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The Me 262 was rated for 540 mph. The RAE and US got well-maintained aircraft up to 525 - 529 mph after the war. The minimum acceptance criteria was 515 mph (ref Hans Fey). There was more like a 40 mph margin, at best.
for what its worth, which isnt much, my opinion remains that both these aircraft were pioneers and achieved greatness because of that. But I remain unconvinced that the meteor was superior to the 262. RAAF Meteors had a great deal of trouble dealing with MiG-15s in Korea, which i think conceptually was derived from the 262. It perhaps symbolises what the German design might have been capable of, if it had been allowed to progress beyond surrender
for what its worth, which isnt much, my opinion remains that both these aircraft were pioneers and achieved greatness because of that. But I remain unconvinced that the meteor was superior to the 262. RAAF Meteors had a great deal of trouble dealing with MiG-15s in Korea, which i think conceptually was derived from the 262. It perhaps symbolises what the German design might have been capable of, if it had been allowed to progress beyond surrender
The Meteor was a better multi-role aircraft.
instead of blathering on about all its weaknesses.
Hi magnon
With regard to meteor combats in Korea, No. 77 sqn re-equipped with the type at the end of May 1951. The combats that i know of were as follows. 29 august 1951, eight meteors tangled with just six migs, losing A77-721. There were no losses to the Migs. on 12 December 1951, 12 meteors were bounced by 45 Migs claimimg two migs downed, but losing three meteors in the process. According to Parnell Lynch (Australian Air Force since 1911) , "having been outclassed by the Migs as afighter, the squadron converted to the ground attack role". That hardly supports what you are trying to say that it was comparable to the MiG as a fighter. The history goes on to say "by 27 July 1953, after no 77 sqn had been on active service for 3 years, it had flown 4836 missions (18872 individual sorties) destroying 3700 buildings 1500 vehicles 3 Mig 15s, and three propeller driven aircraft for the loss of forty two pilots, thirty two pilots in the meteor".
this is hardly a ringing endorsement of the meteor as a fighter, and in fact helps to explain why, having just received the meteor into service in 1951, the australian government almost immedialtey thereafter took steps to manufacture the Avon Sabre> it was our lack of success in the designed role of the meteor that led to its relatively early replacement. as for your comment that the 262 was a bomber destroyer, where on earth do you get that from. thats like saying the phantom was primarily a bomber destroyer because it wasnt so good at dogfighting. it was in fact a superior fighter versus fighter aircraft, as its experiences over a 25 year frontline service record attests. the same can be said about the me 262. Just because it might not be so good at a horizontal dogfight, does not mean it did not have a lot of potential as a fighter. ill bet the house that if the WWII jockeys that had to fight this bird were around, they would completely disagree with you. I will bet they would say something like 'the 262 was a helluva fighter', instead of blathering on about all its weaknesses.
im about as pr-allied as they come, but i really dont like allied propaganda anymore than the pro-german stuff