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| Me 262 Flys Again! |
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This video depicts our efforts to build a
replica jet fighter airplane from WWII.
The Me 262 was a vicious warplane that flew
100 mph faster than any fighter (propeller)
airplanes.
Tags : airplanes aerospace warbirds |
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Affichage : 500034
Durée : 175 s |
| Me 262 Explored |
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A look at the Me 262 jet fighter.
The most advanced fighter of the Second World
War, too few Messerschmitt Me262s were
deployed by the Luftwaffe at too late a stage
to affect the course of the air war over
Europe.
"What an aircraft! It was as though the
Angels were pushing!" (Luftwaffe fighter ace
Generalleutnant Adolf Galland, describing his
first flight in an Me262).
Preliminary design work on what was to become
the Me262 began in 1938. Persistent problems
with the turbojets intended for the aircraft
delayed the project and the first flight by a
Me262 using only jet power did not take place
until July 1942.
In December 1943 Hitler decreed that the
Me262 Schwalbe (Swallow) should only be
manufactured as a fighter bomber. Senior
Luftwaffe officers believed that the Me262
was more valuable as a fighter, and Hitler's
wishes were initially ignored much to his
subsequent fury.
Small numbers of Me262 fighters and fighter
bombers were used operationally by the
Luftwaffe from mid 1944. Allied pilots found
the Me262 a formidable opponent and special
tactics were adopted to meet the new threat.
However, chronic supply shortages meant that
few Me262s saw combat and the true potential
of the Me262 was never realised.
Tags : Jets WW2 Aviation Me262 Messerschmitt Luftwaffe |
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Affichage : 213852
Durée : 596 s |
| Messerschmitt Me-262 |
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The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German:
"Swallow") was the world's first operational
Turbojet fighter aircraft. It was produced in
World War II and saw action starting in 1944
in bomber/reconnaissance and
fighter/interceptor roles. Officially named
Schwalbe because the swallow, when in a dive,
is one of the fastest birds known. German
pilots nicknamed it the "Turbo," while the
Allies called it the "Stormbird." While the
Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course
of the war (approximately 150 Allied aircraft
losses for 100 Me 262 losses), its design was
highly influential on postwar aircraft
development.Although often viewed as a last
ditch super-weapon, the Me 262 was already
being developed as project P.1065 before the
start of World War II. Plans were first drawn
up in April 1939, and the original design was
very similar to the plane that would
eventually enter service. The progression of
the original design into service was delayed
by a lack of funds, as many high-ranking
officials thought that the war could easily
be won with conventional aircraft, and
therefore most of the available government
funds were used for the production of other
aircraft.
The aircraft was originally designed as a
tail-dragger and the first (Me 262 V1)
through fourth (-V4) prototypes flew with
this configuration, but it was discovered on
an early test run that the engines and wings
"blanked" the stabilizers, giving almost no
control on the ground. Changing to a tricycle
landing gear arrangement, initially as a
fixed undercarriage on the fifth prototype
aircraft, then a fully retractable one on the
sixth and succeeding prototypes, immediately
corrected all of these problems.
Although it is often stated that the Me 262
is a "swept wing" design, the production Me
262 had a leading edge sweep of 18.5°
primarily to properly position the center of
lift relative to the center of mass and not
for the aerodynamic benefit of increasing the
critical Mach number of the wing (the sweep
was too slight to achieve any significant
advantage).In April 1944, Erprobungskommando
262 was formed at Lechfeld in Bavaria as a
test unit to introduce the 262 into service
and train a core of pilots to fly it. Major
Walter Nowotny was assigned as Commander in
July 1944, and the unit redesignated Kommando
Nowotny. Kommando Nowotny was essentially a
trials and development unit, but it holds the
distinction of being the world's first jet
fighter squadron. Trials continued slowly
with initial operational missions against the
Allies in August 1944, allegedly downing 19
Allied aircraft for six Me 262s lost,
although these claims have never been
verified by cross-checking with USAAF
records. The RAF Museum holds no intelligence
reports of RAF aircraft engaging in combat
with an Me 262 in August 1944.As the Me 262
was widely-regarded as the Luftwaffe's top
priority, all expendable materials were put
into 262 production. While Germany was bombed
repeatedly, production of the Me 262 was
dispersed into low-profile production
facilities, sometimes little more than
clearings in the forests of Germany and other
occupied nations. Large, heavily protected
underground factories were constructed to
take up production of the Me 262, safe from
bomb attacks, but the war ended before they
could be completed. Per German doctrine at
the time, several components of the Me 262
were built in forced labor camps. In the end,
slightly over 1400 Me 262s of all versions
were produced. Due to fuel shortages, pilot
shortages, and the lack of many airfields
that could support the Me 262 (concrete
runways were recommended as the jet engines
would melt tar runways), as few as 200 Me
262s made it to combat units. * Crew: One
* Length: 10.60 m (34 ft 9 in)
* Wingspan: 12.51 m (41 ft 0 in)
* Height: 3.50 m (11 ft 6 in)
* Wing area: 21.7 m² (234 ft²)
* Empty weight: 3,800 kg (8,400 lb)
* Loaded weight: 7,130 kg (15,720 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 6,400 kg (14,100
lb)
* Powerplant: 2× Junkers Jumo 004B-1
turbojets, 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf) each
* Aspect ratio: 7.23
* Maximum speed: 870 km/h (541 mph)
* Range: 1,050 km (652 mi)
* Service ceiling: 11,450 m (37,565 ft)
* Rate of climb: 1,200 m/min (3,900
ft/min)
* Thrust/weight: 0.28
* 4x 30 mm MK 108 cannons (A-2a: two
cannons)
* 2x 250 kg (550 lb) bombs (A-2a only)
* 24x 55 mm (2.2 in) R4M rockets
Tags : Messerschmitt Me-262 fighter bomber jet aircraft military aviation usa war vietnam airplane boeing F-22 Airbus A-380 sky |
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Affichage : 29524
Durée : 57 s |
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