I´d come to this conclusion:
The 190 (Dora for the most part) was necessary as a good standard, was the aircraft people were transitioning to after initial training and made the way for the already planned Ta 152. The FW 190 was able to dogfight present allied fighters and was more or less an allrounder. It´s task was also to protect airfields on which the Me 262 was stationed, especially as the 262´s were attacked while being on or near the ground for the most part. Proceeding without any prop fighter simply wouldn´t have been a good idea, especially concerning the east.
The 262 was the perfect tool to fight bombers at that time, as many stated earlier already. The speed / energy advantage compared to piston fighters was high and armed with 4 x 30mm cannons (and probably R4M rockets) it was more than capable to take out every bomber within a very small amount of time. What held the 262 down, apart from bad engine reliability and necessary improvements to the airframe (Remember the first 262 still had a tailwheel in the beginning and even getting off the ground was dangerous.), was that high command wanted the 262 to be the long anticipated "Blitzbomber"... This was impossible because there was no way to simply install a bomb sight, additionally the aircraft was easily overspeeding in a dive. Using it as an actual bomber required a vast amount of design changes and everybody knew that the 262 was planned as an interceptor from the beginning. Bombing was practiced with the Me 262 and a total failure (as expected from most). Also, 262 production was very limited as the 109 and 190 were favorered.
The third aircraft would´ve been the Arado 234, coming to production a bit later than the 262 but would´ve been the actual "Blitzbomber" the guy in the leader position actually wanted to have. The Ar 234 would´ve been able to bring bombs quickly to the frontline and didn´t have to fear anti-aircraft guns as much due to the shear flying speed. It could´ve been a good ground support aircraft and as the 262 didn´t require high-quality fuels.
The 190 (Dora for the most part) was necessary as a good standard, was the aircraft people were transitioning to after initial training and made the way for the already planned Ta 152. The FW 190 was able to dogfight present allied fighters and was more or less an allrounder. It´s task was also to protect airfields on which the Me 262 was stationed, especially as the 262´s were attacked while being on or near the ground for the most part. Proceeding without any prop fighter simply wouldn´t have been a good idea, especially concerning the east.
The 262 was the perfect tool to fight bombers at that time, as many stated earlier already. The speed / energy advantage compared to piston fighters was high and armed with 4 x 30mm cannons (and probably R4M rockets) it was more than capable to take out every bomber within a very small amount of time. What held the 262 down, apart from bad engine reliability and necessary improvements to the airframe (Remember the first 262 still had a tailwheel in the beginning and even getting off the ground was dangerous.), was that high command wanted the 262 to be the long anticipated "Blitzbomber"... This was impossible because there was no way to simply install a bomb sight, additionally the aircraft was easily overspeeding in a dive. Using it as an actual bomber required a vast amount of design changes and everybody knew that the 262 was planned as an interceptor from the beginning. Bombing was practiced with the Me 262 and a total failure (as expected from most). Also, 262 production was very limited as the 109 and 190 were favorered.
The third aircraft would´ve been the Arado 234, coming to production a bit later than the 262 but would´ve been the actual "Blitzbomber" the guy in the leader position actually wanted to have. The Ar 234 would´ve been able to bring bombs quickly to the frontline and didn´t have to fear anti-aircraft guns as much due to the shear flying speed. It could´ve been a good ground support aircraft and as the 262 didn´t require high-quality fuels.
