The high-speed turbojet fighter-interceptor Messerschmitt ME-262 Schwalbe ("Messerschmitt ME-262 Swallow") appeared on the battlefield only in 1944. It is impossible to 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), bomber and 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 other experimental equipment. The German industry produced about 25 modifications of this aircraft.
"Messerschmitt-262" was the world's first mass-produced jet machine that took a direct part in hostilities. The Germans called it "Swallow" (Schwalbe), the Americans and the British - "Petrel" (Petrel). Until the end of the war, 1433 cars were produced by German industry. Thus, the Messerschmitt ME-262 can be consideredthe most massive jet aircraft of World War II.
The history of the creation of the aircraft
Perhaps, none of the aircraft models has undergone so 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 insufficient funding, but also by many technological problems.
This plane made its first flight a month before the attack of German troops on the USSR, according to A. Speer, the Minister of Armaments of Germany. In the first model ME-262, 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 started to be produced by Junkers.
There are many facts in history when future innovations nullify the entire value of the previous generation of weapons. "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 haunted the development of the aircraft throughout its history include: firstly, the unreliability of the Jumo turbojet engines that were equipped with the Messerschmitt-262. They worked very unreliably in a rarefied atmosphere and required a long and thorough revision. Second, wheel-mounted chassis tiresalso did not differ in quality. They often burst during landing, although the speed of the landing aircraft was only 190 km / h. Together with the difficult military-political situation in Germany and the indecision of the higher command in the construction of 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. It failed to become the miracle weapon that Adolf Hitler hoped would help Germany regain dominance of European airspace. But it could very well have happened.
When all the shortcomings were eliminated, it became clear to the German designers that all the performance characteristics of the new machine leave far behind the parameters of the Allied aircraft. The Messerschmitt-262 aircraft built by them could be safely considered a masterpiece of the domestic aircraft industry.
Description
The latest model of the Messerschmitt-262 aircraft, whose design did not yet resemble jet machines of today, was equipped with two turbojet engines and forward-swept wings. The maximum speed of movement was almost 850 km / h. He gained a height of 9,000 meters in 7 minutes. The maximum flight altitude was 11,000 meters. Of the weapons, four 30-mm MK-108 cannons should be noted, each shell of which could easily bring down a heavy bomber. They were arranged in pairs in each of the wings, one above the other. It was also possible to install up to 12 rockets.
Allied reaction toappearance of "Messerschmitt-262"
The Allies, who had densely occupied the European skies, were shocked by the appearance of the ME-262. Most of all, this surprise did not please the American bombers, who were accustomed to making unpunished daylight raids on German cities and military installations. It seemed that 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 an interceptor fighter. The Fuhrer insistently demanded that this aircraft be used as a high-speed bomber, capable, without paying attention to the opposition of fighters, to disrupt the appearance of the allies on the European stage of hostilities.
German pilots about a new generation machine
In 1943, it occurred to the personally commander of the Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, General Adolf Galland, to try out a new car. He expressed his impressions in a short phrase: "This car flies like angels carry it." According to another pilot, Jörg Scypionski, the Messerschmitt-262 (whose photo 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 have time to catch the enemy aircraft in sight. In this case, the pilot became the king of the situation.
The armament of the aircraft was so powerful thatone volley was enough for everything to be 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, a veteran of the Battle of England, Adolf Galland. In January 1945, during a meeting attended by the entire leadership of Germany's aviation, he publicly expressed doubts about Goering's competence as commander of the country's air fleet. As a result, the obstinate general was removed from his post. However, he did not give up.
To prove his case, Galland offered to form a special formation under his command, equipping it with Messerschmitt ME-262 aircraft. Among others, Gerhard Barhorn (at that time he had 301 aerial victories), Heinz Baer (220 victories), W alter Krupinski (197 victories), Johannes Steinhoff (176 victories), Günther Lützow (108 victories) and etc. The connection was named "Fighter unit" Jagdferband 744 (J744) ".
Short biography "Jagdverband 744 (J744)"
In March 1945, the headquarters of the new formation was located at the Munich-Riem airfield, from where it began to intercept armadas of Allied bombers that made daytime raids on Germany. Behinda little more than a month behind this newly-minted elite air unit, there were already 45 downed aircraft of allied aviation. However, this did not last long. May 3, 1945 she was defeated by the Allies in Salzburg.
Adolf Galland himself also did not refuse the steering wheel of the aircraft. He took part in many operations to intercept Allied bomber raids. On April 25, during one of them, he was shot down by an American Republic R-47 cover fighter. The pilot was wounded in both knees and was unable to properly land his fighter on a field pitted with craters.
Victory German pilots
The first victory behind the wheel of the jet "Messerschmitt-262" was won by Adolf Schreiber. This event took place on June 26, 1944. In addition to the above pilots, Messerschmitt-262 helped Franz Schall become famous - on the ME-262 he won 14 victories (137 in total), Herman Buchner - 12 (58), Georg Peter Eder - 12 (78), Erich Rudorfer - 12 (222), Karl Schnorrer - 11 (46), Johannes Steinhoff - 6 (176), W alter Novotny (248 wins in total) and others.
German pilots considered the Messerschmitt-262 so invulnerable that they boldly entered into battles with an enemy many times superior in number. So, on March 19, 1945, 28 German pilots, being at the controls 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 entire armada, preventing a raid onone of the objects in Germany.
How the Allies fought ME-262
In a direct confrontation with the Messerschmitt-262, any Allied aircraft was doomed to defeat. Losing to him in speed, maneuver and power of weapons, one could not even dream of victory. And yet the Achilles' heel was found. Not even alone. The fact is that the Messerschmitt-262 jet fighter turned out to be very vulnerable during takeoff and landing. At these moments, it was decided to bet in the confrontation with him.
First of all, all the forces were sent to the reconnaissance of the airfields on which the German Lastochkas were based. After that, their airstrip was subjected to merciless bombing. It was mixed with the earth almost daily. This continued until the Messerschmitts-262, based at the airfield, were transported to another place.
There are also several facts of the destruction of "Messers" on takeoff. So, on October 7, 1944, Lieutenant Urban Drew, flying through enemy territory, noticed a pair of jet aircraft starting from the airfield. Using the advantage in height and speed, the pilot boldly attacked the opponents and shot down both of them, preventing them from picking up speed.
Several ME-262s were also destroyed in air battles. So, on November 8, 1944, one of the Luftwaffe aces W alter Novotny, who had shot down 258 enemy aircraft before, was shot down by one of the Mustang R-51 fighters covering him during an attack by an American bomber formation.
Characteristics of "Messerschmitt-262"
The plane was 10.6 m long, 3.8 m high, with a wingspan of12.5 m, wing area - 21.8 m. Empty weight was 3800 kg, normal takeoff weight - 6400 kg, maximum takeoff weight - 7140 kg. The practical lifting ceiling was 11 km. The maximum speed at maximum altitude was 855 km / h. It was armed with 4 MK-108 guns. It was also possible to install 12 R4M unguided rockets.
The winners of the jet "Messerschmitt-262": allies
There are not so many winners of jet Messerschmitts among the allies. For the most part, the German "swallows" were destroyed at the airfields, not giving them the opportunity to rise. Nevertheless, the downed Messerschmitt-262s were credited to Captain J. Bendrault (386th FS), Lieutenant Muller (353rd FG), Major Z. Connor (78th FG), pilot-officer Bob Cole (3rd Squadron RAF), Lieutenant Lamb (78th FG), Lieutenant Wilson (401st Canadian Air Squadron), etc.
Winners of jet "Messerschmitt-262": Eastern Front
In addition to the Western European theater of operations, Messerschmitts-262 also appeared on the Eastern Front. True, information about this is rather scarce. Nevertheless, the list of winners of the Messerschmitt-262 includes the names of 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 names should be included in this list: Garry Merkviladze, pilot of the 152nd Guards Aviation Regiment and Vladimir Yegorovich from the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment.
However, no evidence of their victories has been found in the archives.
Conclusion
For the entire period of World War II, the German industry built and sent to the front 1433 Messerschmitt-262 aircraft, including its various modifications. However, not all vehicles 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, the Messerschmitt ME-262. And yet he left a noticeable mark in the history of world aviation. After all, its appearance marked the beginning of the era of jet aviation.
