Great photo - presumably the Me-262 from the Historic Colelction at EADS/Cassidian at Manching? I have a rather triumphal photo of me in my No 1s standing by the cockpit of a Me-109 there....Oh well, they shouldn't have invaded Poland.
I think there are few observers who would not agree that the Me-262 was a beautiful looking aircraft (a feature in common with most German designs, past and present, I have to say) but the greatest contribution of German designers was the investigation and development nof wing sweep-back, to reduce the affects of compressibility at higher speeds. Allied invesitgators found something like 80 supersonic wind tunnels in western Germany at theend of the war; at that time the fastes in the UK and the US was the one at RAE Bedford, capable of a rather pedestrian Mach 0.85. At Oberammergau (a location familiar with many RAF personnel) a Mach 10 wind tunnel was believed to be there, but removed by Bell Aircraft Corporation. The impact of these discoveries - especially advanced projects such as P1101 and P1110 (both variable geometry designs) - was enormous. the Ministry of Aircraft Production issued immediate instructions fro aircraft designers to stop research on all non-swept wing fast aircraft designs.
Here's an extract on further developments of the Me-262:
A secret Me-262 Performance Report from Oberammergau, issued in February 1945 by HerrA Degel,[1]analysed performance improvements and development opportunities for the Schwalbe. The Critical Mach number at altitude waspredicted against the production variant of the Me-262 and 4 design modifications.[2]These modifications ranged from relatively minor aerodynamic changes, to aradical rebuild of the Schwalbe, thelatter modification retaining only the fuselage, but installing 45° Pfeilflügel (swept wings), two ductedwing-root HeS 011A engines, and a heavily modified empennage (tail) includingthe option of a V tail. Based on acombination of arithmetic calculations, flight testing of existing models and‘values of an altitude test facility’ (possibly a hypersonic wind tunnel), itwas predicted that True Air Speed (TAS) at sea level would be c 960 km/h (518 knots) against a currentin-service speed of c 835 km/h (450knots). Performance was predicted topeak at an altitude of 6500 m – at a staggering 1000 km/h (539 knots) –equating to Mach 0.92 – compared with the in-service never-exceed speed of Me-262A-1aof Mach 0.82. By comparison, the fastestpiston-powered Allied fighter in service was the Mk XXII Supermarine Spitfire,could achieve a relatively pedestrian 454 miles per hour (Mach 0.65) at 7900 m(26,000 feet).[3]
The report focussed on how to improve the performance ofthe Me-262, noting that minor changes to the canopy design, reduction of formdrag through better filleting (smoothing the joints between the wings andfuselage) and recessing elevator and aileron links would produce significantperformance improvements. It also notedthat by ‘improving the surface quality [smoothness and finish of the wings andfuselage]…better production [quality] and elimination of constructionimperfections…the installation of more powerful engines in the current 262 body[is] definitely still worth it.’ Themore radical design ‘5 Zustand’ would require a ‘large rebuilding effort [ofthe existing Me-262 fuselage] … for raising the critical Mach number [but] afurther increase in speed makes it impossible, despite increasing the engineperformance…therefore a highly swept wing, installation of engines in the wingroot and tail [modifications] are used as key features [to improve overallperformance].’ The report further notesthat ‘[by the use of a] two-engined heavy fighter…the expected opponent’sdevelopment can be countered successfully.[4]
[1] Boyne,p 180, lists Herr Degel as the ‘Project Type Engineer’.
[2]Critical MachNumber. In aerodynamics, the critical Mach Number(Mcr) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number (of the aircraft) at which theairflow over any part of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound.
[3] William Green (1961) Fighters Vol 2 pp 96-116
[4]Me-262 Leistungssteigerung, Oberammergau23 Feb 1945.
The final in-service variant had a pretty good selection of armamment, principally to get around the age-old issue of delivering sufficient weight of fire on an increasingly fleeting target. According to William Green nand my own research:
The Me-262A-1a carried 4 x 30 mm canon plus 24 x5 cm R4M air to air rockets (unguided with 4 kg warhead and effective range of600 – 1000 m). Maximum performance was538 mph (460 knots/860 km/h) at 29,500 feet (9000 m), with a range of 526 miles(842 km) at a typical combat altitude of 20,000 feet (7000 m).[1]
Although an aerodynamically clean and elegant single-seat,twin-engined fighter, it was plagued by engine performance and materiél supplyproblems, as well as political interference with the insistence that itcombined air-superiority, close-air support roles and ‘vengeance’ (high-speedretaliatory bomber) roles. Nonetheless,it was effective in combat against Allied bomber formations, as it could engagebombers with its rockets outside their defensive arcs, and generally its speedand height-climbing performance outstripped Allied fighters. As an example, on 18 March 1945, AdolfGalland’s 20 Scwhalbe shot down 20USAAF bombers and 5 fighters, with no loss.[2] About 1443 were produced between March 1944and April 1945, however 497 were lost due to Allied bombing and only 200-300entered service, with chronic fuel and engine shortages, disruption to aircraftproduction and lack of skilled pilots limiting their overalleffectiveness. By the end of the war,the Me-262 accounted for about 550 allied aircraft against a loss of about 100in combat – though most of these were ‘bounced’ on take-off or landing. Moreover, the Me-262 had little impact on theRAF heavy bomber force that operated at night, because a night-fighter variant– fitted with Air Interception radar – entered service very late in the war andhad no impact.
[1]Green, William (1968): War Planes of theSecond World War: Fighters Volume 1. p 189.
[2]Galland, Adolf (1954): The First and Last. p 148. Most combat losses of Me-262s occurred when taking off or landing, when they were bounced by Allied fighters.
In spite of the dire situation for Nazi Germany, considerable research on missiles and advanced guns continued. At Oberammergau:
According to one US Intelligence report, modelsand plans for the Me-163C rocket-powered interceptor were found, as well asexperimental installations and mounts for the R4M air-to-air unguided rocket.[1] In addition to the largely-completed P.1101,other discoveries included the installation of the electrically-driven MauserMG 213 30mm revolving cannon on a Me-262A-1a designed to deliver a greaterweight of fire at a greater rate to compensate for the higher aircraftoperating speeds. The end of the warprevented this weapon from being used operationally; however the gun design wasadopted post-war in British and French aircraft gun designs, principally in theADEN cannon.[2]
[1] Rakete– 4 kg – Minen Geschoss (Rocket – 8.8 lb - Thin-walled shell) contained17.6 ounces of Hexogen explosive andhad a considerable blast effect. TheMe-262 could carry 24 (with plans for 48) of these R4M, which were designed tobe launched from wooden rails over 0.03 s, and spreading to cover the area of a4-engined bomber at 600 yards/m.
[2]Green, William & Punnett, Ian(1970): Warplanes of the Third Reich,p 628.
However, let's not get too excited about the Me-262. Apart from a few models built in Czechoslovakia after the war, the design did not progress. And let's not get into the 'what if' scenario. After my notes, there is a rather good quote taken from a USAF research paper (subsequently recycled in several other publications):
Irrespectiveof the output of these facilities, the Luftwaffenow lacked experienced pilots to lead the fighter squadrons[1]and coupled with the chronic shortage of fuel – amongst other things,drastically reducing the training time for new pilots and requiring aircraft tobe towed out to the runways by horses to reduce fuel consumption – theseadditional aircraft would have been unlikely to change the outcome of the war,given that the Allies had begun to introduce more reliable jet fighters, suchas the Gloster Meteor and theLockheed P-80 Shooting Star, intoservice.[2]‘The romance of the Me-262 is enhanced by thelong standing myth that but for Hitler’s bumbling incompetence, it would havebeen in service a year earlier that its 1944 operational debut, and that itwould have swept Allied bombers from the sky, possibly changing the course ofthe war, or at least permitting exhausted Germany a negotiated peace. Such speculation is profitless, for theentire force of the Me-262 program was but a dust mote in the furious avalancheof Allied power.’[3]
[1] Williamson Murray (2002) Strategy for Defeat – the Luftwaffe 1933 –1945 Eagle Editions/Quantum, London,p 189. (originally published in 1983 by the Air Power Research Institute,Maxwell Air Force Base).
[2] Only 3 YP-80A got to Europe before the end of the war, and did not seecombat. Boyne,p 139.
[3] Walter J Boyne (1980) Messerschmit Me 262, National Air and Space Museum, WashingtonDC p 5.
If PPruners are interested, I have a paper on the Messerschmitt Research facilities in Oberammergau - plus the history of the present NATO School there. Just PM me.
Edited to add: sorry that some line and paragraph breaks have not cut'n'pasted particularly well.