World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMe 262 Schwalbe jet fighters were the most advanced fighters introduced during WW2. The research that produced the first operational jet-powered combat aircraft in history began in fall 1938. In May 1943, top German leadership (including Adolf Hitler, Erhard Milch, and others) was introduced for the first time to this new machine. Although this test flight in Bavaria in southern Germany was marred by mechanical failures, Hitler was nevertheless impressed. His enthusiasm would be misplaced, however; while this jet design was what Germany needed to counter the increasing threat from the new Allied fighters and bombers, Hitler demanded that jet technology was to be used for bombers rather than fighters. It was only through secret dealings that Albert Speer and others were able to continue the jet fighter program. The first operational Me 262 jet fighters were deployed to France as early as Apr 1944. According to some such as German fighter ace Adolf Galland, had the deployed numbers been greater, the Allies would never have achieved air superiority over the French coast, thus the Normandy invasion would have been much delayed or even averted; while this was merely counter-factual speculation, it was without a doubt that Hitler's meddling in this arena limited the German Air Force's capability. On 1 Sep 1944, American General Carl Spaatz expressed his fear that these new jet fighters would inflict heavy losses on Allied bombing missions; indeed, many Allied bomber crews recalled their horror in seeing enemy fighters moving so quickly at them. On 18 Mar 1945, 37 Me 262 jet fighters intercepted a force of 1,221 bombers and 632 escorting fighters; during the engagement, the German jet fighters shot down 12 bombers and 1 fighter for the loss of far fewer. Although in the large picture they had only shot down 1% of the attacking Allied aircraft, these kinds of small scale tactical victories gave the Germans a little morale boost at a time when it was badly needed.

ww2dbaseUS Army infantry officer Charles Scheffel was attacked by a strafing Me 262 jet fighter. As he survived the first strafing run, he looked up and saw that

ww2dbaseThe aircraft that attacked Scheffel's ground formation was likely a jet from Luftwaffe's I Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG54) ground attack unit.

ww2dbaseBy the end of the war, 1,433 Me 262 jet fighters were built. Captured examples of Me 262 jet fighters and the participation of former German engineers in US and Soviet programs led to American F-86 and Soviet MiG-15 designs being heavily influenced by the Me 262 design.

Me 262 Schwalbe Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

A-1a

Machinery	Two 1,980 lb (900 kg) thrust Junkers Jumo 004B single-shaft axial turbojets
Armament	4x30mm MK 108 cannons
Crew	1
Span	12.60 m
Length	10.60 m
Height	3.80 m
Weight, Empty	4,000 kg
Weight, Maximum	7,045 kg
Speed, Maximum	870 km/h
Service Ceiling	11,500 m
Range, Normal	1,050 km

B-1a

Machinery	Two 1,980 lb (900 kg) thrust Junkers Jumo 004B single-shaft axial turbojets
Armament	4x30mm MK 108 cannons
Crew	1
Span	12.60 m
Length	10.60 m
Height	3.80 m
Weight, Empty	4,400 kg
Weight, Maximum	6,400 kg
Speed, Maximum	800 km/h
Service Ceiling	11,500 m
Range, Normal	1,050 km

A-2a

Machinery	Two 1,980 lb (900 kg) thrust Junkers Jumo 004B single-shaft axial turbojets
Armament	4x30mm MK 108 cannons, 2x500kg bombs
Crew	1
Span	12.60 m
Length	10.60 m
Height	3.80 m
Weight, Empty	4,000 kg
Weight, Maximum	7,045 kg
Speed, Maximum	755 km/h
Service Ceiling	11,500 m
Range, Normal	1,050 km

Photographs

Visitor Submitted Comments

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1.   Bill is Mr. Anonymous says:
18 Feb 2009 03:52:19 PM

info on second photo: Me 262 V3 code (PC+UC)under tests at Leipheim 1942. Later aircraft would be nosewheel eqipped.

2.  Bill says:
25 Oct 2009 04:45:36 PM

Speed of Sound:

On April 9,1945 Oberfahnrich (Leading Cadet)
Dr. Hans-Guido Mutke took off for a planned
high-altitude flight climbing to 12,000m or
36,000ft. listening to radio conversations
that P-51 Mustangs, were attacking the plane
of another pilot. Mutke went into a steep
40 degree dive passing through 12,000m the
Me 262 started to vibrate, the speedometer
stuck against its limit of 1,100km/h or
682mph. The aircraft started buffening and
shaking. He fought to regain control and
reducing speed to 500km/h. After landing, it
it was found that his plane was missing
many rivits and the wings were distorted.
Due to the nature of Mutke's flight, it is
impossible to determine the exact speed of
his aircraft, and it is also difficult to
estimate the exact speed of sound at that altitude.
It is not possible to either prove or disprove his claims. In 1999 at the Munich
Technical University, a computer performance
analysis of the Me 262, has shown that the
Me 262 could exceed Mach I.

Last Mission Landing in Switzerland
On April 25, 1945 Hans-Gudio Mutke lands his
Me 262 at Dubendorf, Switzerland with 80 liters or 21.13 gallons of J-2 fuel left,
giving him about another two minutes flight time left.
The Swiss kept the aircraft until 1957 and
returned it to West Germany, it is now at
the Deutsches Museum, Germany it is the most
authentic Me 262 in the world.

3.  Bill says:
25 Oct 2009 05:44:27 PM

"Oberfahnrich"(Leading Cadet)Dr. Hans-Gudio
Mutke. March 25, 1921-April 8,2004 Retired
from the Lufwaffe in 1945,After the war,he
worked as a Airline Pilot, and as a Doctor
of Aviation Medicine.

Dr. Ernest Mach: Austrian Physicist of the
19th Century.
The speed of an object,measured in multiples
of the speed of sound Mach I (761mph) or 1,225km/h will experience shock waves, an object moving twice as fast as the speed of
sound, is traveling at Mach II, and so on.

4.  Bill says:
16 Oct 2010 06:46:24 PM

"WUNDER WAFFEN" ME 262 PROJECT:

Me 262 project is a company formed to build
reproductions of the Messerschmitt Me 262. The project started with the Texas Airplane
Company.
Original drawings, plans and fixtures plus
production jigs, many engineers, designers and technicians spent hours working on the
aircraft.

The jet is powered by two General Electric GE-J85 jet engines with 2,500 lb thrust each.
equipped with new avionics the aircraft are
for sale at $2,000,000 US Dollars each.

5.  Bill says:
16 Jun 2012 01:05:20 PM

I'm listing the Messerschmitt P.1101, this was a proposed single-seat, swept-wing, turbo
jet-engine, supersonic fighter.

THE WUNDERWAFFEN: THAT NEVER FLEW

When US troops found this aircraft, it was like something out of Buck Rogers sleek with swept-back wings, no propellers and powered by a turbo-jet engine.
The aircraft was 80% completed and was hidden
at the Oberammergau facility in Bavaria found a few days before the end of the war in Europe. German engineers hid technicial data on microfilm However, the French found this information and the race was on to capture not only the wunderwaffen's but the engineer's, technicians and specialist who worked on these weapons.
The P.1101 was powered by 1xHeinkel-Hirth
He S 011 jet engine, the Junkers Jumo 004B was planned for flight testing, but this was never carried out.
Armed w/20 or 30mm cannons, X-4 air-to-air wire guided missiles. A nighfighter version was also proposed, by never flew.


ALLIES LIKE THESE, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES:

The US, USSR, France and England raced against time to capture as much information as possible along with the personnel who worked on these projects. The Americans had the prototype P.1101 fighter but lacked the technicial information and the French were dragging their feet and after a while they weren't about to share anything with their Allies.

WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT:

The US shipped the P.1101 prototype back to Bell Aircraft for test and evaluation, but the fighter was damaged in handling and was never flown, and used only in static tests.

SEEDS OF THE FUTURE: POST-WAR DESIGN

Bell Aircraft used the P.1101 for their own
experimental aircraft, called the Bell X-5 this aircraft looked like the Messerschmitt
fighter in basic design and was test flown
unlike the German design, where the wing could be swept back on the ground, the Bell X-5 could adjust its wings in flight this was called variable geometery.
This design, was later used on the Grumman
F-14 Tomcat, General Dynamics F-111 and the
North American-Rockwell B-1 Bomber.

I'm no expert, but do the best I can to provide ww2db with best information available