Messerschmitt Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262 was clearly the best fighter plane of World War II, bristling with firepower and capable of flying 120 miles per hour faster than America's outstanding P-51 Mustang.
Classic Airplane Image Gallery
 Development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 was a natural complement to Germany's success with the rocket research that resulted in the self-propelled V-1 and V-2 terror bombs. See more classic airplane pictures. |
However, it is
important to put a myth to rest about this classic airplane. The sleek Messerschmitt's late
introduction into combat was not a result of Adolf Hitler's decision to
make this jet aircraft a fighter-bomber rather than a pure fighter. The
Messerschmitt Me 262 was delayed because the Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine that powered
it did not reach quantity production until the spring of 1944. The real
failure lies with the German Air Ministry, which did not recognize the
potential of the jet engine and did not -- as it easily could
have -- assign the priorities necessary to put reliable jet engines into production.
 Germany built more than 1,400 Me 262s, but only about 300 ever saw combat. |
Had the Air Ministry done its job, the Messerschmitt Me 262 could have been in operation in great numbers by 1943, and the Allies would not have won the air superiority that made the June 6, 1944, D-day invasion possible. Without an invasion, Hitler might have connived a negotiated peace with Stalin, freeing up countless German troops for action on the Western Front. This in turn could have led to the atomic bomb being dropped on Berlin in 1945, rather than on Hiroshima.
 The Messerschmitt Me 262's dramatic swept wings were mandated when engineers discovered that the weight of the engine pods threw off the plane's center of gravity; the wing sweep restored equilibrium. |
Fortunately for the Allies, the delay in engine production delayed the Me 262's entrance into combat until the fall of 1944, by which time Germany no longer possessed the means to train pilots in the jet's use. Although some 1,433 Messerschmitt Me 262 fighters were delivered, only about 300 saw combat. There were probably never more than 36 in the air at a time when the Allies customarily put 1,000 bombers and 1,000 fighters over the ruins of Germany.
The great legacy of this classic airplane is that it inspired other air forces to adopt the jet fighter as standard, and moved engineers to utilize its layout -- swept wings and twin-pod engines -- for fighters and airliners.
Length: 34 ft. 91/2 in. Height: 12 ft. 7 in. Empty Weight: 8,378 lbs Gross Weight: 14,080 lbs Top Speed: 540 mph Service Ceiling: 37,565 ft. Range: 650 miles Engine/Thrust: Two Junkers Jumo 004Bs/1984 lbs each Crew: 1 Armament: Four 30-mm MK 108 cannons |
For more information on airplanes, check out:
