The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe in its fighter role, is a German twin-engine jet fighter that became the world's first operational jet fighter aircraft when it entered Luftwaffe service in 1944, roughly 100 miles per hour faster than the best Allied piston-engine fighters of the day. Development had been underway since the late 1930s, but the program was repeatedly delayed by engine reliability problems and by Adolf Hitler's insistence that the aircraft be adapted as a fast bomber rather than rushed into service purely as an interceptor, a diversion that historians generally agree cost the Luftwaffe critical months. Even once fielded in numbers, chronic fuel shortages, a lack of trained pilots and Allied attacks on its airfields prevented the Me 262 from meaningfully affecting the war's outcome, but its speed, heavy 30mm cannon armament and, in later variants, R4M rocket armament made it a genuine threat to Allied bomber formations wherever it could be brought to bear, and it stands as the direct ancestor of postwar jet fighter design.
Facts
Weapon Class Introduced YearFirst flew with a piston engine 18 April 1941, made its first jet-powered flight 18 July 1942, and became operational with the Luftwaffe in mid-1944; 1944 is written as the operational-entry year. Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Connections
Associated With
World War II, Wars The Messerschmitt Me 262, the first operational jet fighter, entered combat in the closing months of World War II
Operated By
Source MilitaryFactory.com: Messerschmitt Me 262 (Schwalbe / Sturmvogel)
Used In
Source Wikipedia: Messerschmitt Me 262
In the Other Atlases
Manufactured By
Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Messerschmitt Me 262tier 2
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Messerschmitt Me 262
WikipediaOpening definition, first sentence
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe (German for "Swallow") in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel ("Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt.
Opening summary, second paragraph
The aircraft became operational with the Luftwaffe in mid-1944.
service-status
retired = * 1945, Germany 1951, Czechoslovakiap=53
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
Lead and body text
In a head-on attack, the combined closing speed of about 320 m/s (720 mph) was too high for accurate shooting with the relatively slow firing 30mm MK 108 cannon - at about 650 rounds/min this gave around 44 rounds per second from all four guns.
Infobox: name
Me 262 Schwalbe
Used In: World War II, Wikipedia article text
It was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and one of two jet fighter aircraft types to see air-to-air combat in World War II, the other being the Heinkel He 162.
In Group: Fighter and Multirole Aircraft, Lead sentence
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe (German for "Swallow") in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel ("Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt.
View the Source MilitaryFactory.com: Messerschmitt Me 262 (Schwalbe / Sturmvogel)
MilitaryFactory.comOperated By: Wehrmacht, OperatorsQuote, Operated By: Wehrmacht, Operators
[ Czechoslovakia (post war); Nazi Germany ]
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