Messerschmitt Me 262A 

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Messerschmitt Me 262A

DDIJ00007

China

Luftwaffe JG 7 Nowotny, "Green 4", Theodor Weissenberger, Parchim, Germany, March 1945 The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German for Swallow) was the world's first operational turbojet fighter aircraft. It was produced in World War II and saw action starting in 1944 as a multi-role fighter/bomber/reconnaissance/interceptor warplane for the Luftwaffe. German pilots nicknamed it the Sturmvogel (Stormbird), while the Allies called it the Turbo. The Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war due to its late introduction, with 509 claimed Allied kills (although higher claims are sometimes made) against the loss of more than 100 Me 262s. Designed to meet Adolph Hitler's vision of a high-speed, light-payload ground attack bomber, the Me 262 was first flown on April 18, 1941. As the world's first operational jet aircraft, development of the 262 was dominated by confusion, with Hitler envisioning a bomber and designers envisioning a jet fighter. Capable of outpacing the P-51 Mustang by 120 miles per hour, the 262 was clearly the best fighter plane to serve in WWII but was too late to help the Luftwaffe. Its specialized maintenance requirements and fuel shortages, coupled with aggressive Allied ground attacks prevented it from having any serious impact on the outcome of the war.