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Messerschmitt Me 262

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The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Ger. "swallow" - so named, as the swallow is one of the fastest birds known when going into a dive to capture and eat an airborne insect), is the world's first operational jet-powered fighter. It was mass-produced in World War II and saw action from late summer of 1944 in bomber/reconnaissance and fighter/interceptor roles, almost sharing the title of the first operational jet with the British Gloster Meteor that got operational some weeks later. German pilots nicknamed it the Turbo, while the Allies called it the Stormbird. Although the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war; shooting down an estimated 150 Allied aircraft for the loss of 100 Me 262s; the jet was both well-known and highly influential on post-war aircraft development.

Contents

Development

Although often viewed as a last ditch super-weapon, the Me 262 was already being developed as project P.1065 before the start of WWII. Plans were first drawn up in April 1939, and the original design was very similar to the plane that would eventually enter service. The progression of the original design into service was delayed by a lack of funds, many high ranking officials thought that the war could easily be won with conventional aircraft, and therefore most of the available government funds were used for the production of other aircraft.

Swept wings had been proposed as early as 1935 by Adolph Busemann, and Willy Messerschmitt had researched the topic from 1940. In April 1941, he actually proposed to fit a 35° swept wing (Pfeilflügel II) to the Me 262. Though this suggestion was not implemented, he continued with the projected HG II and HG III high-speed derivatives of the Me 262 in 1944, which were designed with a 35° and 45° wing sweep respectively. The production Me 262 had a leading edge sweep of 18.5° primarily to properly position the center of lift relative to the center of mass and not for the aerodynamic benefit of increasing the critical Mach number of the wing (the sweep was too slight to achieve any significant advantage) . The aircraft was originally designed as a tail-dragger which it was built as in the first (Me 262 V1) through fourth (-V4) prototypes, but it was discovered on an early test run that the engines and wings "blanked" the stabilizers, giving almost no control on the ground. Changing to a tricycle landing gear arrangement, firstly as a fixed undercarriage on the fifth prototype aircraft, then a fully retractable one on the sixth and succeeding prototypes, corrected all of these problems immediately.

The first test flights began in April 1941, but since the BMW 003 turbojets were not ready for fitting, a conventional Junkers Jumo 210 engine was mounted in the nose, driving a propeller, to test the Me 262 V1 airframe. When the BMW 003 engines were finally 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.

The V3 third prototype airframe became a true jet plane when it flew on July 18 1942 in Leipheim near Günzburg, Germany, piloted by Fritz Wendel. The 003 engines which were proving unreliable were replaced by the newly available Junkers Jumo 004. Test flights continued over the next year but the engines continued to be unreliable. The production of the aircraft was slowed mainly by the engine troubles. An order from Hitler that the new Me 262 must also be part bomber played little part in comparison. Although airframe modifications were complete by 1942, production never began until 1944 when the production engines — which due to the shortage of strategic materials like tungsten and chromium had to be completely redesigned to employ alloys of inferior temperature resistance — finally started to work. These engines had an expected operational lifetime of approximately 50 hours of use, however most 004's only lasted 12 hours. A pilot familar with the Me 262 and its engines could expect approximately 20 to 25 hours of life from the 004's which were supposed to be able to be swapped out in three hours, but due to poor training of ground crews and poorly made parts, it typically took eight to nine hours.

Jet engines have less thrust at low speed than piston or turboprop engines and due to this, acceleration is relatively poor. It was more noticeable for the Me 262 because all early jet engines (before the invention of afterburners) responded slowly to throttle changes. The introduction of a primitive autothrottle late in the war only helped slightly. Conversely, the higher power of jet engines at higher speeds meant the Me 262 enjoyed a much higher climb speed. Used tactically, this gave the jet fighter an even greater speed advantage than level flight at top speed.

With one engine out the Me 262 still flew well, with speeds of 280 to 310 mph. However it was highly recommended to avoid attempting to land with one engine out as it was considered a hazard.

Operationally, the Me 262 had an endurance of 60 to 90 minutes.

Combat service

Me 262A-1a camouflaged on a German airfield
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Me 262A-1a camouflaged on a German airfield

In April 1944, Erprobungskommando 262 was formed at Lechfeld in Bavaria as a proving unit to introduce the 262 into service and train a core of pilots to fly it. Major Walter Nowotny was assigned as Commander in July 1944, and the unit redesignated Kommando Nowotny. Trials continued painfully slowly with initial operational missions against the Allies in August 1944 returning 19 Allied aircraft shot down for six jets lost. It had originally been planned to use the Me 262 against Allied fighter escorts, to make it possible for the slower propeller fighters to attack the bombers, but the overwhelming numerical superiority of Allied fighters led to the use of the Me 262 in the anti-bomber role. Due to the characteristics of the Jumo jet engine, dog fighting at low speeds with Allied fighters had to be avoided. Nowotny himself was shot down and killed on 8 November 1944 by 1st Lt Edward “Buddy” Haydon of the 357th Fighter Group, USAAF and Capt Ernest “Feeb” Fiebelkorn of the 20th Fighter Group, USAAF. The Kommando was then withdrawn for further training and a revision of combat tactics to optimise the 262's strengths.

Meanwhile, I Gruppe of KG51 was the first bomber unit equipped with the Me 262 in autumn of 1944.

By January 1945 Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG7) had been formed as the first full jet fighter unit, although it would be several weeks before it was operational with a handful of aircraft. In the meantime a bomber unit — I Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG54) — had re-equipped with the Me-262 for use in a fighter role. However, the unit lost 12 jets in action in two weeks for minimal returns.

Jagdverband 44 (JV44) was another Me-262 fighter unit formed in February, by Lieutenant General Adolf Galland, who had recently been dismissed as Inspector of Day 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.

During March, Me 262 fighter units were thus able for the first time to deliver large scale attacks on Allied bomber formations. On March 18, 1945, 37 Me 262s of JG7 intercepted a force of 1,221 bombers and 632 escorting fighters. They managed to shoot down 12 bombers and one fighter for the loss of three Me 262s. Although a four to one 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, the USAAF had been able to keep up offensive operations though enduring loss ratios of 5% and more, and the few available Me 262s could not inflict this magnitude of losses.

Several two-seater "B" trainer variants of the Me 262 had been adapted as night fighters, complete with on-board radar and "deerhorn" antennae. 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. 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 had to do their first flight in a jet in a single seater without an instructor.

Despite its deficiencies, the Me 262 was clearly signalling the beginning of the end of the propeller aircraft as an efficient fighting machine. Once airborne, it quickly accelerated to speeds well over 800 km/h, over 150 km/h faster than anything else in the air.

Many accounts from Allied bomber crews cited that they were horrified by the speed of the Me 262. Allied accounts also state some level of amazement and awe: the idea of an extremely fast propeller-less aircraft was difficult to imagine at the time, let alone experience. While Allied intelligence was aware of German jet development, not all combat units were informed about the existence of the Me 262, contributing to the Allied amazement.

By the end of the war Me-262 units had claimed over 300 Allied aircraft destroyed with some 40 Luftwaffe pilots becoming jet aces with five claims or more. Top scorer was probably Hauptmann. Franz Schall with at least 17 kills, although night fighter ace Kurt Welter reportedly claimed over 20 kills while flying the Me 262.

Anti-bomber tactics

The standard approach against bomber formations, which were travelling at cruise speed, called for the Me 262 to approach the bombers from the rear at a higher altitude, diving in below the bombers to get additional speed before zooming up again to their level and opening fire with its four 30 mm cannon at 600 m range.

Allied bomber gunners found that their electric gun turrets had problems tracking the jets. However, due to the jets' straight-line approach, traverse rates were actually not as important as target acquisition itself, which was difficult because the jets closed into firing range very quickly and had to remain in firing position only very briefly using their standard attack profile.

Eventually new combat tactics were developed to counter the allied bombers defenses. Me 262s equipped with large numbers of R4M rockets would approach from the side of a bomber formation where their silhouettes were widest and, while still out of range of the .50 caliber guns, fire a salvo of these explosive rockets. The explosive power of only one or two of these rockets were capable of downing even the famously rugged B-17. While this tactic came too late to have a real effect on the war, it was nonetheless effective. This method of combating bombers became the standard until the invention and mass deployment of the guided missile. Some nicknamed this tactic the "Luftwaffe's Wolf Pack" as the fighters would often make runs in groups of two or three, fire their rockets, then return to base.

On September 1, 1944, USAAF General Carl Spaatz expressed the fear that if greater numbers of German jets appeared, they could inflict losses to the USAAF bombers heavy enough to cause cancellation of the Allied daylight bombing offensive.

Counter-jet tactics

Tactics against the Me 262 developed quickly to find ways of defeating it despite its great speed advantage. Allied bomber escort fighters (specifically P-51s) would fly high above the bombers — diving from this height gave them extra speed thus reducing the speed advantage of the Me 262. The Me 262 was less maneuverable than the P-51 and trained Allied pilots could catch up to a turning Me 262; but the only reliable way of dealing with the jets was to attack them in the take-off and landing phase of their flight, and on the ground. Accordingly, Luftwaffe air fields that were recognized as jet bases were frequently bombed by medium bombers, and Allied fighters patrolled over the fields to attack jets that were trying to land on their bases. The Luftwaffe countered these moves by installing Flak alleys along the approach lines in order to protect the Me 262s from the ground, and providing top cover with conventional fighters during the take-off and landing phase.

Another experimental tactic was installing nitrous oxide injection into Mustangs. When chasing an Me 262, the pilot could press a button injecting the nitrous oxide into the engine, producing a quick burst of speed.

The US Army demanded production far ahead of schedule for their jet engined fighter, the P-80, to provide an allied jet fighter that could match the Me 262, but had to ground the P-80 after one of the four US jets deployed to Europe was wrecked in a fatal accident.

Other Allied fighters which encountered the Me 262 included the British Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Tempest Mk.V and the Soviet Lavochkin La-7. The first Me 262 shot down by Allied fighters was by Spitfires of No. 401 Squadron RCAF, on October 5, 1944. The first Tempest kill of an Me 262 was by FO Bob Cole (DFC) of No. 3 Squadron RAF on October 13. The Lavochkin was the only Soviet fighter to shoot down a German jet, with La-7 ace Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub fighting and downing one Me 262 jet on February 15 1945 over eastern Germany. Kozhedub apparently later said that his success was mainly due to the Me 262 pilot attempting to out-turn his more maneuverable plane.

Although the British Gloster Meteor jet had entered service in July 1944, the two aircraft never engaged in combat; the Meteor was initially restricted to the skies over Britain (where it engaged incoming V-1 flying bombs), whilst its later use over mainland Europe did not result in any combat. The first jet-jet dogfights would thus not take place until the Korean War. According to pilots who had the chance to fly both aircraft the Me 262 was superior apart from the engine reliability and maneuverability at lower speeds. According to test pilot Roland Beamont the 262 had "a significantly higher critical Mach number than the British Gloster Meteor" in early versions.

High speed research

Me 262 interior
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Me 262 interior

Willy Messerschmitt regarded the Me 262 as it went into production only as an interim type. His interest in high-speed flight that had led him to initiate work on swept wings starting in 1940 is evident from the advanced developments he had on his drawing board in 1944. While the Me 262 HG I (Hochgeschwindigkeit, high speed) that was actually flight-tested in 1944 had only small changes compared to combat aircraft, most notably a low-profiled canopy to reduce drag, the HG II and HG III designs were far more radical. The projected HG II variant combined the low-drag canopy with a 35° wing sweep and a butterfly tail. The HG III aircraft had a conventional tail, but a 45° wing sweep and the jet turbines embedded in the wing root.

Messerschmitt also conducted a series of carefully controlled flight tests with the series production Me 262. In these dive tests, it was established that the Me 262 was out of control in a dive at Mach 0.86, and that higher Mach numbers would lead to a nose-down trim that could not be countered by the pilot. The resulting steepening of the dive would lead to even higher speeds and disintegration of the airframe due to excessive negative g loads.

The HG series of Me 262 derivatives was estimated to be capable of reaching transonic Mach numbers in level flight, with the top speed of the HG III being projected as Mach 0.96 at 6 km altitude. Despite the necessity to gain experience in high-speed flight for the HG II and III designs, Messerschmitt undertook no attempts 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 the British attempts at breaking the sound barrier. The RAE achieved speeds of up to Mach 0.84 and confirmed the results from the Messerschmitt dive tests as accurate. Similar tests were run by the Soviets. No attempts were made to exceed the Mach limit established by Messerschmitt.

After Willy Messerschmitt's death, the former Me 262 pilot Hans Guido Mutke claimed to be the first person to break the sound barrier on April 9 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 that other Me 262 pilots have observed below the speed of sound and a high airspeed indicator reading, but no altitude reading, which would be 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 reasons and likely would have suffered structural failure due to divergence at high trans-sonic speeds.

Production

As the 262 was widely-regarded as the Luftwaffe's top priority, all expendable materials were put into 262 production. While Germany was bombed incessantly, production of the Me 262 was dispersed into low-profile production facilities, sometimes not more than clearings in the woods. 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. Slightly over 1400 Me 262s of all its versions were produced. Due to fuel shortages, pilot shortages, and the lack of many airfields that could support the Me 262 (concrete runways were recommended as the jet engines would melt tar runways), as few as 200 Me 262s made it to combat units.

Post-war

After the end of the war the Me 262 as well as other advanced German technology was quickly swept up by the Soviets and the Americans. Many Me 262s were found in readily-repairable condition by both sides and were confiscated. During testing, the Me 262 was found to have advantages over the Gloster Meteor. It was faster, had much better cockpit visiblity 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; the Meteor had a tendency to snake at high speed and weak aileron response. The Me 262 did have a poorer range than the Meteor however. It wasn't till the Meteor III (which did not fly till September of 1944) that the British jet posed a serious challenge to the Me 262. The production version of the P-80 could not outperform the Me 262, as quoted during a formerly secret report which said: 'Despite a difference in gross weight of nearly 2,000lbs, the Me 262 was superior to the P-80A 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.'

These aircraft were extensively studied, aiding development of early US and Soviet jet fighters. The F-86 Sabre and the Sukhoi Su-9 (1946) were directly influenced by the Me 262. The 86 used the slat design of the 262 and some German track parts were used on the prototype.

The Czechoslovakian aircraft industry continued to produce single-seater and two-seater variants of the Me 262 after WWII. These were kept flying as late as 1957. Both versions are on display at the Prague Aero museum in Kbely.

Replica of a Messerschmitt Me 262 at the Berlin Air Show 2006
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Replica of a Messerschmitt Me 262 at the Berlin Air Show 2006

In January 2003, the American [Me 262 Project] (formerly known as Classic Fighter Industries, Inc.) successfully flight-tested a near-exact reproduction of the 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 easily be converted 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 J-85 powerplant and has been informally assigned with the approval of the Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany. Flight testing of the first newly-manufactured Me 262 A-1c (single seat) variant was completed in August, 2005. The first of these machines was destined for private ownership in the southwestern United States, while the second was delivered to the Messerschmitt Foundation at Manching, Germany. This aircraft has now been fully reassembled and conducted a private test flight in late April, and made its public debut in May 2006 at the Berlin Air Show (ILA 2006). The new Me 262 flew during the public flight demonstrations as seen here:[Me 262 Flys again]

Variants

Me 262 A-1a circa 1944
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Me 262 A-1a circa 1944

Me 262 A-1a
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Me 262 A-1a

Japanese design patterned after the Me 262: Post-war variants:

Operators

Specifications (Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a)

See also

Trivia

References

  • Messerschmitt Me 262: The Production Log 1941-1945, Dan O'Connell, Classic Publications 2006, ISBN 1903223598 - detailed summary of every identified aircraft.
  • The Last Year of the Luftwaffe: May 1944 to May 1945, Alfred Price, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1853674400

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