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The Me 262 was born out of the Treaty Of Versailles' restrictions on German aircraft development. Jets and rockets were not mentioned in the treaty since they were considered impractical. The newly installed Nazi régime was seriously interested in developing new forms of propulsion for its fledgling Luftwaffe. Two designs for jet fighters were submitted, the He 280 by Ernst Heinkel and the Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) by Wilhelm Messerschmitt. Heinkel's design was rejected (more for political reasons than technical) and testing of the Me 262 proceeded.
On 18 April 1941, the first Me262 flew from Augsburg, with a 750Hp Junkers Jumo 210G piston engine mounted in its nose. Speed attained in this flight was 450km/h. The original 262 was a "tail-dragger" design; the nose wheel was a later modification. Originally intended to use BMW engines, they proved to be extremely unreliable and the Me262 made it's first jet only flight on 18 July 1942 using the new Junkers jet engines, the Jumo004. The performance of the 262 in trials was superior to the best piston-engined fighters. The 262 project then went through a period of intense evaluation, but Allied bomber attacks on industrial centres in Germany prevented the 262 from immediately going into full scale production. In late 1943, with the Reich coming under more frequent attack from Allied bombers, Hitler ordered the Me262 to be put into full scale production, stripping the tooling from some factories, and replacing it with the new Messerschmitt jigs.
The world's first squadron, comprised entirely of jet fighters, was the Kommando Nowotny headed by Major Walter Nowotny, The first kill accredited to a Me262 was on 25 July 1944, when a photo-reconnaissance Mosquito was attacked over Munich.
Specifications:
Dimensions:
Wing span:
12.5 m (41 ft 1 in) Length:
10.58 m (34 ft 8.5 in) Height:
3.83 m (12 ft 6.75 in)
Weights:
Empty:
4,000 kg (8,820 lb) Gross:
7,045 kg (14,938 lb)
Performance:
Maximum Speed:
870 km/h at 6,000 m (540 mph at 19,685 ft) Climb:
1,200 m/min (3,937 ft/min) Service Ceiling:
11,450 m (37,664 ft) Range:
1,050 km (650 miles)
Armament:
Four 30 mm MK108 cannons in nose, two with 100 rounds each, two with 80; could also carry 24 R4M 55 mm unguided rockets on underwing racks.
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