Title: Hitler's Jet Fighter: Meet the Deadly Me-262 (It Changeed Everything) | The National Interest
Headings: Hitler's Jet Fighter: Meet the Deadly Me-262 (It Changeed Everything)
Hitler's Jet Fighter: Meet the Deadly Me-262 (It Changeed Everything)
“It was Like Being a God”
First Flight of the Jet Fighter
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Content: The Me-262’s starter engine relied on an electric start, with a pull-cord starter with a handle serving as backup. One can only image the frustration of a Luftwaffle mechanic needing, on occasion, to tug on a lawnmower-type pull cord to get the state-of-the-art jet engine fired up. The jet came with armored front glass and an armored seat back but lacked an ejection seat. The pilot was to pop the canopy, gently roll the plane over, and slide out or remain horizontal and let the plane’s speed suck him out as Wegmann elected to do late in the war. First Flight of the Jet Fighter
The Me-262 first took flight on March 25, 1942, when test pilot Fritz Wendel achieved a test flight speed of 541 miles per hour, almost 100 miles per hour above the speed of the Mosquito or anything the Americans could field. The smooth, shark-shaped plane was surrounded by controversy almost from the start, with Hitler insisting that it be used as a fast bomber. Designer Willi Messerschmitt, Galland, and others gave some lip service to Hitler’s request, largely moving forward with their initial plans for a fighter while planning to have the Arado 232 fill the role of a future jet bomber. Hitler’s constant meddling, though, pulled precious time and resources from fighter development to produce a modified Me-262 bomber. Some 232s were also developed as reconnaissance planes and others as night fighters. Galland remained critical of using the 262 as a bomber, a role it was not designed to play.