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Piston engined fighters time was up when the first British jet with an experimental engine went faster than a Spitfire almost from its first flight. eventually reaching 505 MPH with a different engine. The Gloster Meteor and Me 262 were a contemporaries of the P-51D.Piston engined fighters reached their development peak when they reached @450mph
I merely meant introduction into squadron service. All what you say is true, but any P-51 pilot seeing a Meteor or Me 262 knew the way that things were going.No, they weren't "contemporaries," except on a calendar.
The P-51D was a developed, mature fighter with well-known performance.
The Meteors and Me 262s were basically a collection flying prototypes that would, were it not for the war situation, never have been operational when they first were deployed. The Meteors didn't engage in much combat at all and the Me 262s were never in service in quantities of more than 35 - 50 at any one time, at least according to Adolph Galland, who should know if anybody should have known.
The jets were flying, yes. But they were NEVER anywhere near as mature or decisive as several thousand P-51s were.
Take away the jets and Germany still would have lost the war; take away the P-51s and the outcome is much less certain.
It's kind of like Liberty / Victory ships. They didn't win the war single-handedly, but the war very likely would have been lost without their contribution to it. You can say the same for the Soviet Union. They kept anywhere from 30% to 65%+ of the Luftwaffe occupied after Operation Barbarosa commenced and, had Hitler NOT attacked the Soviet Union, the war in the west might have been won by the Axis side.
Why did the F7F and F8F not have Grumman's STO-Wing? It was used on the F4F, F6F, TBF, TB3F and E-2 Hawkeye, but not on any of the fighters after the F6F.
Instead the A-6, F7F, F8F, F9F, F11F have straight up folds, with the later having just wingtip folds. The S-2 Tracker's fold was a different beast altogether.
Was the system considered too heavy or fragile for fast performance types, or unnecessary as the carriers and lifts became larger?
...and the Me 262s were never in service in quantities of more than 35 - 50 at any one time, at least according to Adolph Galland, who should know if anybody should have known...
The real maximum for Me 262s serving in operational units were about 200 on 9 April 1945, Galland's figure covered only his JV 44, for some reason he liked to forget that there were few other Me 262 fighter units, especially the most important of them all, JG 7. On that day it had about 76 Me 262s. That according to Alfred Price, it is well past midnight here so I didn't bother to check Boehme's JG 7 history.
I merely meant introduction into squadron service. All what you say is true, but any P-51 pilot seeing a Meteor or Me 262 knew the way that things were going.
What I believe is not mentioned is how many of these aircraft were actually airworthy.9 April 45 LW front-line Me 262 units and their strengths according to Alfred Price in World War II Fighting Jets p. 47
JG 7________________________76 fighters
JV 44________________about 50 fighters
I./KG (J) 54_________________37 fighters
10./NJG 11___________about 9 night-fighters
I./KG 51____________________15 fighter-bombers
II./KG 51____________________6 fighter-bombers
NAGr 6 (ex-Kdo Brauegg)__7 recce
One can get more info on the less well known main Me 262 users from
Boehme, Manfred: JG 7: The World's First Jet Fighter Unit 1944/1945 (1992).
Radtke, Siegfried: Kampfgeschwader 54 von der Ju52 zur Me 262, Eine Chronik nach Kriegstagebüchern, Dokumenten und Berichten 1935-1945, (1990).
and on Meteor e.g. Harkins, Hugh: RAF Meteor Fighters in World War II An Operational Log (2013).
Voodoo is closeWas that the magic number where the pixie dust didn't work any more?
No, but in Price's later The Last Year of the Luftwaffe may 1944 to May 1945 the following info can be found. The numbers of serviceable Me 262sWhat I believe is not mentioned is how many of these aircraft were actually airworthy.
Adds up to 109No, but in Price's later The Last Year of the Luftwaffe may 1944 to May 1945 the following info can be found. The numbers of serviceable Me 262s
JG 7_________________ 53
I./KG (J) 54 __________21
JV 44 ____________ca. 15
10./NJG 11 ___________7
I./KG 51______________11
II./KG 51_______________2
Voodoo and Rare Bear set the bar: 531mph and 528mph respectively.Voodoo is close
Yes but the NAGr 6 information didn't catch my eye, maybe it's in the book but I didn't notice it, so maybe about 5 more.Adds up to 109