The Me 262 Schwalbe was a revolutionary German jet fighter developed during WWII. However, its development was plagued with technical problems and setbacks. Learn more about the troubled history of the Me 262 Schwalbe on PlaneHistoria.

The Me 262 is one of the great “What Ifs” of World War Two. What if Germany had been able to introduce larger numbers of this jet fighter, earlier in the war?

Could this really have changed the outcome of the air war? Was the development of this radical fighter really hampered by the personal intervention of Hitler? Few aircraft have generated more myths and more misunderstandings than the Me 262.

What is certain is that this was the first jet fighter to enter operational service with any nation and that it was remarkably advanced in many respects.

But it was also flawed and hampered by the fact that, by the time that it finally entered service, Nazi Germany was critically short of the resources needed to build these aircraft and the time and facilities needed to train pilots. This is the real story of the Me 262.

Origin

In the period between the wars, the concept of what would become the turbojet engine was well understood and it was generally accepted that such an engine might be capable of developing considerably more thrust than a conventional piston engine driving a propellor.

However, it was also recognised that considerable technical challenges would have to be overcome to make a reliable jet.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that the first attempts were made to turn the jet engine into practical reality. By coincidence, these took place in three countries almost simultaneously and completely independently.

Light Testing The Me 262

The first flight of the Me 262V1 took place in April 1941 and the aircraft achieved a speed of just 260mph. The first BMW 003 engines did not arrive at the Messerschmitt plant until November 1941 and were not ready for the first flight test until March 1942.

During the first flight, the aircraft was able to take off, but both jet engines flamed out and the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing using only the power of the Jumo 201 which was fortunately still fitted in the nose.

It was clear that further development work was needed on the BMW engine, but the new 003A would not be available until October 1943.

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