World War II Database

1.  Alan Chanter says:
16 Dec 2007 04:00:36 AM

Clearly one of the first four prototypes (V-1 TO V-4). The tailwheel was replaced by a nosewheel layout from V-5 onwards.

2. Fritz says:
10 Jan 2008 05:14:41 AM

Me-262 V3, July 18 1942 first flight w.jets only at Leipheim, bavaria

3.  BILL says:
5 Apr 2009 01:36:34 PM

Messerschmitt ME 262 V3 Aircraft Code (PC+UC)

4.  Bill says:
6 Feb 2010 05:40:57 PM

Messerschmitt Me-262 V3 Aircraft Code(PC+UC)
Aircraft was used for tests, and modified
with tricycle landing gear.
(PC+UC)was damaged February 1,1944 nosewheel
tire blow out, collapes of nosewheel strut aircraft was not repaired before wars end.

5.  Bill says:
19 Nov 2010 08:30:24 PM

THE HEART OF THE MESSERSCHMITT ME 262

The Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine, was the world's first turbojet powerplant.
About 8,000 were built and engine life was
between 10-25 hrs.
Junkers had a advanced design w/ afterburner
but the war ended and it never went beyond design stages.

After WWII the Russians copied and built
variants of the Jumo 004 engine, and called
them the RD-10 used to power early Yakovlev
Yak-15s.
The Russians were behind in jet engine design
and development,and the engines were at best
primitive, it wasn't until the British sold
them the Rolls Royce Nene Jet Engine.
It was copied and built as the Klimov RD-45.
Stalin upon hearing this said
"What fool, would sell us his secrets!"

In post-war Czechoslovakia the engines were built as the M-04 and powered the Czech built
Avia S-92/Messerschmitt Me 262.

France buit variants of the Junkers Jumo 004
to power early French jet aircraft.

6.  Bill says:
16 Feb 2012 09:39:36 PM

Availability of Junkers Jumo 004 engine deliveries were low due to shortage of materials special metals and alloys able to take the extreme high temperatures produced by the new jet engines.

Even when operational, the engines were supposed to have a life of 50 flight hours, some Jumo 004 engines lasted 10-25 hours others failed at 12 hours, even with maintenance, engines were almost hand built and changing an engine was to take about 3 hours, but took between 8-9 hours due to
poor fitting of parts ground crews received inadequate training worked with the lack of tools and support equipment nevertheless aircraft were ready for flight due to the
efforts of the ground crews inspite of the problems they faced.

The Luftwaffe never had enough operational Me 262s 1,400 were built, but about 200 saw service with front-line units.
The rest were lost in training accidents, Allied bombing, abandoned due to shortage of parts, fuel and the lack of experienced pilots to fly the new fighter.
The Messerschmitt Me262 was too little too late.

7.  Bill says:
1 Mar 2014 01:27:22 PM

Me-262 V-3 (PC+UC) was first aircraft to fly on jet power two Jumo-004 engines, on July 18, 1942 pilot Fritz Wendel at the controls.

COLOR PHOTOGRAPH: CAMOUFLAGE

Me-262 V-3 photo shows a color scheme that looks like RLM 74 Gray-Green, RLM 75 Gray-Violet upper surfaces and RLM 76 White-Blue under surfaces.

Fuselage sides are in RLM 74 Gray-Green, RLM 75 Gray-Violet and RLM 02 Gray w/heavy and regular mottle camouflage.
The upper wing surfaces were splinter-camouflage of RLM 74 Gray-Green and RLM 75 Gray-Violet.
Canopy is of early style later production jets received improved three piece canopy.

8.  Bill says:
5 Jan 2015 05:29:37 AM

BIRTH OF THE SWALLOW:

Project 1065 started in 1938 developed as a twin
turbojet powered jet aircraft. Constructed as an all-metal aircraft with retractable landing gears and tail wheel and powered by 2 x BMW 003 turbojets slung under the wings.

INTO THE JET AGE WITH A PROPELLER:

The V-1 prototype was powered by 1 x Junkers Jumo
210G 12-cylinder liquid-cooled inline engine mounted in the nose, until the BMW 003 turbo-jet engines arrived. With the arrival of the BMW engines, installed under the wings, Messerschmitt kept the Jumo propeller engine as a backup.

FLAME OUT: GO AROUND

During its first flight the aircraft suffered a flame out in both jet engines, pilot Fritz Wendel
landed on propeller-power alone. The BMW engines were later replaced with Junkers Jumo 004 turbojets. BMW went back to the drawing board, to improve the BMW 003 turbojet engines.

FLYING UNDER JET POWER ALONE:

July 18, 1942 the Me262 was tested and flew under jet power by the Junkers Jumo 004 jet engines.
Testing continued until the Me262 was accepted by the Luftwaffe and later armed w/4 x 30mm cannons,
R4M Rockets mounted under each wing, external fuel tanks, BR210mm air-to-air rockets mounted under the fuselage and even a Walther booster rocket installed in the tail.
Along with all the other wonder weapons, the Me262 was too few and too late to change the course of the Second World War.

9.  Bill says:
10 Nov 2016 05:54:34 PM

NUMERO UNO..ALL FOR ITALIA!

The Regia Aeronautica requested a jet fighter to defend Italy against Allied bombings. Enter the Reggiane Re 2006 and 2007 paper fighter design.
Italian jet engine technology wasn't yet developed, the design aircraft would be powered by 1 x Fiat A.20 engine behind the pilot's cockpit, driving a compressor to improve the Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine w/planned tail exhaust to achieve thrust.

PROJECT R:

Paper project only as no prototype was built, or flown.
What the Italian designers and engineers needed was an example of the German Junkers Jumo 004B jet engine.
The German's sent a wooden mockup for measurement and dimensional use. However, the German's did part with two Jumo 00B jet engines, The engines were shipped to Italy, but were never received, some sources report the engines were bought for 2,000,000 in 1943 Italian money by another Italian aircraft company Angelo Ambrosini by then German forces in Italy had surrendered.

TRUE OR FALSE: NOT SO SUPERMO

Was the design of the Re 2006 and 2007 real. Did the Italians plan on its own design of a jet fighter.
Some sources reported the Re 2007 was nothing but a paper project during the war.
Over the decades, aviation experts suspected all the drawings were made after the war.

ITALIAN INTERMEZZO:

So could all this have been a fabricated story, its up to the reader to decide or do the research yourself.
The Re 2007 looked too futuristic with swept wings and tail, bubble canopy for the pilot, and tricycle landing gear, it looked like a 1950's jet aircraft and was similar to the North American F-86 Sabre.
But one has to look at other wartime designs such as the Messerschmitt Me P.1101, and the Me P.1111, the Focke-Wulf Ta-183 or how about the wild and far out Messerschmitt Me P.1109 Scissors wing/Oblique wing.
Did you know that decades later the United States developed and tested the Ames-Dryden AD-1 scissor wing concept...

FILE PHOTOGRAPH:

IT WAS A COLD AND WINDY DAY:

Messerschmitt Me 262 V-3 (PC+UC) flew on jet power
18 July 1942 w/Fritz Wendel at the controls.
I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to share my knowledge of little known facts of WWII...