Colin Heaton - The Me 262 Stormbird

Earlier during the war, when the British were minimally aware of German developments in technology, the future was still uncertain; there was still the serious competition for the jet contracts. Heinkel had also been developing a twin-engine fighter with their jet fighter. This design was designated the Heinkel He 280 V2, and the British were well aware of when the first prototype flew from Rostock on March 30, 1941, with test pilot Fritz Schäfer at the controls. The engine was a six-stage axial-flow BMW P 3302 and was actually Germany’s first jet aircraft—months ahead of the Me 262 in development and years ahead of the Arado Ar 234 bomber.

The report from Fritz Schäfer was promising, despite the engines being underpowered and unreliable, and the final report landed on the desk of Ernst Udet. The Heinkel He 280 proved to be a serious competitor to the Me 262 early on, and the comparisons between the two aircraft are quite revealing. (See Tables 4through 7for a comparison between the He 280, Ar 234, and Me 262 production specifications.)

There were several reasons for the Me 262 being awarded the final production contract, supplanting the He 280 as a fighter design. Perhaps the most prevalent reason was that the airframe design allowed for many different aerodynamically feasible configurations. This ability to adapt the airframe to multiple roles would be both a blessing and a curse. The flexibility of the design intrigued Göring, who wanted aircraft that could perform many roles without having to resort to the expense of new designs. The negative effect of having this multiple role capability would provide Hitler with the opportunity to become just one of many problems that would delay fighter production.

Of all the proposed jet designs, the Me 262 was provided with the greatest array of options. (See Table 8for operational variants.) This was probably due to the great interest and belief in the design, not only as a multi-role aircraft, but also because, despite its revolutionary airframe design, the fuselage was cheaper to produce than any other German aircraft made during the war. The airframe was not a multifaceted riveted cross-section of various components, unlike the Me 109 and Fw 190. In addition, unlike the Ar 234 and He 280, it required less armored glass and the design allowed for the hydraulic, electrical, and fuel lines to be laid out without the circuitous bending and binding to fit into small spaces, thus reducing building time in man-hours as well as using fewer materials.

The first full production model Me 262A-1a flew on June 7, 1944, with the first delivery of the A-0 version previously delivered at Rechlin in May 1944; the first experimental combat unit (EK-262/ Thierfelder ) received theirs on June 30, 1944. The first regular squadron (8/ZG-26) received their jets in September 1944, while Kommando Nowotny also received limited numbers by late August.

The Ar 234 was given great consideration by the RLM, hence it later becoming Hitler’s “Blitz Bomber” to release Me 262s for fighter service. The success of the Ar 234 was due to many factors. In many ways, the Ar 234 was a far more advanced jet aircraft than the Me 262. However, there were also a few drawbacks that allowed the Me 262 to take the premier fighter role.

The Ar 234 had a high landing speed and was the first mass production aircraft to provide a drag chute for deceleration as standard equipment. The rounded nose of the aircraft was covered with Plexiglas, which provided the pilot an excellent view to the front, which was especially valuable to reconnaissance pilots, although the design did not provide a view to the rear, except through a periscope, which was not standard equipment on the prototypes. It was in fact this very Plexiglas nose design that made Kurt Welter decide not to employ the Ar 234 as a night fighter.