Messerschmitt Me 262 (Germany)
| Length | 1,060cm / 417in |
| Wingspan | 1,251cm / 492.5in |
| Crew | 1 |
| Armament | Four 30mm cannons in nose, additional air-to-air rockets. |
| Ceiling | 11,450m / 37,565ft |
| Range | 1,050km / 652m |
| Top speed | 870km/h / 541mph at 30,000ft |
The initial designs for a jet fighter were started as early as 1939, but delays in building a suitable power plant and wrangling over the proposed role of the aircraft between a fighter and a bomber kept any prototype from the skies. It wasn’t until the end of 1943 that the first armed production Me 262 hit the air with an unprecedented noise. At nearly 200mph faster than a Spitfire or P51 Mustang, the fighter was unmatched.
Special units of the best fighter aces were drawn up for the new wonder weapon, and in the closing stages of the war Allied air commands were certainly worried, but there were never enough Me 262s to stem the Allies’ air superiority. A preview of air power to come, this early jet also suffered because of its new technology. Units often went out of action due to accidents and mechanical failure.
