Me-262 wuenderplane or Compromise?

摘要

The Messerschmitt Me 262 has long been caught up in the hype that surrounds many of the advanced German weapons of World War II. There is no question that the airplane startled the bomber crews when it first appeared or that it frustrated Allied fighter pilots who were flying well-developed piston-engine airplanes that were 100-mph slower. However, like many of the weapons under development by the Germans, understanding the niche of the Me 262 is vastly more complicated than popular lore admits. The story that the Me 262 could have made a major differ- ence in the war if not for Hitler's insistence that it be built as a fighter bombcr seems to exist in an uncertain state between myth and fact. Most researchers now agree, however, that the problems with the Jumo 004 engines were the critical path for aircraft development. Although Hitler's insistence on producing the aircraft as a Jabo led to a bureaucratic fiasco, it does not seem to have made much difference in practice. Despite the efforts of Messerschmitt to manufacture over 1,400 airframes within 18 months, less than 200 Me 262s were operational at any one time. The problems lay not with the aircraft, or even with the political decisions concerning its role and manufacture, but was one of priorities. Junkers simply could not produce enough reliable engines to power all the airframes that Messerschmitt was capable of building.