Wild Blue Yonder 1: 50 Years of Gs & Jets/Wild Blue Yonder - Episode 1 - 50 Years of Gs and Jets (Digital Ranch) (Spectrum Holobyte)(1-107-40-101)(1994).iso/control/printext.dir/00033_Field_33.txt

Text File | 1994-08-29 | 2KB | 32 lines

Too Little, Too Late


When the Me 262 first flew into combat on July 25, 1944, Hitler
ordered that it be used as a fighter-bomber.  His plan was to
flood these jets over the D-Day invasion beaches of France and
drive the Allies back to England.  Unfortunately for the Germans,
the Me 262 was not operational until long after the Allies were
already well-established on the continent.

The Me 262 was a major improvement over other aircraft of World
War II.  This German jet was 120 mph faster than the P-51, the
previous  "worldbeater," and carried a powerful armament package
of four 30-mm cannons.  Although the Germans did not develop an
effective bombsight, the Me 262 discharged its bombs with a great
deal of success.  Despite this, the Me 262 was not a major factor
in the air war over Europe.  It was built in a production run of
1,433 aircraft, but only about 300 ever entered combat.

The Me 262's lack of success had much to do with Germany's
declining fortunes.  The High Command pinned their hopes on the
jet, but when the Schwalbes finally became available there was
neither time nor airspace to train pilots.  The Germans also did
not refine any tactics for this new aircraft.

The 262 flew differently from other planes:  it had a much wider
turning radius, was hard to slow down and even harder to
accelerate.  It was difficult for even an experienced Me 262
pilot to make a head-on pass at a bomber formation with closing
speeds of nearly 800 mph.  These problems prevented the Me 262
from reaching its potential soon enough to make a difference in
the war.