The high-speed turbojet fighter-interceptor Messerschmitt ME-262 Schwalbe ("Messerschmitt ME-262 Swallow") appeared on the battlefield only in 1944. You can’t say exactly what kind of work this machine was intended for. Experiments with the aircraft continued even on the battlefield. He served as a fighter (including night), a bomber and a reconnaissance aircraft. The car was single and double, combat and training. It installed the latest blind landing system, experimental radar equipment, tested sights, guns of various calibers and much more experimental equipment. German industry released about 25 modifications of this aircraft.
The Messerschmitt-262 was the world's first production jet machine to take a direct part in the fighting. The Germans called it the “Swallow” (Schwalbe), the Americans and the British called it the “Petrel”. Until the end of the war, German industry produced 1,433 cars. Thus, the Messerschmitt ME-262 can be considered the most massive jet aircraft of World War II.
The story of the creation of the aircraft
Perhaps, not one of the aircraft models has undergone as many difficulties in the process of its formation as the Messerschmitt-262. The history of the creation of this machine, its development and bringing to mass production was complicated not only by bureaucratic delays and inadequate funding, but also by many technological problems.
According to A. Speer , German Minister of Arms, this plane made its first flight a month before the German troops attacked the USSR. In the first ME-262 model, piston engines were also used. However, they were not powerful enough. The very next year, it was decided to use the Jumo-004 jet engines , which were developed and launched by Junkers.
There are many facts in history when future innovations negated the entire value of the weapons of the previous generation. Messerschmitt-262 can be considered one of those. The advantage of the new machine over enemy aircraft was obvious, but the childhood illnesses of the German economy became an insurmountable obstacle to its mass production.
The main problems that have plagued the development of the aircraft throughout its history include: firstly, the unreliability of the Jumo turbojet engines that Messerschmitt-262 was equipped with. They worked very unreliably in a rarefied atmosphere and required a long and thorough revision. Secondly, the tires mounted on the wheels of the chassis were also not of high quality. They often burst during landing, although the speed of the landing plane was only 190 km / h. Together with the difficult military-political situation in Germany and the indecision of the higher command when building new aircraft, these circumstances led to the fact that the Messerschmitt ME-262 (photo above) appeared on the battlefield only in the second half of 1944, with a six-month delay . He could not become the miracle weapon that, as Adolf Hitler hoped, would help Germany regain dominance in the airspace of Europe. But this could very well have happened.
When all the shortcomings were eliminated, it became clear to German designers that all the flight technical characteristics of the new machine left the parameters of the Allied aircraft far behind. The Messerschmitt-262 aircraft they built could be safely considered a masterpiece of the domestic aircraft industry.
Description
The latest model of the Messerschmitt-262 aircraft, the design of which did not yet resemble the jet engines of modern times, was equipped with two turbojet engines and direct sweep wings. The maximum speed was almost 850 km / h. He gained 9,000 meters in 7 minutes. The maximum flight altitude was 11,000 meters. Of the weapons it should be noted four 30-mm MK-108 guns, each shell of which could easily shoot down a heavy bomber. They were arranged in pairs in each of the wings, one above the other. There was also the possibility of installing up to 12 unguided missiles.
Allied reaction to the appearance of Messerschmitt-262
The allies tightly occupying the European sky were shocked by the appearance of the ME-262. Most of all, this surprise did not appeal to American bombers, accustomed to make unpunished day raids on cities and military installations in Germany. It seemed a little more and all the advantage in the air would be lost.
But Adolf Hitler unexpectedly came to the aid of the Anglo-Americans. The fact is that initially the Germans successfully used the Messerschmitt-262 jet as a fighter-interceptor. The Fuhrer insistently demanded to use this aircraft as a high-speed bomber, capable, without paying attention to the resistance of fighters, to disrupt the appearance of the Allies on the European stage of military operations.
German pilots about a new generation car
In 1943, General Adolf Galland, the commander of the Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, personally tried to test the new car. He expressed his impressions with a short phrase: "This car flies as if it were worn by angels." According to another pilot, Jörg Stsypionski, the Messerschmitt-262 (the photo of which is contained in the article) was not particularly difficult to manage. The main thing is to do everything according to the instructions, then the car will behave quietly and will not be capricious. Due to the unusually high speed, the main thing in the battle was to catch an enemy aircraft in sight. In this case, the pilot became the king of the situation.
The armament of the aircraft was so powerful that one volley was enough to make it all over. Nevertheless, even experienced pilots were not so easy to cope with this obstinate machine. An indispensable retraining was required, which required a lot of time.
Fighter unit “Jagdferband 744 (J744)”
One of the categorical opponents of the decision of Hitler and Goering to use the Messerschmitt-262 fighter as a bomber was the commander of the Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, Adolf Galland, a veteran of the battle for England. In January 1945, during a meeting attended by all the senior personnel of German aviation, he publicly expressed doubts about Goering’s competency as the commander of the country's air fleet. As a result, the obstinate general was removed from office. However, he did not give up.
To prove his case, Galland proposed the formation of a special unit under his command, equipping him with Messerschmitt ME-262 aircraft. Gerhard Barkhorn (he had 301 air victories at that time), Heinz Baer (220 victories), Walter Krupinski (197 victories), Johannes Steinhoff (176 victories), Gunter Lutzov (108 victories), and others were enlisted in the formation: The compound was called the "Fighter Unit" Jagdferband 744 (J744). "
Short biography "Jagdferband 744 (J744)"
In March 1945, the headquarters of the new compound was located at the Munich-Riem airfield, from where it proceeded to intercept the armies of the Allied bombers, who carried out day raids on Germany. For a month with a little behind this newly-minted elite aviation unit, there were already 45 downed allied aircraft. However, this did not last long. May 3, 1945 she was defeated by the Allies in Salzburg.
Adolf Gallan himself also did not give up the helm of the aircraft. He took part in many operations to intercept allied bombing raids. On April 25, during one of them, he was shot down by an American fighter of the Rip 47 R-47 cover. The pilot was injured in both knees and could not normally land his fighter in a field pitted with craters.
Victories of German pilots
The first victory at the wheel of the Messerschmitt-262 was won by Adolf Schreiber. This event happened on June 26, 1944. In addition to the aforementioned pilots, Messerschmitt-262 helped Franz Schall to become famous - he won 14 victories on ME-262 (total 137), German Buchner - 12 (58), Georg Peter Eder - 12 (78), Erich Rudorfer - 12 (222) , Karl Schnorrer - 11 (46), Johannes Steinhoff - 6 (176), Walter Novotny (a total of 248 wins), etc.
German pilots considered the Messerschmitt-262 so invulnerable that they boldly entered into clashes with an enemy that was many times larger in numbers. So, on March 19, 1945, 28 German pilots, being at the helm of the Meserschmitt-262, were not afraid to engage in battle with a huge cloud of American aircraft, consisting of 1300 bombers and 750 cover fighters. Despite their small numbers, they managed to disperse this whole armada, preventing a raid on one of the objects in Germany.
How the Allies fought the ME-262
In direct confrontation with Messerschmitt-262, any Allied aircraft was doomed to defeat. Losing him in speed, maneuver and power of weapons, one could not even dream of victory. And yet the Achilles' heel was found. Not even one. The fact is that the Messerschmitt-262 fighter jet was very vulnerable during take-off and landing. At these moments, it was decided to bet in the confrontation with him.
First of all, all forces were sent to reconnaissance of the airfields on which the German "Swallows" were based. After that, their runway was subjected to merciless bombing. It was mixed with the ground almost daily. This continued until the Messerschmitt-262, based at the airport, was transported to another location.
Several facts of the destruction of the "Messers" on takeoff are also known. So, on October 7, 1944, Lieutenant Urban Drew, flying through the territory of the enemy, noticed a pair of jet planes starting from the airfield. Using the advantage in altitude and speed, the pilot boldly attacked the opponents and shot down both of them, preventing them from gaining speed.
Several ME-262s were also destroyed in aerial combat. So, on November 8, 1944, one of the aces of the Luftwaffe Walter Nowotny, who shot down 258 enemy planes before, was shot down by one of the Mustang R-51 fighters covering it during an attack by a compound of American bombers.
Characteristics of Messerschmitt-262
The aircraft was 10.6 m in length, 3.8 m in height, wingspan - 12.5 m, wing area - 21.8 m. Empty vehicle weight was 3800 kg, normal take-off weight - 6400 kg, maximum take-off weight - 7140 kg. The practical lift ceiling was 11 km. The maximum speed at maximum altitude was 855 km / h. The armament consisted of 4 MK-108 guns. It was also possible to install 12 unguided R4M missiles.
Messerschmitt-262 Jet Winners: Allies
There are not so many winners of the Messerschmitt jets among the allies. For the most part, German "swallows" were destroyed at airfields, preventing them from climbing. Nevertheless, the downed Messerschmitts-262 were credited to the account of Captain J. Bendrault (386th FS), Lieutenant Müller (353rd FG), Major Z. Connor (78th FG), pilot officer Bob Cole ( 3rd Squadron RAF), Lieutenant Lamb (78th FG), Lieutenant Wilson (401th Canadian Air Squadron), etc.
Messerschmitt-262 Jet Winners: Eastern Front
In addition to the West European theater of operations, Messerschmitt-262 appeared on the Eastern Front. True, information about this is rather stingy. Nevertheless, in the list of winners of Messerschmitt-262 there are surnames and Soviet aces. Ivan Kozhedub, Lev Sivko, Ivan Kuznetsov, Yakov Okolepov and Alexander Dolgunov have officially registered shot down jet "Messers" on their account. Presumably, two more surnames should be included in this list: Harry Merkviladze, pilot of the 152nd Guards Air Regiment and Vladimir Yegorovich from the 402th Fighter Aviation Regiment.
However, confirmation of their victories in the archives was not found.
Conclusion
For the entire period of World War II , German industry built and sent to the front 1433 Messerschmitt-262 aircraft, including its various modifications. However, not all cars took part in hostilities. The lack of fuel, the lack of qualified personnel and the shortage of airfields suitable for basing (the car needed an extended runway) played an important role in the fate of the world's first jet aircraft Messerschmitt ME-262. And yet he left a noticeable mark in the history of world aviation. After all, his appearance marked the beginning of the era of jet aviation.