Messerscmitt ME262 Sturmvogel

Five of the fifteen pre-production aircraft were allocated versuchs numbers to replace prototypes that had been lost or damaged and to expand the test program. The first of these 130001 V1+AA flew on the 17th October 1943 powered by Jumo 004B-0 engines. These weighed 220lbs less than the 004A while still delivering 1,980 lbs thrust. The aircraft also included fully retractable tricycle undercarriage. The aircraft completed a total of 28 flights until it crashed on the 9th March 1944 in a fatal accident.


An early production ME262 allocated to a service trials unit (262 EKDO Erprobungskommandos)

The most significant impact on the development of the ME262 was the inability of Junkers (and BMW before them) to produce state of the art engines without the proper materials. This is demonstrated when considering the combustion chambers of the Jumo 004 which were made of ordinary steel sprayed with aluminium for heat resistance which led to frequent engine failures. The compression flow was also unstable at moderate speeds in addition to issues with fuel flow regulation which limited the effectiveness of the aircraft and resulted in an average engine life of around 20 hours, far less than the simpler and more reliable Meteor powerplant.

Messerscmitt ME262 A-1A
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12.48 m
10.60 m)
Junkers Jumo 004-B
900 Kg
870 km/h)
3,800 Kg (Empty)
4 x 30mm cannon

Modelling the ME262

The ME262 has produced in a variety of scales by a number of different manufacturers. Reviews of these kits will be added as time permits. In the larger scales the Tamiya ME262 A-1A and A-2A in 1:48th are magnificent kits although they are expensive. For a cheap 1:72nd scale kit I would reccommend the Revell kit which is readily available as at the time of writing.

The ME262 suffered to a far higher degree from mechanical problems than the Meteor with many fatal crashes, in fact all the prototypes were lost including pre-production examples that were pressed into service due to the early losses. The production of aircraft for luftwaffe squadrons was also significantly impacted by allied attacks on engine and airframe production. ures such as cockpit pressurisation, afterburning aerodynamic layouts. While neither impacted the result of the war the lessons learnt in their development had a huge impact on aircraft and engine design in later years.


An early production ME262 allocated to a service trials unit (262 EKDO Erprobungskommandos)

By the end of 1941 the Jumo 004a had completed 10 hours of ground testing at 1,453 lbs thrust. The engine however was using optimum materials and in the summer of 1941 RLM instructed Junkers to redesign the engine to minimize the use of Nickel & Chromium, which were rationed materials. The result was the 004b; this had the same overall dimensions as the 004a but was the construction techniques were radically altered. The Jumo 004B was only produced in small numbers during June 1944 but despite issues the design was frozen with production moved underground as a result of increasing allied bombing attacks on production facilities. The last aircraft to be produced at Augsberg-Haunstette was ME262V10 (130005) V1+AE. This did not fly until 15th April 1944 because no engines were available for the aircraft when originally completed. Sixteen pre-production ME262A-0’s were delivered in April 1944 and seven further aircraft in May. A number of these were allocated to the fighter test detachment at Rechlin-Larz and the 262 service trials unit as a prelude to entering operational service. Ten prototypes and 112 production aircraft had been built up to the 10th August 1944. Six prototypes and 21 production aircraft had been lost or destroyed by allied bombing. Eleven others lost in accidents. Fourteen aircraft were allocated to the Rechlin test center and fifteen others to 262 EKDO (Erprobungs Kommandos). 51 aircraft were allocated to 1K6 of these 33 were fighter-bombers. The first production variant was the ME262A-1A fighter, this entered service with 262 EKDO in July 1944, By the 10th January 1944 although 600 ME262’s had been built only 61 were listed as being in service with operational squadrons including K651 (1 Gruppe & II Gruppe) and 2 other groups, one of which operated 4 ME262 nightfighters and another with a reconnaissance variant. Most units were operational by the end of February 1945 although the first determined attack with the new jets was not made until 3rd March 1945 when 29 aircraft were deployed against a USAF raid on Magdeburg. The biggest limiting factor in ME262 production was lack of engines. Less than 30 ME262’s had been delivered by D-Day although many more airframes were complete.

ME262 Prototypes

First Flights