Aeroplane Aviation Archive — Issue 33 The World’s Fastest Aircraft

(^30) GERMANY
Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a
Max speed: 559mph (900km/h)
Length: 34ft 9in (10.60m)
Wingspan: 41ft 6in (12.60m)
Height: 11ft 6in (3.50m)
Empty weight: 8,366lb (3,795kg)
Loaded weight: 14,272lb (6,473kg)
Max T/O weight: 15,720lb (7,130kg)
Powerplant: 2 x Junkers Jumo 004
B-1 turbojets
Range: 652nm (1,050km)
Service ceiling: 37,565ft (11,450m)
Rate of climb: 3,900ft/min (1.2km/min)

I

t felt as though angels were pushing’.

So said Luftwa e ace Adolf Galland on

 ying the the world’s  rst operational

jet  ghter. Sleek, fast and powerful, the

Messerschmitt Me 262 changed air warfare

and dictated the future of  ghter aircraft

design. With its swept wings and shark-like

appearance, it represented an aviation

marvel. But the revolutionary Me 262

could never meet its potential. Blighted

by unreliable engines, a lack of fuel and

metals, the Me 262 was curtailed by its

leaders. Although small numbers of the

Me 262 terri ed the Allies, it was too little,

too late to save the Third Reich.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was born

from German turbojet engine development

in the mid-1930s, conceived by engineer

Hans-Joachim Pabst von Ohain. By 1938, a

Messerschmitt design team had drawn up

concepts for an interceptor  ghter with two jet

engines as ‘Project 1065’. The new  ghter had

‘

Messerschmitt Me 262

turbojets in nacelles under the middle of the

wings. The wings were slightly swept to ensure

a centre of gravity and were unusually thin for

high-speed performance.

Airframe development outpaced work

on the turbojets, so the  rst prototype took

to the skies with a single piston engine for

preliminary  ights. As the aircraft’s future

looked promising, the German Air Ministry

(RLM – Reichsluftfahrtministerium) ordered

more prototypes. Finally, Me 262 V1 was  tted

with two BMW 003 turbojets as well as the

standard prop in the nose as the engines were

still unreliable, a wise move as both jets failed

on its maiden  ight.

The Jumo 004 was a more promising turbojet,

and on 18 July 1942 the Me 262 became a

true jet when it took to the air in the hands of

test pilot Fritz Wendel. However, the future of

the Me 262 was threatened by a number of

in uential  gures (including Hermann Göring)

who favoured the advancement of proven

piston aircraft. But by 1943 – after Adolf Galland

had  own the Me 262 and sang its praises – the

RLM placed an order for 100 jet  ghters. Even

then, the Me 262 was plagued by bureaucratic

obstacles when Hitler demanded that the

 ghter be converted into a ‘Jabo’ (bomber).

For Erhard Milch, the German Field Marshal

who oversaw the development of the Luftwa e,

the idea of robbing the Me 262 of its superior

speed was unacceptable. So, with the Führer

believing that the Me 262 was in production as

a bomber, work continued on its development

in the  ghter role. On learning that his order

has been ignored, Hitler was furious and

Messerschmitt engineers feverishly converted

the  ghters to carry two 550lb (250kg) bombs.

The ‘Jabo’ version achieved little in France and

Below: Willy Messerschmitt’s revolutionary masterpiece. The menacing shark-like shape of the Me 262

terrorised Allied bomber crews in the latter stages of World War 2.