Playing Devils Advocate - Why was the M262 so "advanced"?

This discussion reminds me of the v2.

American interrogators would ask the enginners all they knew about rockets.

They would answer ask Robert Goddard...the American who I know was dead by then...who invented liquid fuel rockets.

The V2 was an application of Goddards technology and the Americans could have had rockets but weren't bothered.

Only when the Germans built a big one that they then bothered.

drgondog said:

The 'smart' ammo allegedly now has an effective (accurate) range of 5 miles... AFAIK no A-10 has been shot down in Afghanistan (or Iraq) although two were badly damaged but RTB. I am not completely sure of my facts however.

BTW - the Taliban do have the latest Russian portable surface to air missles.

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From what I hear the A-10 carries buckets of the latest countermeasures on the wing hard points, so even the good Russian MANPADS will have a hard time getting a solid hit.

drgondog said:

So, planned or not, the resulting sweep did delay drag rise, and the overall parasite drag - despite two large engine nacelles - resulted in slightly better drag characteristics than either the Mustang or the P-80.

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I am not sure that this is supportable. Flt test results, shown in Spitfireperformance, of the P-80, with slightly less than 4000 lb thrust, shows a top speed at SL of an average of about 520 mph, with a low of 509mph, with a weak, but acceptable engine, to a high of 533 mph. Me-262, also at slightly less than 4000 lb thrust, shows an average of about 510 mph (Russian test shows 511 mph), with a low of 490 mph (Brit test) to a high of 519 mph (German data). This would indicate that the P-80 probably has a slightly better Cd than the Me-262.

12 R4M Rockets


50mm Cannon




Not only was the 4 30mm Cannons deadly, but so was some of the other weapons installed on the plane. The 24 R4M rockets mounted under the wings was deadly to bomber formations. The 50mm cannon that was tested (but not sure if ever used on a bomber) would have been deadly to any aircraft with one shot. I would have dreaded to see a flight of 50mm cannon armed 262's about to attack my bomber formation.