with advanced bombsight.
- Me 262 A-2a/U2
- Two prototypes with glazed nose for accommodating a bombardier.
- Me 262 A-3a
- Proposed ground-attack version.
- Me 262 A-4a
- Reconnaissance version.
- Me 262 A-5a
- Definitive reconnaissance version used in small numbers at end of the war.
- Me 262 B-1a
- Two-seat trainer.
- Me 262 B-1a/U1
- Me 262 B-1a trainers converted into provisional night fighters, FuG 218 Neptun radar, with Hirschgeweih antenna array.[73]
- Me 262 B-2
- Proposed night fighter version with stretched fuselage.
- Me 262 C-1a
- Single prototype [made from Me 262A Werknummer 130 186] of rocket-boosted interceptor (Heimatschützer I) with Walter HWK 109-509 rocket in tail, first flown with combined jet/rocket power on 27 February 1945.[74]
- Me 262 C-2b
- Single prototype [made from Me 262A Werknummer 170 074] of rocket-boosted interceptor (Heimatschützer
II) with two BMW 003R "combined" powerplants (BMW 003 jet, with a
single 1000 kg thrust BMW 718 rocket engine mounted atop the rear of
each jet exhaust) for boosted thrust, only flown once with combined
jet/rocket power on 26 March 1945.[75]
- Me 262 C-3a
- Never-completed concept design for a Heimatschützer III prototype of rocket-boosted interceptor with Walter rocket motor in belly pack.[76]
- Me 262 D-1
- Proposed variant to carry Jagdfaust mortars.
- Me 262 E-1
- Proposed variant based on A-1a/U4 with a Mk 114 cannon.
- Me 262 E-2
- Proposed rocket-armed variant carrying up to 48 × R4M rockets.
- Me 262 S
- Zero-series model for Me 262 A-1a
- Me 262 W
- Provisional designation for Me 262 with pulse jet engines
Postwar variants
- Avia S-92[77]
- Czech-built Me 262 A-1a (fighter)[78]
- Avia CS-92
- Czech-built Me 262 B-1a (fighter trainer, two seats)
Reproductions
These reproductions are constructed by Legend Flyers (later
Me 262 Project) of
Everett, Washington.
[79] The Jumo 004 engines of the original are replaced by more reliable
General Electric CJ610 engines. The Jumo 004 was hampered by poor workmanship and a lack of high-temperature super alloys.
[80]
The first Me 262 reproduction (a two-seater) took off for the first
time in December 2002 and the second one in August 2005. This one was
delivered to the Messerschmitt Foundation and was presented at the ILA
airshow in 2006.
[81]
- A-1c
- American privately built, based on A-1a configuration.
- B-1c
- American privately built, based on B-1a configuration.
- A/B-1c
- American privately built, convertible between A-1c and B-1c configuration.
Operators
Survivors
- Me 262A, W.Nr.500071 White 3, III./JG 7
- Deutsches Museum,[84] Munich, Germany. This aircraft, flown by Hans Guido Mutke while a pilot of 9. Staffel/JG
7, was confiscated by Swiss authorities on 25 April 1945 after Mutke
made an emergency landing in Switzerland due to lack of fuel (80 litres
were remaining, 35 litres were usually burnt in one minute).
- Me 262 A-1a
- Reconstructed from parts of crashed and incomplete Me 262s. Luftwaffenmuseum der Bundeswehr, Germany.
- Me 262 A-1a W.Nr.501232 Yellow 5, 3./KG(J)6
- National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
- Me 262 A-1a/U3 W.Nr.500453
- Flying Heritage Collection, Everett, Washington, USA, currently in England undergoing restoration to flying condition. It is intended to fly using its original Jumo 004 engines.[85] The aircraft was bought from The Planes Of Fame, Chino, California.
- Me 262 A-1a W.Nr.500491 Yellow 7, II./JG 7
- National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
- Me 262 A-2a W.Nr.112372
- RAF Museum Hendon, London, United Kingdom.
- Me 262 A-2a W.Nr.500200 Black X 9K+XK, 2 Staffel./KG 51
- Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia. Built at Regensburg in March 1945, same batch from which the Deutsches Museum White 3
was built. Flown by Fahnenjunker Oberfeldwebel Fröhlich and surrendered
at Fassberg. She remains the only Me 262 left in existence wearing her
original (albeit worn, as seen in the picture) colours. Her markings
show both the Unit signatures along with the Air Ministry colours applied at Farnborough, where she was allocated reference Air Min 81. Restoration was completed in 1985 and aircraft was put up on display.[86]
- Me 262 B-1a/U1, W.Nr.110305 Red 8
- South African National Museum of Military History, Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Me 262 B-1a, W.Nr.110639 White 35
- National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida (previously at NAS/JRB Willow Grove, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, USA)
- Avia S-92
- Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Avia CS-92
- Prague Aviation Museum, Kbely, Prague, Czech Republic.
Specifications (Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a)
Data from Quest for Performance
[20] Original Messerschmitt documents
[87]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
- Guns: 4 × 30 mm MK 108 cannons (A-2a: two cannons)
- Rockets: 24 × 55 mm (2.2 in) R4M rockets
- Bombs: 2 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or 2 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs (A-2a only)
Notable appearances in media
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Related lists
References
Explanatory notes
- ^ According to Morgan and Weal, estimates that jet fighters of all types produced 745 victories.[9]
- ^ The nosewheel was a 66 cm × 16 cm (26 in × 6.3 in) item identical to the Me 109's main gear wheel, fitted with a Buna rubber tire and pneumatic drum brake.[26]
- ^ According to Stapfer, the smaller fuel tank had a capacity of up to 237.75 gallons.[27]
- ^ By comparison, a new Volkswagen Type 1 was priced at RM990.[29]
- ^ For a list of Luftwaffe jet aces, see List of German World War II jet aces
- ^ The leading edge slats, manufactured by Arwa Strumpfwerke of Auerbach, were divided into three unconnected sections on each wing and each was fastened to the wing by two hinges.[45]
The slats lowered the stalling speed of the aircraft to roughly 160 to
170 km/h (86 to 92 kn; 99 to 110 mph) depending on load out. They
deployed automatically below 300 km/h (160 kn; 190 mph) on takeoff or
landing and at 450 km/h (240 kn; 280 mph) in turn or climb.[46]
- ^ According
to aviation historian Mike Spick, it could take eight Mustangs to
neutralize a single Me 262, by continually cutting across the circle
inside it. Against multiple jet attackers, effective defense was simply
impossible.[50]
- ^ Other aircraft based there included Bf 109 and Fw 190 day fighters and Bf 110 and He 219 night fighters. The base is closer to the town of Hopsten than the city of Rheine, and is still used by the Luftwaffe.
- ^ As
well as the flak guns, there were several piston engine fighter units
based in the area which were tasked to cover the jets as they were
landing.
Citations
- ^ a b Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 23.
- ^ Price 2007, pp. 36–37.
- ^ a b Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 49.
- ^ a b Balous et al. 1995, p. 53.
- ^ Hecht, Heinrich. The World's First Turbojet Fighter – Messerschmitt Me 262. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1990. ISBN 0-88740-234-8.[page needed]
- ^ Gunston 1988, p. 240.
- ^ a b c Boyne 1994, p. 325.
- ^ Green 1970, pp. 634–638.
- ^ Morgan and Weal 1998, p. 78.
- ^ Gunston 1984, p. 163.
- ^ a b Boyne 2008, pp. 58–61.
- ^ Bölkow, L. "Mit dem Pfeilflügel zum Hochgeschwindigkeitsflug." 50 Jahre Turbostrahlflug. . Bonn: DGLR-Bericht, 1989, pp. 225–287.
- ^ Lednicer, David. The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage. Champaign, Illinois: UIUC Applied Aerodynamics Group, 2010. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p. 30.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p. 34.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p. 34.
- ^ "Stormbirds History." Stormbirds.com.. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Price 1993, p. 176.
- ^ Speer 1997, p. 363.
- ^ a b Loftin, L.K. Jr. Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft. NASA SP-468. Retrieved: 22 April 2006.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 18.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Samuel 2004, pp. 20–21.
- ^ Warsitz 2009, p. 143.
- ^ a b Boyne 2008, p. 60.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p. 21.
- ^ a b c Stapfer 2006, p.16.
- ^ a b Stapfer 2006, p.26.
- ^ Gilmore, Robert. The KdF Wagens: Germany's Car for the Masses, in VW Trends, February 1992, pp. 36–40.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p. 2.
- ^ Morgan and Weal 1998, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Caldwell and Muller 2007, p. 223.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 51.
- ^ Smith 1971, p. 103.
- ^ Morgan and Weal 1998, pp. 27–28.
- ^ a b Morgan and Weal 1998, p. 28.
- ^ Bekker 1964, p. 361.
- ^ Miller 2007, p. 449.
- ^ Spick 1983, p. 112.
- ^ a b Thompson with Smith 2008, p. 233.
- ^ Brown 2006, p. 101.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p.33.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, p.35
- ^ Spick 1983, pp. 112–113.
- ^ Stapfer 2006, pp. 31, 36.
- ^ Stapfer, pp. 32, 36.
- ^ "Theories of Flight devices." centennialofflight.gov, 2003. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ Loftin, Laurence K., Jr. "Quest
for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, Part II: The Jet
Age, Chapter 11: Early Jet Fighters, Pioneer jet Fighters." NASA SP-468, NASA Scientific and Technical Information Branch, 2004 via hq.nasa.gov. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ Summary of debriefing of Me-262 test pilot and flight instructor Hans Fey.
- ^ Spick 1997, p. 165.
- ^ a b Levine 1992, pp. 158, 185.
- ^ "Hawker Tempest." hawkertempest.se. Retrieved: 1 January 2012.
- ^ Clostermann 1953, p. 181.
- ^ "Fluglehrzentrum F-4F JG 72, JBG 36." etnp.de. Retrieved: 1 January 2012.
- ^ "The "Westfalen-Wing" in Rheine-Hopsten." etnep.de. Retrieved: 1 January 2012.
- ^ Thomas and Shores 1988, p. 129.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 75.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, pp. 75, 79. Note: Willy Messerschmitt July 1943.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, p. 79.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996
- ^ Flying Review, 1960s, date unknown
- ^ Englander, Major Ernst. "Summary of debriefing German pilot Hans Fey on operational performance & late war deployment of the Me 262 jet fighter." USAAC, Spring 1945 via zenoswarbirdvideos.com. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ Blue, Allan G. "491st Mission List – June 1944 TO April 1945." 491st.org. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ Haunschmied et al. 2008, p. 127.
- ^ Ethell and Price 1994, pp. 97–99.
- ^ Ethell and Price 1994, p. 180.
- ^ Butler 1994,[page needed]
- ^ Blair 1980,[page needed]
- ^ "Aircraft Profiles: Configuration data." Me 262 Project.. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Me 262 Flies again." Video.google.com.. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Messerschmitt Me 262 Flight Program." Collingsfoundation.org.. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
- ^ Bailey, Stewart. "New Me-262 Reproduction lands at the Museum." Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, 25 June 2010. Retrieved: 7 June 2011.
- ^ (Radar)
- ^ Description of rocket propulsion system on the Me 262 C-1a
- ^ Video of BMW 718 rocket engine test firing on this aircraft
- ^ Description of rocket propulsion system on the Me 262 C-3a
- ^ "S-92 history (Czech language)." Military.cz.. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Avia-S 92 photo and technical data." tanks45.tripod.com.. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Introduction: Returning the World's First Fighting Jet to the Skies. Me 262 Project. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ Jenkins and Landis 2008[page needed]
- ^ "Stormbirds." Me 262 Project. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ " ROA Air Force" (in German). flugzeugforum.de.. Retrieved: 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Vlasov's Air Force" (in Russian). Jenkins. Retrieved: 12 July 2012.
- ^ Inv.-No.: 73736. Deutsches Museum. Retrieved: 11 April 2010.
- ^ "The Flying Heritage Collection" Internet Modeler. Retrieved: 29 June 2013.
- ^ Butler 1994, p. 94.
- ^ Radinger and Schick 1996, p.110 based on original Messerschmitt data
- ^ a b c ME-262 A-1 Pilot's Handbook, T2 Airforce Material Command, Wright Field Dayton Ohio
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