Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a Schwalbe [Swallow] (VK893) [@ RAF Hendon]
Design
work on the Me 262, the world's first operational jet fighter, began in
September 1939, a month after the successful flight of the world's first jet
aircraft, the Heinkel He 178.
Due to delays in the development of satisfactory engines, the massive damage
caused by Allied air attacks and Hitler's later obsession with using the
aircraft as a bomber rather than a fighter, six years elapsed between the 262
taking shape on Messerschmitt's drawing board and its entry into Luftwaffe
service. Because of the lack of jet engines the prototype Me
262V-1 flew on 18th April 1941 under the power of a Jumo 210G piston
engine, and it was not until 18th July 1942 that the Me
262V-3 made a flight powered by the
Junkers Jumo
004B axial-flow turbojet (photograph - right). December 1943 saw the first
flight of the Me 262V-8, the first of the type to
carry a full armament of four 30mm (1.19in) MK 108 cannon. By the end of 1944
730 Me 262s had been completed, and a further 564 were built in the early months
of 1945, making a total of 1294 aircraft. The Me 262 initially went into
production as a pure fighter, entering service in August 1944.
The Me 262 presented a serious threat to Allied air superiority during the closing weeks of 1944. Two versions were now being developed in parallel, the Me 262A-2a Sturmyogel (Stormbird) bomber variant and the Me 262A-la fighter. The Sturmvogel was issued to KG 51 [Kampfgeschwader 51] 'Edelweiss' in September 1944; other bomber units that armed with the type at a later date were KG 6, 27 and 54. There were also two reconnaissance versions, the Me 262A- la/U3 and Me 262A-5a. The first Jagdgeschwader to arm with the Me 262 fighter was JG 7 Hindenburg. In the middle of February 1945 III/G 7 took delivery of the first consignment of R4M 5cm air-to-air rockets; the Me 262 could carry 24 of these missiles mounted on simple wooden racks beneath the wings, and when the salvo was fired towards an enemy bomber formation it spread out rather like the charge from a shotgun, increasing the chances of hitting one or more targets. During their first series of operations using a combination of R4Ms, 30mm (1.19in) cannon and Revi gun-sight, in the last week of February 1945, the pilots of IIII/JG 7 destroyed no fewer than 45 four-engined American bombers and 15 of their escorting fighters for the loss of only four Me 262s. Meanwhile, authority had been given for the formation of a second Me 262 jet fighter unit. Known as Jagdverband 44, it comprised 45 highly experienced pilots, many of them Germany's top-scoring aces. Its main operating base was Munchen-Riem, where its main targets were the bombers of the Fifteenth Army Air Force, coming up from the south, while JG 7 continued to operate from bases in northern and central Germany before the jets were grounded through lack of fuel or engine spares, the Jumo 004 having a life of only 25 hours. Their ground crews destroyed most of the 262s shortly before American tanks overran the airfield on 3rd May.
Several variants of the Me 262 were proposed, including the radar-equipped Me 262B-1a/Ul two-seat night fighter, which saw service briefly from March 1945 with 10/NJG11 under Leutnant Welter, who on the night of 30/31 March destroyed four RAF Mosquitoes on the approaches to Berlin.
