[11] Woldemar Voigt headed the design team, with Messerschmitt's chief of development, Robert Lusser, overseeing. It had a cruising speed of 465mph, which was faster than the top speed of most other fighters of the day. The top speed was 870 km/h at 6,000 m altitude. Scale model of one of the Me 262 HG III versions at the Technikmuseum Speyer. The sleek Messerschmitt's late introduction into combat was not a result of Adolf Hitler's decision to … As with all other early jets, the Me 262's engines did not provide a lot of thrust at low air speeds (a key criterion for good turn performance at low speeds), and throttle response was slow. [11], Plans were first drawn up in April 1939, and the original design was very different from the aircraft that eventually entered service, with wing root-mounted engines,[11] rather than podded ones, when submitted in June 1939. [32] However, the Jumo 004A engine proved unsuitable for full-scale production because of its considerable weight and its high utilization of strategic material (Ni, Co, Mo), which were in short supply. In most cases, the Me 262's high speed made it nearly invulnerable to a bomber's guns. It is also possible he was hit by "friendly" flak. And with dive brakes, you could have done that."[57]. The HG III had a conventional tail, but a 45° wing sweep and turbines embedded in the wing roots. 540 Squadron RAFPR Squadron, which was allegedly lost in a crash upon landing at an ai… The HG series of Me 262 derivatives was believed[by whom?] [18] The wings were fastened to the fuselage at four points, using a pair of 20 mm (0.79 in) and forty-two 8 mm (0.31 in) bolts. It was exasperating. "Messerschmitt Me 262-A2 Fighter Aircraft : KG51 Luftwaffe", Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and Messerschmitt, Reich Air Ministry (RLM) aircraft designations, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Messerschmitt_Me_262&oldid=1005461426, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from February 2013, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2018, Articles needing additional references from June 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013, Articles needing additional references from July 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from September 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012, Articles needing additional references from September 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a late production model. Some nicknamed this tactic the Luftwaffe's Wolf Pack, as the fighters often made runs in groups of two or three, fired their rockets, then returned to base. [26] Consumption was double the rates experienced upon typical twin-engine fighter aircraft of the era; as such, this led to the installation of a low-fuel warning indicator in the cockpit to notify pilots when the remaining fuel fell below 250 l (55 imp gal; 66 US gal). ", "The "Westfalen-Wing" in Rheine-Hopsten. [citation needed]. [64] The Me 262 did have a shorter combat range than the Meteor. After the successful test flights of the first jet of the world, the Heinkel He 178, they adopted the jet engine for an advanced fighter aircraft. Although a 4:1 ratio was exactly what the Luftwaffe would have needed to make an impact on the war, the absolute scale of their success was minor, as it represented only one per cent of the attacking force. 130 017 damaged a Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft of No. These were kept flying until 1951,[4] when they were replaced in service by more advanced jet fighters of Soviet origin. The much more massive BR 21 large-calibre rockets, used from their tubular launchers in undernose locations for an Me 262A's use (one either side of the nosewheel well) were only as fast as the MK 108's shells. [58], Messerschmitt also conducted a series of flight tests with the series production Me 262. Now, in two seconds, you can't sight. [5] Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied aircraft shot down,[7] although higher claims are sometimes made. I would never be able to shoot one down like this. Missed him. [13] The elliptical nose derivatives of the NACA airfoils were used on the horizontal and vertical tail surfaces. Some nicknamed this tactic the Luftwaffe's Wolf Pack, as the fighters often made runs in groups of two or three, fired their rockets, then returned to base. Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, the world's first jet fighter. The Walter 109-509.S1 Assisted Take-Off Unit. [citation needed], On 26 November 1944, a Me 262A-2a Sturmvogel of III.Gruppe/KG 51 'Edelweiß' based at Rheine-Hopsten Air Base near Osnabrück was the first confirmed ground-to-air kill of a jet combat aircraft. 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. The Me 262s approached from astern and about 1,800 m higher (5,900 ft) than the bombers. The Jumo 004 was hampered by poor workmanship and a lack of high-temperature super alloys. The Me 262 was faster and more heavily armed than any Allied fighter, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor. Pilots were instructed to operate the throttle gently and avoid quick changes. In dive tests, they determined that the Me 262 went out of control in a dive at Mach 0.86, and that higher Mach numbers would cause a nose-down trim that the pilot could not counter. [100], Rüstsatze may be applied to various sub-types of their respective aircraft type, denoted as a suffix in the form /Rn. This page was last edited on 7 February 2021, at 19:52. The "c" suffix refers to the new J85 powerplant and has been informally assigned with the approval of the Messerschmitt Foundation in Germany[68] (the Werk Number of the reproductions picked up where the last wartime produced Me 262 left off – a continuous airframe serial number run with a 50 year production break). Radinger and Schick 1996, p.110 based on original Messerschmitt data, ME-262 A-1 Pilot's Handbook, T2 Airforce Material Command, Wright Field Dayton Ohio, Articles needing page number citations from September 2015, Articles needing page number citations from February 2015, Articles needing page number citations from July 2015, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, National Museum of the United States Air Force, South African National Museum of Military History, "Quest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, Part II: The Jet Age, Chapter 11: Early Jet Fighters, Pioneer jet Fighters. [Notes 7] As a result, Me 262 pilots were relatively safe from the Allied fighters, as long as they did not allow themselves to get drawn into low-speed turning contests and saved their maneuvering for higher speeds. [92] The Me 262 had a shorter range than the Meteor and had less reliable engines. After the successful test flights of the world's first jet aircraft—the Heinkel He 178—within a week of the invasion of Poland to start the war, they adopted the jet engine for an advanced fighter aircraft. Now, in two seconds, you can't sight. By that time, problems with engine development had slowed production of the aircraft considerably. The Me 262 … As a result, the Me 262 was already under development as Projekt 1065 (P.1065) before the start of World War II. [94] These aircraft were extensively studied, aiding development of early US, British and Soviet jet fighters. The F-86, designed by engineer Edgar Schmued, used a slat design based on the Me 262.[67]. ", "German Military Aircraft Designations (1933–1945)", "Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Camera Systems", "Me.262 Heimatschützer I. On 26 July 1944, Leutnant Alfred Schreiber with the 262 A-1a W.Nr. [52], Despite its deficiencies, the Me 262 clearly marked the beginning of the end of piston-engined aircraft as effective fighting machines.