Who shot down the first me 262. Battlefield: Me.262 - the most formidable fighter of World War II

Nicknames in the game

Mop, Swallow

Total information

Speed ​​characteristics

Maneuverability

VIII

2510000

The first production jet fighter in the world. The start of production was delayed by the intervention of the German top leadership, who demanded a bomber version in the first place.

Modules

Level		Engine power, h.p. / thrust	Type	Weight, kg	Price,
VIII	Jumo 004 A	840	reactive	1440	130800
IX	NAME_MODULE_HWK-509_SPEC_TOP_ME-262_1	950	missile	1616	180000
IX	BMW 003A	830	reactive	1124	142300
IX	Jumo 004B	910	reactive	1450	160000

Level	bombs	Damage radius, m	Damage	Weight, kg	Price,
V	SD 250	75	5000	250	2000

Level	rockets	Damage radius, m	Damage	Weight, kg	Price,
X	WEAPON_NAME_R4M_SPEC_TOP_ME-262_1	25	150	4	70

No armamentNo armamentNo armamentNo armament

Premium aircraft

gift plane

Compatible hardware

Compatible Gear

Me 262 in game

Research and leveling

Investigated at Bf. 109Z through 30mm MK-108 (1942) (M) guns for 96,300 XP.

Since we are TI, the most important thing for us, first of all, is to upgrade our weapons. So our next step is construction. As a result, we have increased strength and speed, and also slightly deteriorated maneuverability. Now we examine weapons and we immediately grow very dangerous teeth for enemies - firepower doubles. The payback is a reduction in speed and maneuverability. So we got to the engines. All of them increase speed and cut maneuverability a little bit. The only noticeable difference is that the top engine almost doubles the afterburner speed.

combat effectiveness

Despite the fact that we can be thrown both up and down the list, our behavior in combat, in both cases, is almost identical. Only the difference in the risk of this or that action varies, depending on our position in the team’s list. The main difference is that in the top we are ahead of the rest in terms of speed and weapons, so we can get impudent, but at the bottom of the list it’s no longer worth it. Like TI - our primary target, regardless of the level of combat, are enemy attack aircraft attacking our ground. LI and TI cosplaying assaults also diversify our diet. At the same time, they are even more tasty target than assaults, as they are significantly inferior to them in terms of strength. The TI has two main and one additional target attack move. The main ones include - an attack on the aisles and boom-zoom, an additional one - a frontal attack. Let's consider each option more closely. Boom-zoom - an attack from a steep dive of a target that is much lower than us, followed by a return to a height. It is especially effective against the enemy walking on a combat course and attacking the ground. Depending on the situation, the presence of enemies dangerous for us nearby, you can use the flaps and reset the engine thrust, at the time of the dive, to extend the time the enemy is in sight. Important. In no case is it necessary, if the enemy has survived our approach, to try to finish off the enemy on turns. It is much more efficient and safer to complete the boom-zoom as expected, climb on the afterburner and repeat the approach to the target. In most cases, the second run is enough even for the most thick-skinned targets. Attack on the aisles - used to attack opponents circling in the "dog dump". The essence of the technique is to fly through the zone of active air combat, firing at enemies that fall into the scope, followed by separation to a safe distance in the afterburner. Then we turn around and repeat the passages until the opponents run out. Important. Also, in no case should you, when passing through a "dog dump", get carried away and go into turns. Attack on the forehead - the name speaks for itself. Application - an attack on a weakly armed enemy, the advantage in armament should preferably be twofold, but at the same time more maneuverable. The range of application is quite narrow - attacking an enemy on the convergence and attacking a slower enemy sitting on the tail. In the second case, it is preceded by a 1\1.5 km afterburner separation followed by a head-on turn. Important. Reception is quite risky, so it should be used only if all other methods have been exhausted. At the same time, in a battle with reagents, the convergence rates are high enough not to have time to turn aside. Remember, a TI chewing on the ground looks pathetic and funny, and is also an easy target for enemies.

Advantages:

• good optimal height;
• good dive speed;
• good optimal speed.

Flaws:

• low rate of climb;
• high stall speed;
• poor maneuverability.

Equipment, ammunition and gear

Equipment

• Gyroscopic sight l
• Reinforced frame lll- -25% to the probability of receiving critical damage for all modules, +10% to aircraft durability.
• Additional armor plates lll- by 20% reduces the chance of injuring the pilot and critical damage to engines, turrets.

Ammo belts

• Universal Tape

Equipment

• Standard set of equipment Pneumatic restart, Hand fire extinguishers And Rudder trim.

Equipment

• Gyroscopic sight l- will add +15% to the aircraft's shooting accuracy.
• Improved skin lll- +20% resistance to damage to the wings, fuselage, tail, +5% strength indicator.
• Improved lll flaps- 20% more deceleration of the aircraft when the thrust is off. Reduces stall speed.

Ammo belts

• Universal Tape- a tape that allows effective shooting and has a low probability of causing critical damage or arson.

Equipment

• Standard set of equipment Pneumatic restart, Hand fire extinguishers And Rudder trim.

1st option

2nd option

Crew

Crew skills

	1	2	3	4	5
Pilot

Leveling pilot skills:

"Vigilant" increases the detection range in the pilot's sector increased by 20%.

Sharpshooter I reduces spread when firing forward weapons by 5%.

"Battle-Scarred" increases the pilot's survivability and allows better control of damaged aircraft. Chance of wounding the pilot -20%, negative effects from damage to the wings and tail -25%.

"Pilot" increases maneuverability in all axes by 2%.

"Falcon Strike" in a dive when attacking with forward weapons increases the chance of arson and inflicting critical damage by 50%. The skill works when the aircraft speed is close to the maximum dive speed, and the pitch angle exceeds -45 degrees.

Aircraft rating

Score Me 262

Screenshot gallery

Historical reference

In October 1938, the Messerschmitt company received an order from the Reich Ministry of Aviation to create a combat aircraft equipped with a turbojet engine. In Germany, the development of such engines was carried out by two leading engine-building companies - BMW and Junkers. For the aircraft ordered by Messerschmitt, the P3302 engine from BMW was intended, which the company undertook to bring to readiness by the end of 1939. The aircraft received the designation "Project 1065". What will be the range of combat missions of the new vehicle, the customers did not specify, so the designers of their own choice chose the role of an interceptor for it.

Having worked out possible options for the layout of the future aircraft, the designers settled on a twin-engine low-wing aircraft with engines located under the wing. According to calculations, two BMW P3302 engines, each of which could develop thrust up to 600 kg, should have provided the car with a speed of about 900 km / h.

On March 1, 1940, a wooden mock-up of the aircraft was inspected by representatives of the Reich Ministry, after which a contract was signed with Messerschmitt for the construction of three prototypes of the aircraft intended for flight and static tests. The car received the Me-262 index.

The first difficulties began simultaneously with the transition of work from the layout stage to the construction of prototypes. The BMW P3002 engine (by that time renamed BMW 003) was not ready: on bench tests, it showed thrust almost three times less than the design 600 kg. Then, as a possible alternative, it was decided to use the engine from Junkers - Jumo 004. It corresponded to the characteristics of the engine from BMW, but at the same time was structurally simpler, which made it additionally attractive from an industrial point of view. The engine from Junkers was also not ready, and its creators could not give an exact answer to the question regarding the timing of the appearance of the flight model.

As a temporary measure, so that work on the construction of prototypes of the Me-262 did not stand still due to the inability to lift them into the air, it was decided to install a piston engine on the aircraft. With him, the Me-262 was able to reach a speed of 415 km / h and showed very good handling. Only during a dive, when the aircraft accelerated over 500 km / h, were slight problems with the elevators discovered, which were soon eliminated. Painstaking work began on the study of the flight qualities of the machine. The pilots of the experimental Me-262 were Fritz Wendel and Karl Baur. It was Wendel who saved one of the Me-262 prototypes from crashing on March 25, 1942. On this day, the Me-262 made its first flight with BMW 003 engines. When climbing, first one, and then the second engine caught fire. On the Jumo piston engine alone, Wendel managed to turn the car around and land it. It turned out that there was a breakdown in the compressor. To find out its causes, the motors had to be returned to the factory, and the Me-262 was again equipped with only a piston engine.

In March 1942, the Junkers company finally brought its Jumo 004 turbojet engine to working condition. One of the three experimental Me-262s was adapted for this engine. Given the fact that the Jumo 004 was larger and heavier than the BMW 003, the size of the engine nacelles and vertical tail had to be increased. On July 18, 1942, at a test site in the city of Lepheim, where there was a runway 1,100 meters long, Fritz Wendel made a test flight on the Me-262 with a Junkers engine. During acceleration, it was found that the low-lying tail of the aircraft, as it were, “obscures” the elevators, which is why the car cannot rise into the air. In order for the Me-262 to take off, Wendel had to make a short braking at high speed. Because of this, the plane jumped, the tail rose, and the pilot managed to take off. The aircraft demonstrated good controllability, the engines worked stably, but the air flow was stalled during turns. To eliminate this problem, it was necessary to increase the thickness of the wing profile and change the sweep angle at the leading edge.

By November 1942, two Me-262s with Jumo 004 engines were already flying. The test results were so impressive that the Air Ministry ordered 45 aircraft. However, the mass production of the aircraft was considered premature, because at this stage it made too high demands on the skill of the pilot in order to count on the successful development of the machine by ordinary pilots of combat units. On the one hand, the ministry and personally Marshal Erhard Milch were right. The Me-262 still could not show the level of reliability and stability that was necessary for a mass production aircraft. During the tests, breakdowns occurred every now and then, the pilots had to make emergency landings. And one of the testers, Willy Ostertag, died due to the fact that the engine failed in flight.

On the other hand, many officers felt that Erhard Milch was too cautious. One of the marshal's opponents, ace fighter Adolf Galland, generally proposed to sharply limit the production of single-engine piston aircraft and switch to the mass production of the Me-262. Of course, Galland's proposal was radical. But one cannot but agree that the conservatism of Marshal Milch was excessive. Having decided to increase the production of the Me-262 to 60 aircraft per month by May 1944, Erhard Milch simultaneously became the unspoken initiator of delays in ensuring the production of the aircraft with materials, equipment and specialists. The Messerschmitt company itself had rather limited capabilities. Not least of all, this was due to the constant Allied bombing attacks on German aviation industry facilities.

To try to change the situation for the better, Wilhelm Messerschmitt turned to Goering personally. The head of the Luftwaffe, considering his arguments valid, consulted with the Fuhrer, and on November 2, 1943, a special commission was created, whose task was to monitor the work on fine-tuning the Me-262. On the same day, Goering, acting on Hitler's orders, asked Messerschmitt the question of whether this plane could carry bombs? When he replied that the design provided for the installation of a holder for two bombs weighing up to 500 kg each, Goering demanded that the Me-262 bomber modification be created as soon as possible. It turns out that the leader of Germany decided that it would be most reasonable to use this machine to bomb the UK. This problem had to be solved by the spring of 1944.

Albert Speer, the German Armaments Minister, declared the Me-262 program top priority. But his order was not a spell that, as if by magic, would solve the problems of the creators with production capacity and personnel shortages (a large number of skilled workers went to the front).

So, now the Messerschmitt company worked in two directions at once. Fulfilling the Fuhrer's orders to create a high-speed bomber, the designers simultaneously worked on a fighter modification of the aircraft. Moreover, the fighter direction was significantly ahead of the bomber direction. In April 1944, Hitler found out about this and was furious. It was possible to convince him not to ban work on the Me-262 fighter only on the condition that this would not affect the speed of development and production of the bomber.

In April 1944, the 262nd test team was created, which was to be the first to test the fighter in combat. Initially, the core of the team consisted of testers from the Messerschmitt company, who were engaged in the training of other pilots and the development of tactical methods of combat on the new aircraft. Trial sorties began in June, and soon the 262 team had three British aircraft shot down. The unit commander, Captain Tierfelder, was killed in action. Major Walter Novotny was appointed in his place, who was the fifth most successful among the pilots of the Third Reich.

In the early autumn of 1944, the "262 team" was reorganized into the so-called "Novotny team". The new unit consisted of two squadrons with a total of 30 Me-262s and was based near Osnabrück. The place of deployment was not chosen by chance: one of the main routes of allied bombers passed over this city.

Novotny's team turned out to be a very unlucky unit. The first two Me-262s were lost less than a week after the group took up combat duty. An American Mustang fighter attacked them on takeoff, when the German planes were defenseless. Only a month has passed - and out of the thirty cars of the team, only three remained in service. The vast majority of aircraft were lost not in combat, but as a result of technical malfunctions and erroneous actions of the pilots. At the same time, the Germans chalked up 22 destroyed Allied bombers.

On November 8, 1944, Walter Nowotny attacked a formation of British aircraft and destroyed three aircraft. Then one of the engines failed in his Me-262. The British attacked a fighter that had lost speed, and the car, riddled with bullets, collapsed from a kilometer height. In the wreckage, they found the remains of the Knight's Cross of the deceased German ace. This is where the story of the “Novotny team” ended.

Meanwhile, the conflict continued in the Luftwaffe command over which units should be armed with Me-262 aircraft in the first place - fighter or bomber. The situation escalated to such an extent that Adolf Galland was removed from his post as Inspector General of Fighter Aviation by order of Goering. Moreover, the Reichsmarschall declared Galland a conspirator, ordered him to leave Berlin and report daily on his location. Hitler, having learned about such a radical order, called the head of the Luftwaffe "on the carpet" with a report. The result of the conversation between the Fuhrer and the Reichsmarschall was quite unexpected: the disgraced Galland was appointed commander of a special fighter unit JV44. This unit was created specifically so that Galland could actually confirm the effectiveness of the Me-262 as a fighter. Considering that until now this aircraft has not shown itself properly in the role of a high-speed bomber, such motivation of the head of the Luftwaffe looked rather strange. But at the end of the war, the German command was generally inclined to make illogical decisions.

The formation of the JV44 began in February 1945 near Berlin. Galland wanted only the best pilots to serve in his unit, but the personnel department of the air force was able to allocate him only newcomers, who had to be hastily taught the tricks of war on a jet fighter. To gather experienced pilots, Galland personally traveled to hospitals and squadrons. He did not even hesitate to take the pilots away without the permission of their immediate superiors. Difficult as the Reich's situation was, the energetic commander of JV44 used old connections and ensured that by the end of March the group was equipped with everything necessary and ready for battle.

Until the end of the war, the Galland team managed to destroy about 50 Allied aircraft. April 26 Adolf Galland was wounded and ended up in the hospital. And on April 29, three aircraft of the group made their last sortie. By this time, the team had almost run out of fuel, there were no spare parts and no orders came.

The British, who perfectly understood the value of the combat experience of the JV44 pilots, at the end of the war took all the captured pilots of the group to their country. These people were released only in 1947.

Aircraft photos

Schemes and drawings of the aircraft

Links

World of Warplanes Resources

Germany

Fighters	II Arado Ar 67II Arado Ar 68II Focke-Wulf Fw 56 StosserII Heinkel He 51III Arado Ar 80III Focke-Wulf Fw 159IV Messerschmitt Bf 109BIV Heinkel He 112V Messerschmitt Bf 109 E EmilV Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3V Messerschmitt Me 209 V4V Heinkel He 100 D-1VI Messerschmitt Bf 109 F FriedrichVI Supermarine Spitfire V DB 605VII Messerschmitt Bf 109 G GustavVIII Messerschmitt Me 209 AVIII Horten Ho 229VIII Focke-Wulf Ta 152IX Messerschmitt Me P.1092IX Focke-Wulf Ta 183 HuckebeinX Focke-Wulf Fw 252X Messerschmitt Me P.1101
Heavy fighters	II AGO Ao 192 KurierIII Dornier Do 17 Z-7 KauzIII Focke-Wulf Fw 57III Junkers Ju 52IV Messerschmitt Bf 110BIV Messerschmitt Bf 110 C-6V Messerschmitt Bf 110 EV Messerschmitt Me 210VI Messerschmitt Me 410 HornisseVII Messerschmitt Bf 109Z ZwillingVIII Blohm und Voss BV P.203VIII Dornier Do 335 A-1 PfeilVIII Messerschmitt Me 262 SchwalbeIX Messerschmitt Me 262 HG IIX Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III
Multirole fighters	I Arado Ar 65IV Arado Ar 197V Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-1VI Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5VII Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8/R2VII Focke-Wulf Fw 190DVIII Messerschmitt Me 109 TLVIII

80 or 100 rounds per barrel Number of suspension points: 0, 2, 12 or 14 Weight of hanging elements: up to 1500 kg 2×250-kg or 1×500-kg bomb, 12 RS R-4M

The high command, at the suggestion of the Fuhrer, again became interested in Me.262. However, now Hitler saw in this aircraft not a fighter, but a high-speed bomber (“blitz bomber”), capable, despite the powerful opposition of fighter aircraft, to disrupt the upcoming invasion in the first, weakest phase.

Me.262 cockpit interior

In the opinion of both the leadership of the Luftwaffe and the developers of the aircraft, this idea was extremely unsuccessful. Firstly, as the experience of the Battle of England showed, without air superiority, the use of a fighter as a fighter-bomber is ineffective and is fraught with heavy losses. But the Me.262 as a fighter, with a sufficient number of aircraft and a good level of pilot training, could well win back this superiority. Secondly, this aircraft, although it was capable of carrying bombs on an external sling, due to design features, could not be equipped with a bombsight with a lower view, and, therefore, could not carry out targeted bombing from high altitudes. Due to the danger of losing control if the maximum speed was exceeded, a dive attack was not possible. "Work" at low altitude was also undesirable, because due to a significant increase in fuel consumption, this significantly reduced the range of the bomber. Yes, and Hitler, in order to reduce the chances of an aircraft being hit by anti-aircraft fire and falling behind the front line, by personal order banned flights over enemy territory below 4000 meters. In addition, with a thousand-kilogram load of bombs, the “blitz bomber” could no longer get away from enemy fighters.

However, the Fuhrer did not take into account any arguments and continued to insist on his own. In this situation, Hitler's decision, as absurd, was ignored by everyone. The developers did not take any steps towards the design of the bomber. The program for the production and testing of the aircraft remained unchanged. In the previously created experimental Me.262 squadron, tactics were being worked out at full speed. Tests of the aircraft began during real combat operations, aimed primarily at fighting British reconnaissance and Mosquito bombers, due to their high speed, high flight altitude and maneuverability, difficult to achieve for conventional fighters.

Design

The aircraft was an all-metal cantilever low-wing aircraft with two turbojet engines located under the wing on the outer side of the main landing gear.

Fuselage

Wing

The wing of the aircraft had a two-spar design and was completely made of duralumin and steel. The mechanization of the wing included automatic three-section slotted slats located along the entire length of the leading edge of the wing (with the exception of places for engine nacelles), two-section separated by engine nacelles, flaps and two-section ailerons. The wing also had space for attaching engine nacelles and a niche for the main landing gear. On the left wing console was a pitot tube. The center section was attached to the fuselage using bolts and rivets. The wing skin, as well as the fuselage skin, was polished and painted.

The standard sight for production aircraft was the Revi-16B, which was subsequently replaced by

Airplane	Type	A country	Issue volume
Me.262	fighter	Germany	1433
Oka	kamikaze projectile	Japan	825
Ar.234	bomber	Germany	526 (excluding experienced)
Me.163B1	fighter	Germany	about 300
He.162	fighter	Germany	240
Gloucester Meteor	fighter	Great Britain	up to 230

Combat use

During the battles on Me.262 fighter modifications, about 150 enemy aircraft were shot down with about 100 of their own losses. This picture is explained by the low level of training of the bulk of the pilots, the insufficient reliability of the aircraft itself, as well as interruptions in the supply of fighter units against the backdrop of general chaos in Germany, which is suffering defeat. The effectiveness of the Me.262 bombers was so low that their activities were not even mentioned in combat reports.

Daily Me.262

Basically, Me.262s were used to repel daytime raids by B-17 Flying Fortress strategic bombers, during which the Swallows suffered losses not only from the defensive fire of the bombers, but also from the actions of escort fighters. The imperfect tactics of using jet fighters and the low level of training of pilots led to the fact that the Me.262 was shot down quite often by the latest Allied piston fighters, especially such high-speed ones as the Hawker Tempest and P-51D Mustang. Despite the superiority in speed, the jet Me.262 had very poor acceleration characteristics, in principle, characteristic of jet engines. Because of this, the Allies were able to use effective tactics to intercept Me.262s taking off and landing directly above their base airfields: a jet aircraft slowly gaining speed and altitude, or landing, was at that time very vulnerable. In addition, the Me.262 had worse maneuverability than its piston contemporaries, which, however, was offset by a significantly lower loss of speed during turns.

Oddly enough, the high speed of Me.262 made it very difficult for them to attack Allied strategic bombers. The fact is that the extremely powerful defensive armament of the B-17 made attacks from the rear hemisphere very dangerous, and frontal attacks performed by the Me.262 were very difficult due to the colossal speed of approach of the aircraft and the extremely short time to fire. As a result, effective tactics against heavy bombers were never developed. On the other hand, the high speed of the jet aircraft made it difficult for the bomber gunners to operate, since the turret electric drives could not act fast enough.

To increase the effectiveness of the fight against dense formations of Allied heavy bombers, some Me.262s were armed with 24 R4M rockets. The tactics of using these missiles consisted in the fact that a group of German fighters approached the bomber formation from the side, aligned with it at a distance of about 1000 m, after which they turned and fired missiles in one gulp. The long launch distance made it possible to avoid the defensive fire of the bombers, and superiority in speed gave an advantage over the escort fighters. For a confident defeat of the B-17, two missile hits were enough.

Due to the fact that Me.262s operated in tight groups during a missile attack, this tactic was unofficially called the "Luftwaffe Wolf Pack", by analogy with the tactics of the German submarine fleet. The effectiveness of rocket attacks is difficult to assess, since the massive use of the R4M occurred at the very end of the war (March-April 1945), and the chaos of that time did not leave any reliable and consistent evidence. In any case, it is known that the Allies rated this tactic as very dangerous, and did not have any countermeasures to deal with it.

The Allies were able to organize a fairly effective cover for their own bombers, sending escort fighters far ahead to "clear the sky" from German jets. Groups of fighters sent forward loitered over Me.262 base airfields, and tried to intercept the taking off "Swallows" while they were vulnerable. The Germans attempted to counter such tactics by concentrating anti-aircraft artillery in jet take-off and landing areas, and by covering their airfields with formations of Fw 190s.

Me.262 was also used to intercept high-speed reconnaissance and Mosquito bombers, in which it proved to be the best.

Despite all the shortcomings in the tactics of use, the combat potential of the Me.262 as a day fighter and interceptor was rated very highly by both the Germans and the Allied aviation command. According to a number of estimates (for example,), if this aircraft appeared in the skies of Europe in mass quantities a year or two earlier, the course of air battles over Germany could change significantly. It is possible that the Allies would have to reconsider the strategy of massive daytime bombing.

Night Me.262

Night fighter Me.262B-1a / U1 from Commando Welter on trials in the USA

Me.262s were used as night fighters from October 1944 to May 1945. The reason for this was the insufficient speed of German piston fighters - English high-speed reconnaissance and Mosquito bombers flew over the entire territory of the Reich with virtually impunity. Only jet planes had the speed and rate of climb necessary to intercept them. The Luftwaffe at that time had two such machines: the Arado Ar-234 bomber and the Me.262 fighter. The first, in its original B-2 modification, was not suitable for night missions, and the Me.262B two-seat training modification generally met the requirements. Also, to combat night bombers, several dozen single-seat aircraft were prepared, which, having neither an operator nor radar equipment, were part of the Wild Boar system (German. Wild Sau). Such night fighters were aimed at flying bombers from the ground, while the targets were illuminated by searchlights.

For night flights in the second half of October, a squadron 10./NJG11 was formed at the Burg base near Berlin. It was commanded first by Major Gerhard Stampov, and from November by Kurt Welter (from that moment on, the unit received another name - “Commando Welter”). According to various sources, during its existence, the squadron destroyed from 15 to 25 enemy aircraft, while about 12 fighters were lost. In April 1945, as a result of the bombing of the airfield, almost all the cars were destroyed - only 4 carefully camouflaged and most valuable, double, "Schwalbe" remained intact. After that, before the end of the month, several dozen more almost fruitless sorties were made, and on May 8, all the remaining aircraft fell into the hands of the British. In total, 10./NJG 11 had about 36 Me.262s, of which 7 were doubles.

Disadvantages Me.262

A total of nine production S-92s and three CS-92s were built. The S-92 was in service with the Czechoslovak Air Force until mid-1951, after which it was replaced by the Soviet MiG-9 and Yak-23 fighters. Decommissioned aircraft remained in training units as manuals until the end of the 1950s. So far, one S-92 and CS-92 aircraft have been preserved. Both of them are in the Prague Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics.

Aircraft Me.262 and S-92 served as the basis for the development of other machines. The work on the L-52 single-seat fighter was the furthest advanced. This aircraft borrowed wings, horizontal tail, landing gear, air guns from its ancestors. However, by the time the two prototypes had been assembled, Czechoslovakia had received a license to build the MiG-15, and work on the L-52 had been abandoned.

Japan

Nakajima J8N-1 "Kikka"

An aircraft similar to the Me.262 was also developed in Japan. In 1943, an agreement on mutual technical assistance was signed between Japan and Germany. Shortly thereafter, the Japanese side announced its desire to acquire licenses for the production of Me.163 and Me.262 fighters, including the Schwalbe BMW-003 and Jumo-004 engines. After long negotiations, the documentation for the Me.262 was sent to Japan in two Japanese submarines, but both of them were sunk on the way home. Japan got only a small part of the documents, mainly a photocopy of the BMW 003 engine maintenance manual. There were also photographs of the aircraft itself.

In September 1944, the Japanese Naval Staff ordered Nakajima to develop a turbojet fighter-bomber similar to the Me.262. Externally designed aircraft was similar to the German counterpart, but had a smaller size and more rough shape. The wings of the aircraft were folding. A reduced analogue of the BMW-003 engine with a thrust of 475 kg was used as a power plant. The fighter, designated J8N-1 "Kikka", made its first flight on August 7, 1945, the day after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. About a month later, by the time of the surrender of Japan, 19 (according to other sources, 25) vehicles were in varying degrees of readiness. After the surrender, all work on the aircraft was stopped.

Flying Me.262 replica at the 2006 ILA Berlin Airshow

In the early 1990s, the American company Texas Airplane Factory, which manufactures copies of obsolete aircraft for museums, received an offer to create several copies of the Me.262. According to the plan, at least two Me.262B-1c "sparks", one single-seat Me.262A-1c and two convertible Me.262A / B-1c aircraft were to be built, which could be quickly rebuilt into fighter modifications A-1c or B-1c. When recreating the aircraft, the original technical documentation was used, as well as the specially restored Me.262B-1a, which belongs to the US Navy. The project was managed by Classic Fighter Industries.

When building replicas, the same technical processes were used as in Germany in 1945. Like all products of the Texas Airplane Factory, the design of the recreated aircraft was as close as possible to the original. However, for safety reasons and to obtain permission to fly, I had to go for the installation of General Electric J 85-CJ-610 engines (this is indicated by the “c” index assigned with the approval of the German Messerschmitt Foundation in the model designation), as well as the installation of improved brakes and more durable landing gear. The new engines were housed in the Jumo 004 engine nacelles. The engine cases were custom made to look like Jumo 004 replicas.

Flight tests of the first built, single-seat Me.262A-1c continued from January to August of the year. This aircraft was sold to a private collector in the southwest

Messerschmitt Me 262 in service

Erprobungskommando 262 (Ekdo 262)

Ekdo 262 (Test Team 262) was the first unit to receive the Me 262 operational. It was officially formed in December 1943 in Lechfeld, but the first pilots appeared in it only at the beginning of May 1944. They mainly came from Stab. / ZG 26 and III. / ZG 26 - a squadron equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110 aircraft - and therefore knew well the features of twin-engine fighters. Their main task was to create tactics for air combat on the "schwalbe", as well as to develop the best way to retrain pilots who had previously flown exclusively on the Bf 109 and Fw 190. But above all, it was about testing the new aircraft in combat conditions.

JV 44 personnel - mechanics and pilots during the drag of the aircraft.

The first to arrive in Lechfeld in the spring of 1944 were Lieutenants Günther Wegmann and Hans-Günther Müller of 8./ZG 26 and Oberleutnant Paul Blei of 9./ZG 26, as well as Lieutenants Joachim Weber and Alfred Schreiber, Oberfeldwebel Gobel, Rekers and Stratmann, Sergeant Major Heinz Gerlitsius and Un ter-officer Flachs. Captain Werner Tierfelder became the commander of Ekdo 262, an experienced pilot who began his pilot career back in 1939 on a Bf 110, fighting against English and French opponents. Ekdo 262 included: the 8th squadron, based in Leipheim since May 17, the 9th squadron - the Schwabisch-Hall airfield and the headquarters squadron - the Rechlin-Larz airfield. Probably, several machines were based in Peenemünde for a certain time.

The team suffered its first loss on May 17, when non-commissioned officer Kurt Flachs crashed on his Me 262 V7 (VI + AB) during a training flight. The pilot died on the spot. A month later, returning from an interception flight, the commander of the unit, Werner Tierfelder, crashed due to an engine failure. His body was found in the wreckage of a Me 262 S6 (VI+AK) near Landsberg. According to some German sources, Tierfelder was shot down in a fight with the fighters of the 15th Air Army. However, American documents do not confirm this (not a single pilot from the 1st, 31st, 52nd and 332nd fighter groups reported that he had shot down a jet fighter that day). Captain Horst Geyer became the new commander. Until July, mainly due to accidents, five more pilots died.

On July 26, 1944, Lieutenant Alfred Schreiber, in his Me 262 S12 (VI + AQ), was the first to shoot down an enemy vehicle in Ekdo 262. It was generally the first victory in the history of aviation, won by a jet-powered aircraft. Schreiber's victim was a reconnaissance "mosquito" from the 544 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) - the crew of Flight Lieutenant (Captain) Voll and Pilot Officer (Lieutenant) Lobban. Six days later, on August 2, Schreiber scored a second victory, this time destroying a PR IX Spitfire. The next Mosquito (540 Squadron, crewed by Flight Lieutenant Matthewman and Flight Sergeant Stopford) fell victim to a Schwalbe on 8 August. Lieutenant Joachim Weber distinguished himself by overtaking his opponent over Olstadt.

In view of the increasing disappearance of reconnaissance vehicles over southern Germany, the RAF command decided to send an aircraft to this area with a special task to photograph the Leipheim airbase in detail. To this end, on August 15, a Mosquito from the 60 Squadron of the South African Air Force took off from the San Severo airfield in Italy. The crew included Captain Salomon Pienaar and Lieutenant Archie Lockhart-Ross. Without any problems, they reached Leipheim, where they found jet fighters on the runways and photographed taxiing. But they didn’t notice, or rather, they noticed too late one “Schwalbe” that was in the air. The German pilot attacked the Mosquito with lightning speed, firing at him from his four 30-mm cannons. Despite serious damage, the South Africans managed to get away from the pursuer and, with great difficulty, reach their airfield. The plane, however, had to be written off, but the pictures of the German base were worth the price. The Allied Command first saw the mysterious jet machine - Hitler's Wunderwaffe (wonder weapon). The Pienaar-Lockhart-Ross crew was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for their feat.

On the same day, at about 12.45 sergeant major Helmut Lennartz, operating from the Lechfeld airfield, caught up and shot down a single B-17 "flying fortress" aircraft from the 303rd bomber group over Gerlingen. The next morning, the Americans also lost an F-5c reconnaissance lightning from the 5th Photo Reconnaissance Group (PRG), which was destroyed by an unidentified Ekdo 262 pilot.

August 24 turned out to be an unlucky day for the Spitfire pilot of the 683rd Squadron, Flight Lieutenant Crane. He was overtaken over Leipheim and very quickly shot down by Chief Sergeant Helmut Baudach. Two years later, the pilots of Ekdo 262 chalked up the next two victories. Lieutenant Schreiber destroyed a Spitfire, and Oberfeldwebel Rekers destroyed a Mosquito from the 60 Squadron of the South African Air Force, which fell near Ingolstadt Lake at about 12.30.

Schwalbe fighters belonging to Stab./KS 76. These aircraft most likely served as cover for the Arado Ag 234 bombers.

Dismantled Me 262 us KG(J) 6. Noteworthy is the atypical camouflage of the upper surfaces of the wings.

September also began with the success of the German pilots. On the 5th and 6th, Schreiber and Chief Sergeant Major Gobel won. The first shot down a Spitfire Mk IX of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, whose pilot, Lieutenant Robert Hillborn, bailed out. A day later, Gobel chalked up a mosquito from 540 Squadron, at the helm of which was Squadron Leader (Major) Fleming. On September 11, pilots from Lechfeld intercepted a B-17 formation from the 100th Bomber Group (BG) returning from the raid, escorted by Mustangs from the 339th Fighter Group (Fighter Group - FG). Bombers still over the target suffered heavy losses as a result of attacks by Bf 109 and Fw 190. True, the "Schwalbe" did not shoot down a single "fortress", but Helmut Baudach managed to knock out the P-51 of Lieutenant Jones, who jumped out with a parachute and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp. The next day, the Americans carried out massive raids on various targets in southern Germany. Over 900 bombers of the 8th Air Army attacked heavy industry, oil refineries and aviation plants. During the confrontation, the Luftwaffe destroyed 31 B-17s and B-24s. Ekdo 262 also contributed - Captain Georg-Peter Eder shot down two "flying fortresses" reliably and one - probably. On September 13, during a fight with Mustangs from the 364th FG, one Me-262 was lost (an unidentified pilot died). On the same day, around noon, a reconnaissance "mosquito" from the 540th squadron became a victim of Lieutenant Weber. The next "mosquito" Weber shot down on September 18. It was a vehicle from 544 Squadron and was piloted by Flight Officer (Senior Lieutenant) Hunter, marked by the DFC.

On September 24, Georg-Peter Eder noted with a kind of "hat-trick" - on this day he shot down two B-17s "reliably" and one - "probably". Four days later, he added another "fortress" to his account. The last victories of Ekdo 262 before its official disbandment were two B-17s, again shot down by Eder on October 4th. From part of the pilots of Ekdo 262 created a new training part - III

Erganzungsgruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 (III./EJG 2). The rest were transferred to the newly formed Kommando Nowotny - a special unit under the command of one of the most famous, most successful (258 victories) and most popular Luftwaffe pilots, Major Novotny.

Me 262 A-Ia (W.Nr. 110813), which can also be identified as A-2a, belonged to I.IKG(J) 51. Two SC 250 bombs are visible on ETC 504 bomb racks.

From the book Tu-16 Rocket bomb strike complex of the Soviet Air Force author Sergeev P. N.

In military service The first Tu-16 bombers entered service with heavy bomber aviation divisions (TBAD). They usually included two, less often three heavy bomber aviation regiments (TBAP). Separate TBAP and divisions were part of separate

From the book Elements of Defense: Notes on Russian Weapons author Konovalov Ivan Pavlovich

In the service of the Fatherland, the Russian Armed Forces have received so far only 10 Pantsir-S1 complexes. All of them are distributed among the anti-aircraft missile brigades of the aerospace defense (VKO) to cover the strategic air-anti-missile defense systems (air defense-missile defense)

From the book Me 262 the last hope of the Luftwaffe Part 1 author Ivanov S. V.

Messerschmitt enters the scene Willy Messerschmitt learned about Heinkel's work on a jet engine as early as 1937 - that is, when they turned to full power. In the fall of next year, information about the new power plant was confirmed at a

From the book Tank No. 1 "Renault FT-17". First, legendary author Fedoseev Semyon Leonidovich

IN THE COLONIAL SERVICE Allied operations in 1918 were carried out under the slogan "The War to End All Wars." But the First World War led to such a radical redistribution of the world that the Renault FT tanks simply could not find a “job”. During the interwar period, they participated in more

From the book Electronic espionage author Anin Boris Yurievich

IN THE SERVICE OF THE KGB Top-secret information that British cryptanalysts obtained during World War II from German communication lines also found its way to Moscow. This happened in two ways. Firstly, through Soviet agents in England, who had access to it. Agents were

From the book of the Security Council pride of Soviet aviation Part 2 author Ivanov S. V.

SB in the service of the Finnish Air Force After the "winter" war, the Finnish Air Force included 8 captured SB bombers, another 16 captured aircraft of this type were later purchased in Germany in the summer of 1941. These aircraft were delivered from Germany disassembled in three batches

From the book SB pride of Soviet aviation Part 1 author Ivanov S. V.

SB in Bulgarian service After the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the German aviation ministry gave instructions for the sale of B 71 to Bulgaria. For the supply of this aircraft to the Bulgarian Air Force, a contract was signed for the construction of 32 aircraft in 1939-1940, in fact, 24 Avia B 71 were transferred. They

From the book The All-Seeing Eye of the Fuhrer [Long-Range Intelligence of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front, 1941-1943] author Degtev Dmitry Mikhailovich

Strategic intelligence "Messerschmitt" Bf-109 Meanwhile, the 3rd squadron of the Rovel group returned to the Eastern Front, only now to the Gostkino airfield (aka Luga) in the Army Group North zone of operations. Periodically, depending on the situation, were used and

From the book "Ishak" against Messer [Test by war in the sky of Spain, 1936-1939] author Degtev Dmitry Mikhailovich

Who are you, Willy Messerschmitt? The history of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter began in 1934, although the very idea of ​​creating a fundamentally new, modern fighter appeared in Germany even earlier. The birth of the Bf-109 was, first of all, the result of a behind-the-scenes game,

From the book Savoia Marchetti S.79 Photo archive author Ivanov S. V.

In the service of Spain When the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936, the Fascist government of Italy soon began to provide assistance to the Nationalists, led by General Franco. As a result, the Regia Aeronautica already in August organized the "Aviacion del Terico" (Air Force

From the book Not 162 Volksjager author Ivanov S. V.

He 162s in the service of the Allies The largest number of He 162s, no doubt, went to the British as trophies - after all, the airfield in Lekk, where most of the Volksjagers were in flying condition, was in their occupation zone. For shipping to the UK

From TBD's Devastator author Ivanov S. V.

In Service By 1937, the US Navy had five aircraft carriers (CVs). Groups of new torpedo bombers come on board only four: Saratoga (CV-3), Lexington (CV-2), Yorktown (CV-5), and Enterprise (CV-6), in the shortest possible time, elevators and internal hangars should have been

From the book Memorable Book of the Red Navy author Kuznetsov N. G.

Service relationships 1. According to their official position, servicemen are divided into superiors and subordinates.2. The immediate supervisor for a sailor is the nearest direct supervisor.3. Direct superiors are: foreman, group commander,

From Bristol's "Beafort" author Ivanov S. V.

From the book F8F "Bearcat" author Ivanov S. V.

In service The first unit to receive the Birkats was the VF-19. The squadron proved to be successful during its "mission" to the war aboard the Lexington. The pilots flew the F6F Hellcat. It included several experienced pilots - so Lieutenant Bill Masoner (Bill

From the book Anti-submarine aircraft author Artemiev Anatoly Mikhailovich

In the 1940s, neither the Allies nor Germany had reliable jet engines until the end of the war.
The Heinkel He-178 took to the air on its own engine on August 27, 1939, becoming the first jet-powered aircraft to consume atmospheric air.

In 1941, Heinkel and Messerschmitt tested prototypes of jet aircraft at the same time as the British Gloucester E.28 / 39 took off. To test the glider, the Messerschmitt took off with a traditional piston engine in the forward fuselage: its unreliable jet engines could fail, and the first flight ended in disaster.

cockpit Messerschmitt Me 262 cockpit view

The Gloucester Meteor, the first jet aircraft to enter service with the Allies (England) in July 1944, was used to pursue V-1 cruise missiles until the last months of the war. A unit of these aircraft was forbidden to cross the front line, so as not to be at risk of being captured.

Messerschmitt Me-262 Luftwaffe's first jet fighter

Lieutenant General Adolf Galland, as fighter aviation inspector, conducted test flights on "Messerschmitte" Me-262 - jet fighter faster than any Allied aircraft, and capable of fighting even the previously elusive Mosquito aircraft.

Aircraft "Mosquito" multipurpose bomber, was also used as a night fighter. With its speed of 640-675 km / h at altitudes over ten kilometers, it could not be afraid of attacks by Messerschmitt 109.

Me 262A jet fighters based along the Autobahn Munich Salzburg Germany 1945

And here Messerschmitt Me-262 (Messerschmitt Me.262) a fighter armed with a 30 mm cannon could change the course of the war in the air. This is how these data are discussed everywhere, at least they often say so.

Me-262 could win the war. It represented a quantum leap in aircraft design; even just a few aircraft transferred to the front-line units challenged the Allied Air Command in Europe. With deafening performance, the M-262 suffered from its unreliable turbojet engines. Losses due to engine failures, fires and breakdowns were heavy. The 30 mm cannon had a tendency to seize, and the landing gear often collapsed when the aircraft landed.

Me-262, one of the first jet fighters and the most famous of them

Several hundred Me-262s, inflicting significant losses, could stop the daytime bombing of the Americans.

And what do you think? Is the answer still unclear?

Could such a revolutionary aircraft close the skies of Germany from allied air raids. Recall the armada of the attackers reached almost 1000 aircraft at a time. And by the middle of 1944, control of the German skies belonged to the allies, and in the daytime too. Me-262 was rapidly introduced into production. Galland insisted that at least a quarter of the German fighters were Me-262. It was an impossible requirement.

Germany could build aircraft in sufficient numbers until the Allies wiped out its factories, but this is not so bad. When the oil wells and coal mines of Selesia were bombed, almost everything stopped, from transport to industry.

runway at Duxford brake failure ME 262

The second question - would the Luftwaffe be able to train enough pilots to fly the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter?

fighter Messerschmitt Me 262

Bombed factories. The first question was answered earlier: on August 17, 1943, the US 8th Air Force bombed Regensburg, destroying a line intended for aircraft assembly. This led to the fact that the Germans were forced to move production to a new location in Bavaria, but even before that there were production stoppages due to a lack of qualified personnel, strategic materials and merciless damage to the railway network. Between the summer of 1943 and April 1945, the Messerschmitt factories produced approximately 1,300 Me-262s, of which 1,000 were handed over to the Luftwaffe. At the same time, the total production "only fighters" the allies exceeded 2,000 aircraft per month.

the main problem Messerschmitt Me-262 the first jet fighter of the Luftwaffe, his power plant.

Power plant, jet engine Jumo 004

Unreliable engines plagued the Me-262 throughout its short combat career. Jumo 004 engine required overhaul after ten hours of work, A engine life did not exceed 25 hours.

The nozzle sometimes fell out of the engine nacelle, which led to a fire in the engine, and the plane fell into a death spiral. The aircraft had a tendency to yaw, which made it difficult to shoot accurately due to the high speed of approach and the low muzzle velocity of its cannon shells.

Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter Salzburg Austria

Pilots are no longer the same

Fighter unit made up of fighter jets Messerschmitt Me-262 in October of the forty-fourth year they make their first sortie. Usage statistics Messerschmitt Me-262 not happy, about 150 enemy aircraft were shot down in air battles, but about 100 of our own were lost.

Me 262 A2a fighter-bomber found by the US Army in a forest near Frankfurt in the spring of 1945

But in capable hands, with a well-functioning engine, the Me-262 was a formidable opponent.

Fighter bomber inspected by American soldiers

Its phenomenal speed advantage could be used to carry out devastating strikes against bomber armadas, followed by a swift exit from the attack before the escort could react.

Me-262A Americans check for booby traps Germany January 1945

A single hit from a 30 mm cannon was often enough to destroy a four-engine bomber, or at least damage it, forcing it to fall behind its group, where piston German fighters could finish it off. In the spring of 1945, the Me-262 was planned to be armed with several R4M unguided air-to-air missiles, which would allow it to launch rapid volleys at bomber squadrons beyond the effective range of their machine guns.

German Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter at Wright Field Ohio confiscated by the US Air Force, with automatic cannon

So the total contribution to the war Messerschmitt Me-262 Luftwaffe's first jet fighter not as big as it seems.

Here, his often raw developments in the further development of jet aircraft construction are great, just look at the first mass-produced jet fighters of the allies, often unmarked and not distinguish one from the other.

While the issue of launching the Me 262 in series was being resolved, Messerschmitt, lacking experienced aircraft, used everything he could to fine-tune the Me 262: an ejection seat and pressurized cabin for the Me 262 were tested on the Me 309 V3, the Bf 109 V23, previously used under the Me 309 program, was tested with a nose landing gear. The latter in a fixed position was further installed on the Me 262 V5 (PC + UE), first flown on June 26, 1943. The Me 262 VI was converted for two Jumo 004A engines, the piston engine was removed from the nose, but soon after the start of its tests, one of the engines failed, and the aircraft was seriously damaged during an emergency landing.

The first flights and landings of the Me 262 V5 equipped with a non-retractable nose wheel were disappointing - the aircraft required the same takeoff run as with a conventional tail wheel. It was decided to test the Borzig launch rocket boosters on the plane, which gave a thrust of 500 kg for six seconds. They were mounted under the fuselage just behind the center of gravity. The first start with them was carried out by Karl Baur. After the takeoff, at a speed of 160 km / h, Baur turned on the rockets. The nose wheel immediately lifted off the runway, and the pilot was forced to pull the stick all the way away from himself to avoid lift-off of the aircraft at a speed less than normal takeoff. Baur did not allow the plane to take off until the boosters worked, and managed to get off the ground before the end of the runway. In subsequent flights, the point of application of the thrust of the accelerators was changed, which brought success - the takeoff of the aircraft was reduced by 200-300 m, and using a pair of accelerators with a thrust of 1000 kg, the Me 262 required only 400 m for takeoff.

In early November, the first aircraft of the pilot batch Me 262 V6 began flying. It was noticeably different from previous aircraft. Jumo 004B-1 engines were put on it, weighing 90 kg less than 004A-1, but giving 900 kg of thrust each. Like the Me 262V5, the engines were placed in new nacelles with less aerodynamic drag. The elevator received an external balancer. Cannon ports were cut in the nose, although no armament was placed. The most important difference was the fully retractable nose landing gear. The landing gear was retracted hydraulically, but the nose wheel was released using compressed air. Also, its doors were opened. The main landing gear simply fell out under the influence of gravity, so the plane had to be “shaken” more so that the landing gear would lock into place. The first flights on the Me 262 V6 were conducted by Gerd Lindner. The possibility of using the nose wheel as an air brake was considered. During the first flights, the strut was released at a speed of 550 km / h, but this affected the handling so much that a speed limit was imposed on its release - no more than 500 km / h.

Me 262 V5 equipped with a fixed nose landing gear and protective nets on the engine air intakes

Retractable nose landing gear Me 262 V6

It should be noted that when creating the nose landing gear, German designers, like their foreign colleagues, encountered the so-called shimmy phenomenon - the wobble of a self-orienting wheel, leading to strong shaking and even destruction of the structure. Usually, hydraulic shimmy dampers were installed on aircraft to dampen such vibrations. However, the Germans used a friction damper on the Me 262. By design, it turned out to be very simple, but it had one drawback - it did not provide a free return of the wheel to the middle position, since the friction force acts constantly. As a result, it was difficult for the pilot to maintain a given direction.

Already after the war, the pilots of the Air Force Research Institute, who tested the Me 262, noted that the aircraft had a tendency to turn around at the beginning of the run. They were forced to eliminate this by slowing down the corresponding wheel, and only after a run of 100-150 m did the nose wheel hold the given direction well.

For the same reason, when turning the aircraft on taxiing, the pilot had to maintain a large radius, otherwise the wheel would lose direction and not provide the aircraft with a straight line.

During November 1943, the second unarmed pre-production aircraft, the Me 262 V7, was completed. Its cockpit was pressurized and withstood a "1:2" difference (that is, at an altitude of 12,000 m, the pressure in the cockpit was equivalent to 6,000 m).

Me 262 V6 prepared for demonstration on 26 November 1943 in front of Hitler and Goering in Insterburg. Although the test program was of the utmost importance, the Me 262 V4 was also retired for this demonstration. They were sent to Insterburg along with pilots Karl Baur and Gerd Lindner. On the Me 262 V4, under the control of Baur, the engines stalled on takeoff, but Lindner on the Me 262 V6 successfully conducted a demonstration flight. Subsequently, it was alleged that after this demonstration, Hitler demanded not only to equip the Me 262 with bombs (it was quite possible), but also to turn it into a "blitz bomber" - a real high-speed bomber, and not a dual-purpose aircraft!

Hermann Goering (in a white raincoat) inspects jet equipment (Me 262 V6)

However, there is no evidence for this, but there is a telegram from Goering dated December 5, 1943, in which Hitler's judgments about the Luftwaffe were noted. It read as follows: "The Fuehrer emphasized the urgent need for the production of jet aircraft in the fighter-bomber version. It is extremely important to bear in mind that the Luftwaffe has received the necessary number of such aircraft to begin their use by the spring of 1944. All problems with manpower and materials should be solved at the expense of the Luftwaffe reserves, for which the existing stocks should be expanded. The Fuehrer feels that any delay is a manifestation of criminal irresponsibility. The Fuehrer demanded a regular providing reports on the status of Me 262 and Ag 234". This message clearly indicates that Hitler saw the Me 262 as a fighter-bomber.

Me 262 V9, upgraded under the high-speed flight program. Note the well streamlined cockpit canopy.

Armaments Minister Albert Speer gave the Me 262 program the highest priority, but the aircraft was still far from entering service. Numerous problems had to be solved. The development of production proceeded with great difficulties. Qualified workers were sent to make up for losses on the Eastern Front. It was necessary to disperse production, and this, in turn, placed an additional burden on the provision of resources. Since the military situation did not allow any delay in the operation of the assembly lines, for the possible development of the Me 262, it was decided instead of using a dispersed production system to reconstruct the Messerschmitt A.G. plant. in Kottern. Speer promised 1,800 skilled workers for this plant, but as it turned out, most of those who arrived did not know how to do anything at all. Otto Saur gave the Gauleiter of Thuringia Fritz Sauckel the idea of ​​using mines in Calais and Kammsdorf for the production of the fighter. The planes were supposed to go up from the mine on special lifts, and then immediately take off from adjacent airfields. Sauckel promised to start production in March 1945, and by the end of the year to bring deliveries to 1000 aircraft per month. His influence was such that he was able to obtain for himself a part of the manpower, materials and equipment planned for the organization of production in Kottern. The Sauckel complex was supposed to be the largest underground production in Germany, but not a single aircraft was delivered from it until the end of the war.

The problem was not only the release of Me 262 airframes, but also the release of Jumo 004B engines. Junkers director and member of the Me 262 production committee, Cambeis, strongly opposed the deployment of mass production of the Jumo 004, since the engine had not yet been completed, and its reliability left much to be desired. Despite having good testing and production capabilities, supplies from the Junkers Jumo 004B were negligible until June 1944, when, despite a bunch of unresolved problems, the Junkers engine was nevertheless put into production by a strong-willed decision. The situation was complicated by the lack of capacity for mass production. The assembly of Jumo 004 was established in the tunnels near Nordhausen, but the main problem was the lack of nickel and chromium for the manufacture of compressor blades. The Jumo 004B compressor had ten stages with 40 blades each. Due to the lack of high-quality raw materials, turbine and compressor blades often could not withstand intense operating conditions. This led to engine failures or to its destruction. The pressure in front of the turbine at moderate speeds and high altitudes often dropped sharply, and it was very difficult to regulate the fuel supply. As a result of an excess of fuel, the engine immediately caught fire, and when it was lacking, it stalled.

In December 1943, the production of two more pre-production aircraft began, which later received numbers - Me 262 V8 and Me 262 V10. The V8 had a new cockpit canopy and was the first to receive armament consisting of four MK 108 Rheinmetall-Borsig 30mm cannons with an electro-pneumatic reloading system and an electric trigger. The guns were in the nose of the aircraft. Aiming was carried out using the Revy 16V sight. This arrangement of guns was considered ideal from a ballistic point of view, but some difficulties arose during testing. So, often there was a break in the tapes of ammunition. This problem was solved by changing the mechanism of the tape drive. The guns were zeroed in at 400-500 m. The upper pair had 100 rounds of ammunition per barrel, and the lower pair - 80.

Me 262 V10 was intended for testing in order to reduce the load on the control stick. As soon as the tests of the experimental machines reached high speeds, the load on the control stick reached an unacceptable value. To reduce the load, they experimented with ailerons - they increased and decreased the thickness of the profile. All unsuccessful. Then the leading edge, the aileron was made more blunt, and the suspension hinge was moved back, the gap between the wing and the aileron was changed, a trimmer was installed, but even after all this, the loads at high speeds were high. As a result, a "load change mechanism" was installed on the Me 262 control stick, adjusting the force application lever if the pilot needed to make sharp maneuvers at high speeds. The control stick was inserted into a metal sleeve, in which it could move up and down, thereby changing the load. The handle was fixed in the sleeve with a side screw at the cabin floor level. With the help of the steering wheel on the side of the sleeve, it was possible to raise and lower the control handle. Thus, the leverage for applying force increased, but being fully extended, the handle rested against the side of the cockpit, reducing the range of aileron deflection from 22 to 18 °. In addition, a new canopy was tested on the Me 262 V10 with the windshield mounted at an angle of 25°. However, due to the deterioration of visibility on serial machines, this innovation did not take root.

Me 262 V9 was ready in January 1944. Radio and other equipment were to be tested on it. Me 262 V11 and Me 262 V12 were used to study aerodynamics. The Me 262 V9 was subsequently used for research at critical Mach numbers. During testing, the aircraft received a number of aerodynamic improvements, such as a new canopy with less air resistance. On July 6, 1944, this plane reached a speed of 1000 km/h in a gentle descent.

In January and February 1944, the remaining 23 pre-production aircraft, laid down under the original contract for the Me 262A-0, were almost completed, but there were not enough engines for them. The Ag 234 bomber competed with the Me 262 for these engines. Even if the pre-production aircraft were finished six months earlier, they would also have been waiting for the engines. So, if Milch had been less cautious at the beginning of the Me 262 program, it is unlikely that this has accelerated the progress of work.

Sixteen Me 262A-0 pre-production fighters were taken over by the Luftwaffe in April 1944, and the rest the following month. Some of them entered the test center in Rechlin, and the majority - in the test team "262", which was formed on the basis of 15 aircraft under the command of Captain Thirfelder at the Leckfeld airfield. There, tactics of use were practiced and jet pilots were trained.

The Fighter Headquarters, founded on March 1, 1944 under the leadership of Otto Saur, made every effort to expand the production of the Me 262. But these "floundering" of Saur only infuriated the Junkers management, which was still bringing the Jumo 004B engine to mass production. As for Hitler, when at a meeting with Göring, Milch and Saur the following month he learned that not a single Me 262 had been delivered with bomb racks, he flew into a rage. "None of my orders were carried out!" shouted Hitler. It was useless for the Fuhrer to explain that the aircraft already delivered were actually still experimental, and the tests of various bomb racks were already underway. However, Milch still reacted vividly, declaring that the Me 262 was designed as a fighter, not a bomber. This remark did not affect Hitler's opinion and only reflected in the fall of Milch's "shares".

Although the aircraft manufacturers actually ignored Hitler's instructions, in reality, during the first months of 1944, active work was carried out to equip the fighter with bombs suspended both on ordinary and rather non-standard holders. The first provided for the installation of two ETC 504 ventral bomb racks for one 1000-kg bomb or two 250-500-kg bombs. Usually, a load of one 500-kg or two 250-kg bombs was used.

A non-standard approach to the problem involved the use of a variant with towing a 500-1000-kg bomb on a rigid beam 7 m long. The tug was attached under the tail of the Me 262 on a cardan joint. Through the pipe of the tug there was electrical wiring to the explosive bolts, which ensured the separation of the bomb and the simultaneous shooting of the wings on the latter. To take off, a cart was attached to the bomb, which was also separated after being lifted off the ground with the help of explosive bolts. The use of such a bomb required the pilot to aim through the Revy in a shallow dive. The first bomb tug was the Me 262 V10. The tests were carried out by Gerd Lindner. With the bomb in tow, the speed of the Me 262 was reduced to 510-530 km/h. Flights with a 500-kg bomb were successful. But there were difficulties with towing a 1000-kg bomb, since the auxiliary wing of the bomb turned out to be too large, which affected the behavior of the aircraft. During one of the flights, Lindner was forced to leave the plane, as it became completely uncontrollable. The tests were continued on the pre-production Me 262A-0. One day the explosive bolts releasing the bomb failed and Lindner was forced to land with the bomb in tow. On another occasion, the hinge of the tug mount generally flew off during a sharp maneuver. In the end, they agreed that towing a bomb was too risky and settled on more traditional options.

Me 262 (V303) modified for 1000 kg bomb

500 kg bomb on holder for Me 262

Me 262 V10 with a 500 kg bomb in tow

Me 262 V10 with 500 kg and 1000 kg towed bombs

On May 29, immediately after the Obersalzberg conference ended, Goering spoke with Messerschmitt, Generals Bodenschatze, Galland and Korten, and Lieutenant Colonel Petersen about the Me 262. Goering said: “To avoid any misunderstandings, I suppose to use only the term “high-speed bomber” and not “fighter-bomber.” Accordingly, control over the work on the aircraft passes to the commander of the bomber. aviation." Especially for Galland, Goering explained: "This does not mean that the Fuhrer considers the aircraft only as a bomber. He expects a lot from the aircraft and as a fighter and is not going to produce only a bomber. The Fuhrer only wants to be resolved issues related to the suspension of bombs, the mechanism of bomb release and aiming, as well as the development of bombing tactics." When Messerschmitt inadvertently called the Me 262 a fighter in a further conversation, Goering immediately demanded that the use of this term be stopped. Goering did not want to risk his reputation with Hitler, and ended the discussion with the words: "Everything that the Fuhrer orders must be carried out unquestioningly!"

At a brief meeting between Hitler and Saur on June 7, 1944, the former confirmed his demands. The "leader's will", which, as it was later claimed, affected the fate of the Me 262, consisted in the requirement that the first batches of the aircraft be produced exclusively in the bomber version. Refinement of the fighter version was allowed, but it was stated: "... the release of the bomber should not depend on these tests, but until they are fully completed, the fighter should not be put into production. After that, nothing will prevent the bomber and fighter from being produced in parallel."

How did the "will of the Fuhrer" really affect the fate of Me 262? According to various estimates, the conversion of the Me 262 into a bomber delayed the entry of the aircraft into service for a period of four weeks to six months. But it should be noted that almost all the work on converting the aircraft into a bomber was carried out even before Hitler's order (a place was allocated for bomb release mechanisms and various bomb racks were tested). These modifications were relatively simple and could be done right on the assembly line. In reality, the delivery of the aircraft was held back by only one factor - the unavailability of the turbojet engine.

With the decision to put the Jumo 004B into production in June 1944, deliveries of engines for the Me 262 immediately reached significant levels. In the same month, the Luftwaffe took delivery of the first 28 production Me 262s. The following month, deliveries doubled with 58 aircraft accepted, but fell to 15 in August, lacking engines. In September, the situation improved - the assembly lines handed over 94 Me 262s, and in October - 118. As a result, by November, when Hitler's order was canceled, the Luftwaffe received 313 aircraft.

At a meeting of the "fighter headquarters" on June 22, 1944, Otto Saur told his colleagues: "... we deserved serious censure. In September-October of last year, we made a number of promises based only on our wishes, and not on facts. We expected that in January-February 1944 we would have a sufficient number of experienced Me 262 to complete the tests; we expected the production of 30-40 aircraft in March; 60 in May and further 75-80 machines per month. It is now June, and we still do not have a single [combat] aircraft. We must blame ourselves - we could not find the necessary resources, we could not concentrate our efforts, we could not focus on solving the problems that arose and insist on the importance of the work. The development and production of the Me 262 fell victim to malicious intrigues - they should be stopped immediately! I will not allow myself to be made a liar any more!" Of course, there were no "malicious intrigues" - that would be too simple. The reasons were more obvious, but Zaur did not have any technical background to appreciate all the problems. At this meeting in the "fighter headquarters" new plans were set: the release of 60 aircraft in July, 100 in August, 150 in September, 225 in October, 325 in November and 500 in December. In reality, these figures were not achieved. Until the end of the year, only 568 Me 262s were delivered instead of 1360 according to the plan.

A month after taking up his post as head of the Luftwaffe headquarters, Lieutenant General Werner Kreipe made attempts to convey to Hitler the importance of strengthening the air defense of the "Reich" through the use of Me 262 and, therefore, canceling the order for the priority release of the bomber version. On August 30, he managed to get some concessions from Hitler - every 20th Me 262 was allowed to be produced as a fighter. On September 19, Kreipe repeated his request, and on November 4, he finally got Hitler to allow the production of the Me 262 fighter version, although still with one condition - "... each aircraft must, if necessary, carry at least one 250-kg bomb." Needless to say, this condition was simply ignored.

First prototype Me 262 V1, 1941

Third prototype Me 262 V3, 1942

Me262A-1a, JG-7, 1945

Experimental aircraft Me 262A-1a, designed to test radar antennas FuG 218

In the early 1990s, pilot, engineer and businessman Steve Schneider decided to add the Me 262 to the F-86 already in his "collection".

As a result, a replica Me-262 or "replica" was made.

Outwardly, the plane is very similar, but it has lost some kind of rapacity in appearance - it probably affected that it was made not by German, but by American hands ...

Replica Me-262 was first demonstrated on Berlin Air Show ILA-2006

Victor BAKURSKY,

Helmut WALTER,

Andrey FIRSOV