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- #481
"...The first confirmed Allied air combat with an Me 262 occurred on July 26th, 1944 when Luftwaffe Me 262 test unit Erprobungskommando 262 (EK 262) pilot Lt. Alfred "Bubi" Schreiber targeted a high flying de Havilland Mosquito photo reconnaissance aircraft from RAF No. 544 Squadron over Munich. The RAF pilot Flight Lieutenant A.E. Wall saw a German aircraft approaching and increased his speed to leave the enemy behind (as would normally happen) but was surprised that the German was suddenly alongside him to confirm the aircraft was Allied!"
"Schreiber quickly changed position to attack the Mosquito but the British aircraft could turn more quickly and was able to get out of his line of sight. Schreiber used his speed advantage to get back into position and opened fire but was unsuccessful in doing serious damage. This continued back and forth four more times before Schreiber attempted an attack from beneath the Mosquito. Wall evaded again and dived at full speed into clouds below, escaping the attack and getting safely back to Italy. This encounter signalled that high flying Allied reconnaissance missions were no longer invulnerable!"
See: The Survivors: Messerschmitt Me 262 – Germany's Jet Fighter
The Mosquito was known for its speed, not maneuverability. The Meteor was never tested against a Mosquito in terms of maneuverability, but was against the far more agile Hawker Tempest, and was judged to have beaten it in virtually all respects but roll rate.
Checking the Me 262 vs the He 162, again a similar story:
"...The aircraft itself was very effective as a fighter interceptor, equalling the Me-262. In some ways it was superior: "The BMW engine proved to be far less sensitive to throttle movements than those of the Me 262, though still prone to flameouts. This allowed the He 162 to be flown up to the limits of the pilot's confidence in the aircraft, unlike the Me 262 whose engines restricted much in the way of maneuvers." It was very fast and well armed. However, it had a problem of having a very short flight time of 30 minutes, and many operational losses were due to running out of fuel..."
From He 162 Spatz Miroslav Bilous, Miroslav Bouli
Even though Eric Brown criticised the Me 262 JUMO engines, he skipped over it in about one line, referring to the "adrenaline" effect of trying to deal with the highly sensitive engine throttle control:
"Flying in a captured Me-262 he had nothing but praise for the advanced jet except for one thing, the unreliability of the engines."
Royal Navy's Most Decorated Pilot Reveals The Me-262's Fatal Flaw
See post 704 for comments by a Luftwaffe pilot re this problem.
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