The first flight of the Messerschmitt me 262. Battlefield: Me.262 - the most formidable fighter of World War II

Throughout the Second World War, the main Luftwaffe fighter was the famous Messerschmitt Bf109. But the "swan song" of the company was the Me-262, which showed everyone how far ahead of the rest of the countries the Germans were in terms of jet aircraft and engines.
The beginning of work on the jet fighter project dates back to the end of 1938, when the leading German engine building companies - BMW and Junkers - began to develop jet engines. By June 1939, after a multilateral analysis of single- and twin-engine schemes, the designers settled on a twin-engine nizkollan with engines under the wing. In March 1940, a wooden model was born (the aircraft did not yet have a corporate designation, but only a project number - P.106S). After that, the construction of three prototypes began.
Apart from jet engines, the design of the Me-262 was traditional and stood out with just one innovative feature - a swept wing and plumage. Obviously, the Germans, with their characteristic practicality, decided not to create additional trouble, in addition to those associated with the power plant. And there were more than enough difficulties with the engines. Initially, the Me-262 was supposed to use a BMW engine, but the Junkers coped with the difficulties earlier. However, when on April 18, 1941, the Me-262 VI, piloted by Fritz Wendel, made its first flight, mock-ups were located under the wing instead of turbines, and the aircraft was powered by a conventional Jumo 210 G piston engine (1400 hp), located in the front fuselage parts.
The first copies of the jet Jumo were tested in November 1940, but it was possible to increase the thrust to the required minimum - 840 kg - only by the beginning of 1942. July 18, 1942 Me-262 made its first jet-powered flight. (“The 262nd” was not, as is often believed, the world's first jet aircraft - it opened the “turbo-jet engine page” in the history of aviation “Heinkel He-280” as early as April 2, 1940; the second was the Gloucester E28 / 39 |. In autumn the second prototype began to fly, and, inspired by the results, the Ministry of Aviation ordered 4S machines.At the same time, the development of a new modification of the engine with a thrust of 900 kg was completed, which in January 1943 got on the Me-262 VI [the last jet-powered the first three prototypes - March 2, 1943). In April, famed fighter ace Adolf Galland tested the fourth prototype in flight and was so enamored with the new machine that he suggested ending production of the 109th and expanding production of jet fighters. Galland was not alone: some officers expressed even more radical opinions - to completely stop the release of bombers and concentrate efforts on the 262nd. Serial production was planned to begin in June 1943, but various reasons (bombing of factories in Regensburg, opposition from the conservative part of officials led by Marshal Milch) prevented these plans from being implemented and caused a delay of more than six months. In addition, the fine-tuning and preparation of engines for serial production were painfully slow. For these half-. years, several new prototypes and pre-production machines were born. On the fifth prototype, the chassis received a nose strut for the first time, and on the V6 this strut became retractable, and the formation of the appearance of the car was basically completed. This aircraft was demonstrated to Hitler in November, and the Fuhrer uttered another historical phrase: "... It is precisely such an aircraft that can and should carry out bombing attacks on Britain ..." The development of a bomber modification immediately began, but in fact the alterations were reduced only to the installation of 2 pylons with bomb racks under the fuselage. It is widely believed that this was the reason for a new large delay in the start of serial production and combat use. In fact, bombers developed in parallel and simultaneously with fighters. In November 1943, the Me-262 V8 appeared (the first with weapons), which, in fact, became a model for the series. By April 1944, they managed to assemble 12 pre-production Me-262A-0s (in addition to 13 prototypes).
The first combat vehicle was the Me-262A-1, a multirole fighter armed with four 30-mm MK-108 cannons. By the summer, a special semi-combat unit E.Kdo was created. 262 (Test Team 262), which was entrusted with the task of practicing combat techniques and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the new vehicle. Pilots soon became familiar with many side effects of high-speed flying - aileron reformation, "heavy nose". It turned out that at speeds over 800 km / h, the quality of the factory assembly can greatly affect the flight data. Due to the dangerous loss of control at high speeds, the dive speed was limited to 1000 km / h.
New dangers lay in wait for the Me-262, or rather its engines, at high altitudes. Only with very careful manipulation of the engines and careful climb was it possible to avoid a fire or a stall in the compressor. Except in rare cases, an ordinary pilot could climb only 8000 m. A high landing speed (about 180 km / h) created extreme loads on the pneumatics of the main racks. In general, the life of jet pilots was far from sweet!
However, the Me-262 was still not the focus of only vices: all pilots noted the ease of piloting (in some modes it was lighter than “one hundred and ninth”!, And, of course, they were all amazed at speeds exceeding 800 km / h - fantastic for 1944 By the way, it is interesting that the speed changed depending on the time of year - temperature influenced engine power. The "summer" maximum speed was 820 km / h, while in winter cold air gave almost S0 km / h increase. an instance (V12) with more powerful engines and improved aerodynamics accelerated to 930 km / h.
One of the Me-262, owned by E. Kdo. 262, fought on July 25, 1944, a battle that became historic: it attacked several times (however, unsuccessfully) at an altitude of 9000 m, the English photo reconnaissance "Mosquito". Thus, the Me-262 became the world's first combat jet aircraft.

Two months earlier, the Me-262 V10, a prototype of a high-speed fighter-bomber, was tested. From that moment, the development of the aircraft began in several independent directions.
In addition to the main Me-262A-1a, options were developed:

Me-262A-1a/U1 - armament has been strengthened: 4 cannons of 30 mm caliber and 2 cannons of MG-151 20 mm caliber;

Me-262A-1a/U2 is an all-weather fighter with additional radio equipment.
Hitler's dream was embodied in the basic model Me-262 A-2a (standard cannon armament, as well as bombs on an external sling under the fuselage - one 1000 kg or two no S00 kg, or two 2S0 kg each). Further development of the bomber became options:
- Me-262A-2a / U1, which retained only two MK 108 guns, but received special bomber equipment;
- Me-262A-2a / U2 - two-seat bomber; forward fuselage lengthened and glazed to accommodate (lying) bombardier | prototype only).
At the end of the war, the Luftwaffe supplemented the dry alphanumeric designation of aircraft types with more poetic names: Me-262 fighters were called "Schwalbe" (Swalbe - swallow), and Me-262 bombers began to be called "Sturmvogel" (Sturmvogel - petrel). In addition to the "swallows" and "petrels", the Me-262S air defense fighter-interceptor was created (basically similar to the A-1a, but equipped with boosters for faster climb); photographic reconnaissance Me-262-1a / U3 (without weapons) and Me-262A-5 (cameras and two guns MK 108); attack aircraft Me-262A-3 (reinforced armor); the intimidating Me-262A-1as with a 50mm MK-214A cannon sticking far forward. All these machines differed from each other only in the details of weapons or equipment.
differed markedly from them in appearance two-seat combat training Me-262V-1a, used to train pilots of all modifications of the Me-262. Based on the aircraft at the end of 1944, a successful night fighter with a radar was created - Me-262B-1a / U1. Its further development is the Me-262V-2a with a more advanced centimeter-range radar.
With the exception of fighters, little is known about the details of the combat service of other variants of the Me-262. Bombers bombed (although not Britain, but bridges on the Rhine), scouts reconnoitered (the enemy's attack paths), night fighters (about a dozen) defended Berlin in the spring of 1945.
Let's talk about fighters in more detail. After the battle on July 25 at the base of E.Kdo. 262, a formation was created under the command of one of the best fighters - Walter Novotny [Novotny's team]. In October, this unit was sent to fight American bombers. Taking advantage of the huge advantage in speed, the Me-262 easily overcame the barrier of escort fighters, but ... then the dignity turned into a disadvantage! The rate of approach to the bombers was too high, and there was less than ten seconds left for aiming and firing. The pilots instinctively slowed down and ... lost their main advantage. At that moment, the escort fighters who came to the rescue fell upon them. One way to solve this problem was to coordinate the attack of the "swallows" and the conventional FW 190 and Bf 109, linking the escort fighters in battle. A completely different solution was proposed by Major Zinner, the commander of the 262-x formation: 24 R4M 55 mm unguided rockets were placed on the under-roof pylons. Having fired their entire supply in one gulp, the Germans not only had a good chance of shooting down several bombers, but, no less important, creating panic and breaking their formation. Hitting alone is always easier. The pylons were made of wood, the rockets had folding stabilizers and did not create much resistance. This variant received the designation Me-262A-1v.
In early November, Novotny died, and his formation was used as the core of the first combat squadron - JG7 (of which only the third group and headquarters fought on new aircraft), which received the name of the deceased commander. This connection participated in a massive attack on the Allied airfields on January 1, 1945 (Operation Hermann). In February 1945, Galland left his post in the leadership of the Luftwaffe and returned to his former, more familiar occupations - he became the commander of a fighter formation. Galland was given the opportunity to personally choose his subordinates, and when his JV44 went into action on March 31, he was under his command an elite unit - the cream of German fighter pilots in the most modern aircraft. Both JG7 and JV44 operated successfully, and by the end of the war their joint account was about 500 enemy aircraft (JV44 had 50 of them). Own combat losses most often occurred during takeoff and landing - at these moments, the Me-262s were completely defenseless. Whenever possible, cover was allocated for this time (FW190D), and in the last days of the war, the “swallows” learned to use the excellent German highways as airfields.
In early May, the history of the Me-262 ended, and although about one and a half thousand aircraft were produced in a year, only less than half managed to get into combat units.

MesserschmittMe-262 Schwalbe/Sturmvogel" - an aircraft that has earned a place in the annals of world aviation as the first turbojet fighter to go into combat. Its development began in the fall of 1938, when the company received a contract for the design of an aircraft powered by 2 BMW P3302 turbojet engines with a thrust of up to 600 kgf. It was assumed that the engines would be ready for installation on the aircraft by December 1939, but these dates turned out to be too optimistic - BMW specialists encountered serious problems in fine-tuning it. Therefore, the Me-262 developers had to reorient themselves to an alternative power plant - the Jumo 004 turbojet engine.

Structurally, the Me-262 was an all-metal monoplane with a moderately swept low wing and a single-tail tail. TRDs were located in underwing engine nacelles. At the beginning of 1941, the airframe of the first Me 262V1 prototype was ready, but the turbojet engines of both firms were still being adjusted. Therefore, as a temporary measure, a Jumo 210G piston engine was installed on the aircraft in the nose, which allowed the Me 262V1 to take off for the first time on April 18, 1941. On March 25, 1942, the first flight took place with a BMW 003 turbojet engine (PD was not removed from the aircraft) ending in an emergency landing. On July 18, 1942, the Me 262V3 with the Jumo-004А turbojet engine was tested, and on October 1, the Me 262V2 with the same engines. Further refinement of the project led to the use of a new chassis with a nose strut, tested on the Me 262V6 - the first of the pre-production batch of Messerschmitt Me 262A-0.

In total, in November 1942 - February 1944, 23 Messerschmit Me 262A-0 were built, which were used to test various systems, and then for military tests. Deliveries of serial Me 262 to the Luftwaffe began in June 1944, when, finally, it was possible to establish the production of turbojet engines. In total, 1930 Me 262s were produced at the Augsburg and Regensburg factories, of which the Luftwaffe managed to accept 1433 vehicles (the rest were damaged or destroyed at the factories). The unofficial name "Schwalbe" was used for fighter variants, "Sturmvogel" - for fighter-bomber.

The main modifications of the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe / Sturmvogel aircraft:

Me-262 A-1 a- TRD Jumo 004V-1 (later V-2 and V-3) with a thrust of 900 kgf. Armament - 4 30-mm guns MK 108, installed in the bow (100 rounds of ammunition per barrel for the upper pair and 80 for the lower pair). The Me 262A-1a / U1 variant (3 aircraft) received enhanced armament - 2 MK 108, 2 30-mm MK 103 cannons (72 rounds each) and 2 20-mm MG 151/20 (146 rounds each). Another 3 Me 262А-1a/U4 aircraft were experimentally armed with 1 50 mm VK 5 cannon (30 rounds). The Me 262A-1a/U5 variant with 6 MK 108 guns was also tested. One Me 262A-1a/U2 was tested as a night fighter with FuG 220 radar. 1 cannon MK 108). The Me 262A-1a/R1 variant was an interceptor fighter additionally armed with 24 55mm R4M air-to-air missiles.

Me-262 A-2 a- fighter-bomber converted from Me 262A-1a. It differed only in the presence of ventral holders for 2,250 kg or 1,500 kg bombs. 2 Me 262A-2a/U1 aircraft additionally received a sight for low-altitude bombing installed in the bow instead of 2 guns. Me 262A-2a/U2 (92 vehicles) had a glazed cockpit in the bow for the second crew member, the bombardier.

Serially not built armored attack aircraft Me 262A-3a and scout Me 262А-4а. Produced in small quantities reconnaissance Me 262А-5а, adapted for the suspension of two 300-liter PTB.

Me-262 V-1 a- double training option. The cannon armament has been preserved. The second seat for the instructor was installed in place of the rear main fuel tank, which required the installation of pylons for the suspension of 2,300-l PTB. 15 units were built, about 10 more were converted into the Me 262B-1a / U1 night fighter with FuG 218 radar and FuG 350ZC direction finder.

Didn't make it to the series Me 262 V-2 a- a night fighter with an extended fuselage and a FuG 240 radar. Aircraft were also not produced Me 262 WITH with a combined power plant (TRD + LRE).

Flight performance of the aircraft Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a

Engines: Jumo 004B
maximum thrust, kgf: 900
Wingspan, m: 12.65
Aircraft length, m: 10.6
Aircraft height, m: 2.8
Wing area, sq. m.: 21.7
Weight, kg
empty aircraft: 3800
takeoff: 6400
maximum takeoff: 7140
Max speed, km/h:
near the ground: 822
at an altitude of 3000 m: 850
at an altitude of 6000 m: 865
at an altitude of 10,000 m: 815
Rate of climb, m/s: 20
Flight range, km: 840
Practical ceiling, m.: 11 450

Combat use of the Messerschmitt Me-262

To master the Me 262 in April 1944, a test team EKdo 262 was formed in Lechfeld, the core of which was Messerschmitt test pilots. At first, the emphasis was on developing tactics that would allow intercepting high-speed allied reconnaissance aircraft. The first interception of the Mosquito (inconclusive) took place on July 25, 1944 - thus, the Me 262 made its first sortie two days before the British Meteor. In September 1944, EKdo 262 was reorganized into the "Novotny team" - named after commander Walter Novotny, and after his death in November 1944 - into III / JG 7. Groups I and II squadrons of JG 7 were formed, but before full states are not brought. The main task of the squadron was to intercept American bombers in daylight conditions. By the end of the war, the headquarters of the squadron and group III / JG 7 had 427 air victories, incl. about 300 four-engine bombers.

In August 1944, the combat debut of Me 262A-2a fighter-bombers took place. These aircraft armed I and then II groups of the KG 51 squadron. Subsequently, the Me 262А entered several more bomber squadrons, reorganized into fighter squadrons - KG (J) 6, KG (J) 27, KG (J) 30, KG (J) 54, KG (J) 55. In February 1945, under the command of A. Galland, an elite fighter unit JV 44 was formed, which began combat work in early April. The only unit that operated the Me 262B-1a/U1 night fighters from February 1945 was the “Welter Group” (named after Commander K. Welter), renamed 10./NJG 11 in April.

Captured Messerschmitts Me 262 were widely studied in the victorious countries. In the USSR, even the possibility of producing a series of such aircraft was considered, but this idea was abandoned, since the machine did not have any advantages over the MiG-9. In Czechoslovakia, several Me 262s were assembled both in a single version (S-92) and in a double version (CS-92).

Aircraft Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 becamefirstreactivefighter, gonevthe fight. The experience of its use has shown that the machine can be successfully used to intercept enemy bombers, but in maneuverable air combat, even against piston fighters, it had a hard time. The most vulnerable M e-262 was on takeoff and landing.

Schemes and drawings of the jet fighter Messerschmitt Me-262

Messerschmitt Me 262 in service

Erprobungskommando 262 (Ekdo 262)

Ekdo 262 (Test Team 262) was the first unit to receive the Me 262 operational. It was officially formed in December 1943 in Lechfeld, but the first pilots appeared in it only at the beginning of May 1944. They mainly came from Stab. / ZG 26 and III. / ZG 26 - a squadron equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110 aircraft - and therefore knew well the features of twin-engine fighters. Their main task was to create air combat tactics on the "schwalbe", as well as to develop the best way retraining of pilots who had previously flown exclusively on the Bf 109 and Fw 190. But first of all, it was about testing the new aircraft in combat conditions.

JV 44 personnel - mechanics and pilots during the drag of the aircraft.

The first to arrive in Lechfeld in the spring of 1944 were Lieutenants Günther Wegmann and Hans-Günther Müller of 8./ZG 26 and Oberleutnant Paul Blei of 9./ZG 26, as well as Lieutenants Joachim Weber and Alfred Schreiber, Oberfel-Dwebeli Gobel, Rekers and Stratman, sergeant major Heinz Gerlitsius and non-commissioned officer Flachs. The commander of Ekdo 262 was Captain Werner Tierfelder, an experienced pilot who began his pilot career back in 1939 on a Bf 110, fighting against English and French opponents. Ekdo 262 included: the 8th squadron, based in Leipheim since May 17, the 9th squadron - the Schwabisch-Hall airfield and the headquarters squadron - the Rechlin-Larz airfield. Probably, several machines were based in Peenemünde for a certain time.

The team suffered its first loss already on May 17, when non-commissioned officer Kurt Flachs crashed on his Me 262 V7 (VI + AB) during a training flight. The pilot died on the spot. A month later, returning from an interception flight, the commander of the unit, Werner Tierfelder, crashed due to an engine failure. His body was found in the wreckage of a Me 262 S6 (VI+AK) near Landsberg. According to some German sources, Tierfelder was shot down in a fight with fighters of the 15th Air Army. However, American documents do not confirm this (not a single pilot from the 1st, 31st, 52nd and 332nd fighter groups reported that he had shot down a jet fighter that day). Captain Horst Geyer became the new commander. Until July, mainly due to accidents, five more pilots died.

On July 26, 1944, Lieutenant Alfred Schreiber, in his Me 262 S12 (VI + AQ), was the first to shoot down an enemy vehicle in Ekdo 262. It was generally the first victory in the history of aviation, won by a jet-powered aircraft. Schreiber's victim was a reconnaissance "mosquito" from the 544th Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) - the crew of Flight Lieutenant (Captain) Woll and Pilot Officer (Lieutenant) Lobban. Six days later, on August 2, Schreiber scored a second victory, this time destroying a PR IX Spitfire. The next Mosquito (540 Squadron, crewed by Flight Lieutenant Matthewman and Flight Sergeant Stopford) fell victim to a Schwalbe on 8 August. Lieutenant Joachim Weber distinguished himself by overtaking his opponent over Olstadt.

In view of the increasing disappearance of reconnaissance vehicles over southern Germany, the RAF command decided to send an aircraft to the area with a special task to photograph the Leipheim airbase in detail. To this end, on August 15, a Mosquito from the 60 Squadron of the South African Air Force took off from the San Severo airfield in Italy. The crew included Captain Salomon Pienaar and Lieutenant Archie Lockhart-Ross. Without any problems, they reached Leipheim, where they found jet fighters on the runways and photographed taxiing. But they didn’t notice, or rather, they noticed too late one “Schwalbe” that was in the air. The German pilot attacked the Mosquito with lightning speed, firing at him from his four 30-mm cannons. Despite serious damage, the South Africans managed to get away from the pursuer and, with great difficulty, reach their airfield. The plane, however, had to be written off, but the pictures of the German base were worth the price. The Allied Command first saw the mysterious jet machine - Hitler's Wunderwaffe (wonder weapon). The Pienaar-Lockhart-Ross crew was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for their feat.

On the same day, at about 12.45 sergeant major Helmut Lennartz, operating from the Lechfeld airfield, caught up and shot down a single B-17 "flying fortress" aircraft from the 303rd bomber group over Gerlingen. The next morning, the Americans also lost an F-5c reconnaissance lightning from the 5th Photo Reconnaissance Group (PRG), which was destroyed by an unidentified Ekdo 262 pilot.

August 24 turned out to be an unlucky day for the Spitfire pilot of the 683rd Squadron, Flight Lieutenant Crane. He was overtaken over Leipheim and very quickly shot down by Chief Sergeant Helmut Baudach. Two years later, the pilots of Ekdo 262 chalked up the next two victories. Lieutenant Schreiber destroyed a Spitfire, and Oberfeldwebel Rekers destroyed a Mosquito from the 60 Squadron of the South African Air Force, which fell near Ingolstadt Lake at about 12.30.

Schwalbe fighters belonging to Stab./KS 76. These aircraft most likely served as cover for the Arado Ag 234 bombers.

Dismantled Me 262 us KG(J) 6. Noteworthy is the atypical camouflage of the upper surfaces of the wings.

September also began with the success of the German pilots. On the 5th and 6th, Schreiber and Chief Sergeant Major Gobel won. The first shot down a Spitfire Mk IX of the 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, whose pilot, Lieutenant Robert Hillborn, bailed out. A day later, Gobel chalked up a mosquito from 540 Squadron, at the helm of which was Squadron Leader (Major) Fleming. On September 11, pilots from Lechfeld intercepted a B-17 formation from the 100th Bomber Group (BG) returning from the raid, escorted by Mustangs from the 339th Fighter Group (Fighter Group - FG). Bombers still over the target suffered heavy losses as a result of attacks by Bf 109 and Fw 190. True, the Schwalbe did not shoot down a single "fortress", but Helmut Baudach managed to knock out the P-51 of Lieutenant Jones, who jumped out with a parachute and spent the rest of the war in the camp for prisoners of war. The next day, the Americans carried out massive raids on various targets in southern Germany. Over 900 bombers of the 8th Air Army attacked heavy industry, oil refineries and aviation plants. During the confrontation, the Luftwaffe destroyed 31 B-17s and B-24s. Ekdo 262 also contributed - Captain Georg-Peter Eder shot down two "flying fortresses" reliably and one - probably. On September 13, during a fight with Mustangs from the 364th FG, one Me-262 was lost (an unidentified pilot died). On the same day, around noon, a reconnaissance "mosquito" from the 540th squadron became a victim of Lieutenant Weber. The next Mosquito was shot down by Weber on 18 September. It was a vehicle from 544 Squadron and was piloted by Flight Officer (Senior Lieutenant) Hunter, marked by the DFC.

On September 24, Georg-Peter Eder noted with a kind of "hat-trick" - on this day he shot down two B-17s "reliably" and one - "probably". Four days later, he added another "fortress" to his account. The last victories of Ekdo 262 before its official disbandment were two B-17s, again shot down by Eder on October 4th. From part of the pilots of Ekdo 262 created a new training part - III

Erganzungsgruppe Jagdgeschwader 2 (III./EJG 2). The rest were transferred to the newly formed Kommando Nowotny - a special unit under the command of one of the most famous, most successful (258 victories) and most popular Luftwaffe pilots, Major Novotny.

Me 262 A-Ia (W.Nr. 110813), which can also be identified as A-2a, belonged to I.IKG(J) 51. Two SC 250 bombs are visible on ETC 504 bomb racks.

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Revolutionary, in fact, the aircraft could not help the Luftwaffe regain dominance in the sky. Fortunately, the Germans did not have enough time to finalize it.

The history of military aviation from "Ilya Muromets" to Me-262

If you look at the history of mankind, you can see one interesting trend: people try to use most of all inventions and technological breakthroughs for military purposes, that is, to gain a combat advantage. And aviation is no exception.

Less than 10 years have passed since the emergence of active interest in aircraft heavier than air (that is, the birth of aviation as such) and aircraft are already beginning to be used during hostilities. The first-born were the French General Picard and the Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand in 1910 and 1912 respectively.

At that time, the use of aircraft was mainly limited to long-range reconnaissance, but very soon military officials realized the advantages of such equipment and aircraft began to be equipped with various weapons.

World War I

World War I, which began in 1914, was the first conflict in which aviation technology already used as a fighting force. The Russian Empire had the most extensive fleet of vehicles and its flagship can be considered a large four-engine, which was used as the first bomber.

Germany, whose number of cars was in second place, at the beginning of the war, relied on airships.

However, the Allied aviation was able to prove that the future still belongs to the aircraft and the "Teutons" zealously take up the creation of fighters. It was the German engineer Anton Fokker who developed the synchronizer technology, which made it possible to install machine guns on the nose of an aircraft without fear that the bullets would damage the main rotor when fired.

France also excelled in this technology race. Its designers were the first to come up with the idea of installing a machine gun on an aircraft. So the first fighter appeared. This was the final point in the confrontation between the German airships attacking London and the Allied aircraft.

Another primacy of French design thought is the use of missiles, which helped fight the German Fokkers at the end of the first world confrontation. During these years, the first carrier-based aircraft appeared.

Between the first and second

In the interval between the First and Second World Wars, countries began to improve existing aeronautical technologies and develop new ones.

Pilots who had gained experience during the fighting now acted as testers and participants in air shows, of which there were many in the 20s.

On them, veterans performed various tricks on planes, races were held. And it was these events that became the impetus for the development of new hulls and power plants.

During the calm times, many records were set, for example: an individual flight across the Atlantic, the first female non-stop flight across the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, and so on. It is impossible not to mention the record of compatriot Chkalov - a non-stop flight from Moscow to New York through North Pole.

A serious technological breakthrough was the development by the American Jimmy Doolittle of a complex of navigation and flight instruments. In the early 1930s, research and work on the creation of jet engines began, and independently in two countries at once - England and Germany.

Aviation developed rapidly and already in the 30s, aluminum replaced the wood and fabric from which the aircraft bodies were made.

The design has also changed aircraft- biplanes and triplanes faded into the background, making room for monoplanes, whose aerodynamic performance was much higher.

The Second World War

By the beginning of the Second World War, the participating countries approached with different levels of technical equipment. In its early years, of course, Germany had relative air superiority. The most famous models of that time are considered to be various models of Messerschmitts, including Bf.109, Henkel, for example, He-111, and Junkers, in particular, Ju-87.

The jet aircraft developed by the Third Reich, in addition to the Me-262 under consideration, included the He-162 fighter and the Arado Ar 234 Blitz bomber. However, the Germans could not maintain this superiority.

Soviet Union and the Allies were able to develop aircraft models that not only could adequately withstand the German machines, but also surpassed them. Among them, it is worth mentioning or the English Spitfire.

The history of the Me-262

Me-262 began to be developed in 1938, it was at this time that the design bureau of Willy Messerschmitt began work on the creation of an aircraft with two turbojet engines.

The basis for the development was the terms of reference from the Ministry of Aviation of the Third Reich, on the creation of an experimental model of an aircraft in a P3302 turbojet engine with a thrust of 600 kg.

The engines were developed by BMW, and the first working samples were planned to be delivered no later than the end of 1939.

Despite the fact that the terms of reference for the development was aimed at creating an experimental aircraft, the Messerschmitt Design Bureau initially began developing a platform that could be used as a combat aircraft. By design, the machine was a cantilever all-metal monoplane, the engines were located in engine nacelles located at the bottom of the wing.

The separate placement of the engines was intended to reduce the effect of exhaust gases on the plumage. The landing gear had a rather non-standard scheme with a front steering wheel at that time, this was done in order to provide better visibility of the aircraft during takeoff and landing.

The wing had the shape of an irregular trapezoid with a slight sweep of the leading edge (18 °). The mechanization of the wing was quite advanced and included: automatic slats, slotted flaps, which during landing played the role of flaps and ailerons to control the longitudinal roll of the machine.

The monocoque fuselage had a rather unusual triangular cross-sectional shape. It took this form due to the large volume of internal fuel tanks and equipment located in the fuselage. In the nose compartment of the aircraft housed cannon armament on a retractable gun carriage.

The cockpit had pyrotechnic equipment, which made it possible to eject it in an emergency.

This decision was made due to the fact that studies have shown that it is almost impossible to leave the car in the traditional way - by rolling over the side, at a speed of over 600-700 km / h, in addition, there is a real danger of the pilot hitting the tail of the aircraft.

All work directly on the airframe was completed in the spring of 1941, however, tests began using the Jumo-210 piston power plant, which was installed in the forward fuselage instead of armament.

The reason for this was the delay in the delivery of the BMW-003 turbojet engine (working title P 3302), the development of which was not yet fully completed. The first official flight of the Me-262 took place on April 18, 1941.

The possibility of installing these turbojet power plants appeared only in November 41. The first flight already as a jet aircraft took place in March of the same year. And in the air, both BMW-003 failed. The prudently left piston engine helped the pilot to land the car and avoid disaster.

Further tests showed not only the low fault tolerance of BMW engines, but also their low power, that is, low traction. Therefore, it was decided to replace them with Jumo-004 turbojet power plants manufactured by Messerschmitt itself. They surpassed the creation of BMW, both in terms of reliability and traction (up to 1000 kg).

Work on changing the engine nacelles for the new Jumo-004 took several months. With new Me-262 engines, it took to the air on July 18, 1942.

The tests were more than successful. The maximum speed of the aircraft was more than 800 km / h, the rate of climb was significantly higher than that of any analogue of that time.

The leadership of the Luftwaffe appreciated the work of the designers, but the green light for its production was not given.

This was due to the production of the FW-190 and Bf-109 piston fighters, which at that time quite successfully coped with enemy aircraft in the air.

The conversion of some of the lines to the production of Me-262 would not only take some time, but also reduce, albeit not by much, the production of these aircraft. But this did not put an end to development. For further testing and training of personnel from Messerschmitt, the Air Ministry ordered 15 machines in the summer of 1942 and 15 more in the late autumn of that year.

Such leisurely work on a jet aircraft went on until November 1943. On the 26th, Hitler personally attended the next tests and, seeing the car in action, got excited about the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a jet bomber on its basis.

Moreover, the chief designer Willy Messerschmitt, the possibility of such use of the aircraft has already been incorporated into the design. Calling such a modification "Blitzbomber", Hitler orders the start of production of new bombers.

By that time, Germany had finally lost its advantage in the air and suffered a series of major defeats both on the Eastern Front and in the Mediterranean region. Realizing the inevitability of the opening of the Western Front, the Fuhrer was looking for opportunities to inflict maximum damage during the landing of troops, that is, at the moment of their greatest vulnerability.

And this weapon was supposed to be a high-speed bomber based on the Me-262, which would be able to break through the formation of enemy fighters and drop bombs on ground troops.

The High Command of the Reich Air Force ignored these orders and work in this direction did not begin.

This was due, firstly, to the need for retraining of personnel and pilots, and secondly, to the inexpediency of such use of the aircraft, in particular its low efficiency as a bomber and the possibility of heavy losses.

As a result, nothing was prepared for the Allied landing in Normandy, which cost Erhard Milche the post of head of the aviation industry. Further work in this direction did not bring results.

At the end of 1944, under the leadership of Hermann Goering, a special fighter unit was created, equipped with Me-262, under the command of the famous German ace Walter Novotny. However, its later appearance, a number of flaws in the design of the fighter, the lack of training of personnel and the lack of materials did not allow the combat formation to prove itself.

Subsequently, the surviving aircraft came to the Allies and the USSR to become part of their own programs for the creation and development of jet aircraft.

Detailed jet fighter device

The aircraft project implied the maximum use of technological methods existing at that time. That is, it was supposed to be cheap and easy to manufacture, which was an undoubted advantage in a war. As a material, common aluminum alloys, ordinary steel, direct riveting were implied.

Many parts were made by casting or hot stamping.

The possibility of some error in the weight of most parts also made it easier to manufacture.

Fuselage

The fuselage of the Me-262 was an all-metal structure designed on the basis of a reinforced monocoque.

The cladding was 2mm sheets of aluminum alloy and steel. The fuselage of the aircraft can be divided into 3 parts:

Front. This section housed the main weapon with ammunition compartments, photographic equipment, when using the aircraft as a reconnaissance aircraft, compressed air tanks, as well as a niche for the front landing gear and its folding mechanism.
Average. This part of the fuselage contained the cockpit, the front of which was covered with armored sheets, and the canopy was made of 100mm impact-resistant glass. Fuel tanks were installed in front and behind her, 900 liters each. In some cases, an additional 600l tank could also be installed behind the main one. Their special soft shell made it possible to avoid significant fuel losses during a through breakdown. The cockpit canopy was three-section with a sliding middle part. The niche under the cabin itself was intended for fixing the center section. The side landing gear in the retracted state was also located there.
Rear part. In this part of the fuselage there were systems for attaching the plumage, both vertical and horizontal, for controlling the horizontal stabilizer (unlike most models of those times, it was controllable), an oxygen supply for the corresponding pilot system, and radio equipment. There was also a compass.

Wing and plumage

The wing design was a two-spar system. The materials for its manufacture were steel and duralumin. The mechanical part was represented by the following elements:

two-section flaps - separated by engine nacelles;
automatic slats, that is, changing their position depending on the angle of attack and aircraft speed - had a three-section design and were located along the entire length of the front of the wing, excluding the location of the nacelles;
ailerons - like flaps, had a two-section design.

TRD nacelles were attached directly to the wing, they also provided space for folding landing gear. On the left side of the center section, a place was provided for the location of the pitot tube, part of the instrument that measures flight speed and altitude. The wing was attached to the fuselage with bolted and riveted joints.

The plumage has a standard scheme of that time: the position of the horizontal stabilizer was changed using an electric motor. The handlebars are equipped with trim tabs and are weight balanced.

Chassis

The landing gear system had three retractable struts, with one of them located in the bow. On each rack there was one wheel equipped with a brake. The process of releasing and retracting the landing gear was carried out by a hydraulic drive, however, in an emergency, it was possible to use it manually.

Engines

Two Jumo-004 turbojet engines were used as engines, each of which gave a thrust of 910 kgf, while giving out 8700 rpm. Fastening to the wing was carried out in a special gondola at three points. The engines were started by means of gasoline starters, each of which had its own fuel supply of 17 liters.

Some modifications of the Me-262 were equipped with launch boosters, which made it possible to significantly reduce the takeoff run.

They were located at the rear of the fuselage, attached directly to the body.

Armament

Most Me-262 aircraft were equipped with 30mm MK-108 aircraft guns. There could be two or four, depending on the rest of the equipment. In the four-gun version, the guns were placed in pairs, which made it possible to ensure high accuracy and density of fire. The ammunition for the upper and lower pairs differed: in the first case it was 80 shells, in the second - 100.

There was an attempt to install a 50mm VK 5 aircraft gun, but things did not go beyond the prototype. When using the aircraft against bombers during daylight hours, unguided air-to-air missiles in the amount of 24 pieces were installed on the wings.

Flight performance

LTX Me-262 are presented in the following table:

aircraft length	10.6m
Height	3.8m
Wingspan and area	12.5m and 21.8m2
Weight: empty - take-off (with full ammunition and fuel supply) - the maximum allowable	3800kg 6400kg 7140kg
Power point	2 turbojet engines Jumo-004
Max speed	855km/h
Practical ceiling height	11000m
Combat radius	1040km
Number of people in the crew	1

If we compare the Me-262 with the developments of similar technology of the Allies (the Gloucester Meteor for the British and the Bell P-59 Airacomet for the Americans), the German jet won in almost everything except the maximum ceiling, which was 13400m for the Meteor.

Modifications

The main, that is, serial, modifications of the Me-262 were:

A-1a Schwalbe (Swallow) - the first and most common version of the machine, equipped with four 30mm air cannons.
A-1a / U3 - a small series.
A-1b - interceptor with installed unguided air-to-air missiles.
A-2a Sturmvogel (Petrel) - fighter-bomber with the ability to carry 2 bombs weighing 500kg each. To reduce the weight of the aircraft, a pair of 30mm cannons were removed.
A-5a - reconnaissance aircraft with photo equipment installed in the forward fuselage, instead of the lower pair of 30mm MK-108. Also, a viewing window is mounted in the cabin floor.
B-1a - double training modification.
B-1a / U1 - a two-seat interceptor for working at night.
B-2a - modification of the previous model using new radar equipment, in particular the FuG-218 station.
C-1a Heimatschutzer (Defender of the Motherland) - a modification of the interceptor using three engines: two Jumo-004 turbojet engines and a liquid-jet HWK 109-509A mounted in the tail.
E - this version provided for the installation of a 50mm VK 5 air gun, instead of four 30mm MK-108.

Combat use

On the account of the Me-262 jet aircraft, as a fighter or interceptor, you can record 150 units of enemy aircraft.

At the same time, their own losses amounted to 100 cars. And such an uninspiring exchange was due to several reasons:

lack of sufficient qualifications for pilots and maintenance personnel;
design flaws of the Jumo-004 turbojet engine, in particular, its low reliability and survivability in combat conditions;
lack of fuel and spare parts due to disrupted German communications at the end of the war.

Data on the effectiveness of the Me-262 as a bomber are not available at all.

Footprint in aviation history

After the victory over Germany in World War II, technical documentation from the factories and design bureaus of the Third Reich fell into the hands of the Allies and the USSR.

Domestic designers, when studying captured aircraft models and their technical documentation, considered the idea of copying the Me-262 with its subsequent modernization, but this decision was rejected and their own developments received the green light.

However, it is worth saying that some of the successful solutions embodied in the German turbojet fighter were reflected in the design work of Soviet engineers, for example, the RD-10 power plant is a modified version of the Jumo-004B engine.

Czechoslovakia until 1951 used its own S-92 jet aircraft, which are complete copies of the Me-262, as training aircraft. Their release became possible thanks to the deployment in this country during the war of a complex of enterprises that produce all the details for the fighter. Even work was carried out to modify it, but they did not go further than prototypes.

Surviving models and use in simulation video games

To date, there are several original or restored Me-262 models:

at the Air Force Museum in Munich - Me-262;
at the Royal Air Force Museum in Cosford (UK) - Me-262A-2a;
at the Washington Aerospace Museum - Me-262A-1a;
from a private collector from Ohio (USA) - Me-262А-1а;
the US Navy - Me-262V-1azh;
in Australia (Treloar Centre) - Me-262А-2а;
in the Prague Aviation Museum - Me-262A-1a and Me-262A-2a;
in the military museum of South Africa - Me-262В-1а / U1.

The Me-262 can be found in several flight simulation video games today. Among them, it is worth noting "War Thunder", where the fighter is one of the aircraft of the German development branch, acting, as a rule, against the Soviet Il-2 Sturmovik.

Undoubtedly, the Me-262 turbojet aircraft is a technological breakthrough of its time in aviation.

The aircraft, in all its characteristics, not only bypassed models with piston engines, but also left them far behind. However, many problems, including flaws, lack of time and resources, did not allow the full potential of this fighter to be revealed.