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Agree - my point here was the early jet aircraft were unrelaible and sometime dangerous. Becuase of the wartime urgency the Me 262 utilized material and contruction techniques that were somewhat crude.
The problem was not the airframe, the airframe was strong and well built (Unless sabotaged), the engines however were too ahead of their time, the heat levels reached were simply to much for the materials available at the time.
Sometimes ya gotta love Winkpedia..
"The 13 service test YP-59As had a more powerful engine than its predecessor, but the improvement in performance was negligible with only a five mph increase in top speed. One of these aircraft, third YP-59A (S/n: 42-22611) was supplied to the RAF in exchange for a Gloster Meteor. British pilots found that the aircraft compared very unfavourably with the locally-produced jets that they were already flying. (They also compared unfavorably to P-51 Mustangs.) Two YP-59A Airacomets (42-108778 and 42-100779) were also delivered to the USN where they were evaluated as the YF2L-1 but quickly found completely unsuitable for carrier operations.
Faced with their own ongoing difficulties, eventually, Bell completed 50 production Airacomets-20 P-59As and 30 P-59Bs. Each was armed with one 37-mm M-4 cannon and 44 rounds of ammunition and three .50 cal. machine guns and 200 rounds per gun. The P-59Bs were assigned to the 412th Fighter Group to familiarize AAF pilots with the handling and performance characteristics of jet aircraft. While the P-59 was not a great success, the type did give the USAAF experience with the operation of jet aircraft in preparation for the more advanced types that would shortly become available."
The airframe was built well - it was the components that went into it that made the aircraft a "rust bucket." In the Walter J. Boyne's book "Arrow to the Future" he has a chapter where the restoration of the Me 262 that is now in the Smithsonian Institute is described. There were many areas of the aircraft were steel and aluminum (among other materials) were used togther in main structural components with little or no protection - in that situation corrosion would set in almost immediately. It is understandable why this was done during but at the same time I think some of these "rushed processes" would of shown their head had the aircraft seen another 6 months more of service.The problem was not the airframe, the airframe was strong and well built (Unless sabotaged), the engines however were too ahead of their time, the heat levels reached were simply to much for the materials available at the time.
How many a/c actually are around after 6 months of service?
I guess it depends what side you're on.Even though many of the aircraft used in WW2 were never thought to have a life expectancy of more than a few hundred hours, there is no reason to build them that way unless you're pretty desperate. The point here is as effective an innovative the Me 262 was, its faults lied in it's construction and engines - but that aside, when everything was working, she was unstoppable.
I guess it depends what side you're on.Even though many of the aircraft used in WW2 were never thought to have a life expectancy of more than a few hundred hours, there is no reason to build them that way unless you're pretty desperate. The point here is as effective an innovative the Me 262 was, its faults lied in it's construction and engines - but that aside, when everything was working, she was unstoppable.
YES,YES,YES
"when everything was working, she was unstoppable "
Thank you I needed that
Wespe
You replace the Me-262 with the P-51D or P-38 and you have syscom. You replace the Me-262 with the Lancaster and you have Lanc.
The world according to Wespe:
Q: What is the best fighter of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the best bomber of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the best Seaplane of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
(Wespe is drooling by now....)
Q: What is the best Submarine of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: Who was the best leader of WW2?
Wespe: OOOHHH OOHHH That is easy! Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the only plain that had no faults at all?
Wespe: Besides every aircraft the Luftwaffe had, Certainly the Me-262!!!!
(Wespe has nearly wet himself now....)
Q: What was the best sex of your life?
Wespe: Me-262!!!! Damn was she hot!!!!
The world according to Wespe:
Q: What is the best fighter of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the best bomber of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the best Seaplane of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
(Wespe is drooling by now....)
Q: What is the best Submarine of WW2?
Wespe: Me-262!!!!
Q: Who was the best leader of WW2?
Wespe: OOOHHH OOHHH That is easy! Me-262!!!!
Q: What is the only plain that had no faults at all?
Wespe: Besides every aircraft the Luftwaffe had, Certainly the Me-262!!!!
(Wespe has nearly wet himself now....)
Q: What was the best sex of your life?
Wespe: Me-262!!!! Damn was she hot!!!!
What's Syscom3's fetish then???It is true my friend. Congratulations in just 80 posts you have reached the status of Lanc and Syscom3.