Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe

[juanjose15]

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe.
Me 262.
El Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe ('golondrina' en alemán) fue el primer avión de combate a reacción del mundo en estado operacional. Fue creado en Alemania durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial y entró en servicio con la Luftwaffe en 1944 como avión polivalente, caza/bombardero/reconocimiento/interceptor.
Al Me 262 se le atribuyen un total de 509 derribos Aliados,[] (aunque a veces se afirma que fueron más) con unas pérdidas de en torno a 100 aparatos Me 262. Es considerado el diseño aeronáutico alemán más avanzado que haya sido usado, y según algunos historiadores Aliados fue un avión que podía haber recuperado la supremacía aérea para la Luftwaffe, sin embargo el impacto que tuvo en el curso de la guerra fue insignificante debido a su tardía introducción y al reducido número de ellos que entró en servicio. El Me 262 ha influido en el diseño de muchos aviones de la posguerra como el North American F-86 Sabre y el Boeing B-47.
Algunas de las principales variantes del Me 262 fueron el avión de ataque Me 262A-2a Sturmvogel ('petrel' en alemán), y el avión de caza nocturno Me 262B-1a/U1.


Me262 at the ILA2006 in Berlin (original sound)
Me-262 Training Film (1944).
Saludos.

 

[juanjose15]

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe
The V3 third prototype airframe, with the code PC+UC, became a true "jet" when it flew on 18 July 1942 in Leipheim near Günzburg, Germany, piloted by Fritz Wendel.[17] This was almost nine months ahead of the British Gloster Meteor's first flight on 5 March 1943. The conventional gear, forcing a tail-down attitude on the ground, of the Me 262 V3 caused its jet exhaust to deflect off the runway, with the wing's turbulence negating the effects of the elevators in the tail-down attitude, and the first attempt was cut short. On the second attempt, Wendel solved the problem by tapping the aircraft's brakes at takeoff speed, lifting the horizontal tail above and out of the wing's turbulence.
Me-262A-1a/U4 "Pulkzerstörer"

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LifnRbkFg-k
Several two-seat trainer variants of the Me 262, the Me 262 B-1a, had been adapted as night fighters, complete with on-board FuG 218 Neptun radar and Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antenna, as the B-1a/U1 version. Serving with 10 Staffel, Nachtjagdgeschwader 11, near Berlin, these few aircraft (alongside several single-seat examples) accounted for most of the 13 Mosquitoes lost over Berlin in the first three months of 1945. However, actual intercepts were generally or entirely made using Wilde Sau methods, rather than AI radar-controlled interception. As the two-seat trainer was largely unavailable, many pilots had to make their first flight in a jet in a single-seater without an instructor.

Despite its deficiencies, the Me 262 clearly signaled the beginning of the end of piston-engined aircraft as effective fighting machines. Once airborne, it could accelerate to speeds well over 800 km/h (500 mph), over 150 km/h (90 mph) faster than any Allied fighter operational in the European Theater of Operations

The Me 262's top ace[Notes 2] was probably Hauptmann Franz Schall with 17 kills which included six four-engine bombers and 10 P-51 Mustang fighters, although night fighter ace Oberleutnant Kurt Welter claimed 25 Mosquitos and two four-engine bombers shot down by night and two further Mosquitos by day flying the Me 262. Most of Welter's claimed night kills were achieved in standard radar-less aircraft, even though Welter had tested a prototype Me 262 fitted with FuG 218 Neptun radar. Another candidate for top ace on the aircraft was Oberstleutnant Heinrich Bär, who claimed 16 enemy aircraft while flying the Me 262.
Salud.

 

[juanjose15]

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcaN3aW9Nl0
Although it is often stated the Me 262 is a "swept wing" design, the production Me 262 had a leading edge sweep of only 18.5°. This was done after the initial design of the aircraft, when the engines proved to be heavier than originally expected, primarily to position the center of lift properly relative to the centre of mass, not for the aerodynamic benefit of increasing the critical Mach number of the wing, where the sweep was too slight to achieve any significant advantage. On 1 March 1940, instead of moving the wing forward on its mount, the outer wing was repositioned slightly aft. The trailing edge of the mid-section of the wing remained unswept. Based on data from the AVA Göttingen and windtunnel results, the middle section's leading edge was later swept to the same angle as the outer panels

The first test flights began on 18 April 1941, with the Me 262 V1 example, bearing its Stammkennzeichen radio code letters of PC+UA, but since its intended BMW 003turbojets were not ready for fitting, a conventional Junkers Jumo 210 engine was mounted in the V1 prototype's nose, driving a propeller, to test the Me 262 V1 airframe. When the BMW 003 engines were finally installed, the Jumo was retained for safety, which proved wise as both 003s failed during the first flight and the pilot had to land using the nose mounted engine alone

Saludos.

 

[bobbysocks]

nice post juan. the 262 is oneof my favorites. a 50mm version...yeah that would have done some damage.

 

[mikewint]

once again one of those things i "read somewhere" the two prototypes of the 50mm bomber killer were abandoned because the muzzle flash of the cannon blinded the pilot which would be especially bad at night. similar to what happened to intruder pilots in vietnam when they fired their missles

 

[tomo pauk]

Why would you want to chase enemy planes at night in a day fighter?

 

[A4K]

Great thread on a great aircraft mate!

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Why would you want to chase enemy planes at night in a day fighter?

It was done on several occasions...

"The FW-190 was also pressed into service as a night fighter against RAF bombers, using "Wilde Sau (Wild Boar)" tactics championed by Major Hajo Hermann. Although the FW-190s used in Wilde Sau sorties had few or no optimizations for night fighting, the glare of fires below and searchlights highlighted the attackers, allowing the fighters operating above the bomber stream to see target aircraft beneath them. After the British started dropping "window" (chaff) to jam German radars in July 1943, Wild Sau suddenly acquired a new importance and priority. Wilde Sau was effective but troublesome, since getting back to base and landing in the dark, particularly in poor weather, was difficult and dangerous. By early 1944, the Luftwaffe had been able to compensate for an extent to Allied radar countermeasures, and the Wilde Sau squadrons were generally returned to day combat."

The Focke-Wulf FW-190

 

[mikewint]

the me-262 was used as a "night fighter" with one version fitted with the "stag horn" (if i remember correctly) antenna required by the german radar. there is a great website: stormbirds.com which has great wallpaper of the me-262 shooting down a mosquito at night.
when you're desperate you do whatever with whatever

 

[tomo pauk]

Fair points

 

[juanjose15]

Messerschmitt Me P.1099B Project of March 22, 1944


This Messerschmitt design was an advanced development of the basic Me 262 airframe and was proposed in January 1944. The P.1099B utilized the wings and tail of the Me 262A-2a, but had an entirely new and enlarged fuselage and undercarriage. Two Jumo 004C jet engines were to be fitted and a crew of two or three sat in the redesigned cockpit. The basic armament for this variant was two FPL 151 20mm cannon (remotely controlled), two MK 103 30mm cannon and two FHL 151 20mm cannon barbettes. A large variety of more detailed proposals for the Me P.1099 were issued on March 22, 1944, including various armaments (see table below) and for remotely controlled defensive armament for the P.1099B. A night fighter development was also proposed, armed with an additional two MK 108 30mm cannon in an upward firing (Schrage Musik) configuration.
Me P.1099B: Schwer bewaffneter Zerstörer.

Span: 12.58 m (41' 3.7") Length: 12 m (39' 4.8") Max. Speed: 825 km/h (512 mph)
Two-seat heavy fighter/destroyer.
Fighter I:

A Heavy fighter: four MK 103 30mm cannon,
two FPL 151 20mm cannon.

B Destroyer: two MK 103 30mm cannon,
One MK 214 50mm cannon, One FPL 151 20mm cannon.
Fighter II:

A Night fighter: four MK 108 30mm cannon.
two upward-firing MK 108 30mm cannon.
Saludos.

 

[davebender]

That makes more sense then trying to squeeze the radar and associated equipment into a standard Me-262B trainer.

 

[juanjose15]

That makes more sense then trying to squeeze the radar and associated equipment into a standard Me-262B trainer.

Messerschmitt standard Me 262 B trainer.

Several two-seat trainer variants of the Me 262, the Me 262 B-1a, had been adapted as night fighters, complete with on-board FuG 218 Neptun radar and Hirschgeweih ("stag's antlers") antenna, as the B-1a/U1 version. Serving with 10 Staffel, Nachtjagdgeschwader 11, near Berlin, these few aircraft (alongside several single-seat examples) accounted for most of the 13 Mosquitoes lost over Berlin in the first three months of 1945. However, actual intercepts were generally or entirely made using Wilde Sau methods, rather than AI radar-controlled interception. As the two-seat trainer was largely unavailable, many pilots had to make their first flight in a jet in a single-seater without an instructor.

Saludos.
Düsenjägers - Jet Aces of The Luftwaffe