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ChezDaJez -> RE: OT: Red Tails (1/9/2012 2:58:09 AM)
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ORIGINAL: Treetop64
quote:
ORIGINAL: mdiehl
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Incidentally, that is how most Me-262s were shot down.
I would like to see a source to support that claim. As far as I have read, no one had made the claim that they were mostly shot down when landing or taking off.
On the whole they were poor aircraft. They had poor acceleration, poor engine reliability, poor maneuvering characteristics, and a very short air time.
That's a bit of an over-generalization based on some negative aspects of the 262. On the whole, they were excellent aircraft, and Germany's only real problem with the Me-262 was that they entered service too late to have any significant effect on the war, and Germany simply could not build enough of them.
From the "Counter Jet Tactics" section of the Me-262 article in Wikipedia:
"Despite its high wing loading and lack of low-speed thrust, pilots soon learned that the Me 262 was quite maneuverable, especially if attention was drawn to its effective maneuvering speeds. The controls were light and effective right up to the maximum permissible speed and perfectly harmonized. The addition of full span leading edge slats, in three unconnected sections on each wing,[44] helped increase the overall lift produced by the wing by as much as 25 to 35% in tight turns or at low speeds, greatly improving the aircraft's turn performance as well as its landing and take off characteristics.[45] (The slats lowered the stalling speed of the aircraft to a respectable 160 to 170 km/h (86 to 92 kn; 99 to 110 mph) depending on load out. They deployed automatically below 300 km/h (160 kn; 190 mph) on takeoff or landing, where the innermost (between fuselage and nacelle) was normally deployed, and at 450 km/h (240 kn; 280 mph) in turn or climb.)[46] And as many pilots soon found out, the Me 262's clean design also meant that it, like all jets, held its speed in tight turns much better than conventional propeller driven fighters, which was a great potential advantage in a dogfight as it meant better energy retention in maneuvers.[47] Luftwaffe test pilot and flight instructor Hans Fey stated, "The 262 will turn much better at high than at slow speeds, and due to its clean design, will keep its speed in tight turns much longer than conventional type aircraft."[48]
Too fast to catch for the escorting Allied fighters, the Me 262s were almost impossible to head off. [Notes 3] As a result, Me 262 pilots were relatively safe from the Allied fighters, as long as they did not allow themselves to get drawn into low-speed turning contests and saved their maneuvering for higher speeds. Combating the Allied fighters could be effectively done the same way as the U.S. fighters fought the more nimble, but slower, Japanese fighters in the Pacific.
Allied pilots soon found the only reliable way of dealing with the jets, as with the even faster Me 163 Komet rocket fighters, was to attack them on the ground and during takeoff or landing. Luftwaffe airfields identified as jet bases were frequently bombed by medium bombers, and Allied fighters patrolled over the fields to attack jets trying to land. The Luftwaffe countered by installing extensive flak alleys of anti-aircraft guns along the approach lines in order to protect the Me 262s from the ground, and providing top cover during the jets' takeoff and landing with the most advanced Luftwaffe single-engined fighters, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190D and (just becoming available in 1945) Focke-Wulf Ta 152H. Nevertheless, in March–April 1945, Allied fighter patrol patterns over Me 262 airfields resulted in numerous losses of jets and serious attrition of the force."
Any reply, mdiehl?... mdiehl? ....mdiehl? ....Beuler? ....Beuler?
Chez
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