Messerschmitt Me 262, a one-man airplane, powered by two Junkers "Jumo" jet turbines, each having 900 kilograms of thrust, giving it a speed of 870 km/hr (540 m.p.h). Armament consisted of four 30mm cannon with 360 rounds of ammunition.
The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world's first fully operational turbojet fighter and saw service in the later years of World War Two. The Messerschmitt Me 262 had the potential to change the course of the air war in Europe but Hitler ordered that it be used in a capacity that undermined its whole value as a fighter plane.
Inside the cockpit of an Me 262 (public domain)
On April 9, 1945, Luftwaffe pilot, Hans Mutke, was flying at an altitude of 12,000 meters when he received a distress call from a comrade who was being attacked by a British Spitfire. In response, he immediately put his jet fighter into a power dive.
Here is his description of what happened next:
“The airspeed indicator was stuck in the red danger zone, which is over 1100 km/hr (683 m.p.h)
I noticed that rivets began popping out of the tops of the wings.
The airplane began vibrating and shaking wildly, banging my head against the sides of the cockpit.
After diving about three miles I again regained control and was able to return to base.
On the runway the mechanics were very surprised by the appearance of the airplane, which looked as though it had been shaken by the hand of a giant.”Reports prepared by American test pilots in 1946, which have been preserved in military archives in Dayton, Ohio, describe in detail the performance of the German jet fighter and support the claims of the German pilots.
The Me 262 did indeed have the capacity to achieve Mach 1. Additional arguments to confirm this have been submitted by Professor of Aeronautics Karl Doetsch, now ninety years old. In 1944 he was assigned the task of discovering why several Me 262s had mysteriously crashed or disintegrated in the air.
In the course of several experiments Prof. Doetsch soon established that pilots who unknowingly broke the sound barrier were likely to lose control of their aircraft and crash.
The Speed of Sound
After more than half a century it is difficult to confirm or deny the claims of the German pilots, especially since the speed of sound varies with altitude, air pressure and temperature.
At sea level, Mach 1 corresponds to a speed of 1,193 km/hr (741 m.p.h), but this decreases with increasing altitude. At 12,000 meters it is 1,063 km/hr. Therefore it is difficult to determine whether an airplane has exceeded the speed of sound without bulky measuring devices.
As far as official historians are concerned, Charles Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier on board a Bell X-1 in 1947. Yeager’s record will probably stand for a long time to come, because it was scientifically measured, documented. and authenticated.
Hans Mutke’s record, on the other hand, was made in the heat of combat. He has nothing to support it except terrifying memories of losing control of his airplane. An air speed of 1,100 km/hr at an altitude of 8,000 meters surpasses the speed of sound. If Mutke began his power dive at an altitude of 12,000 meters and leveled off at 8,750 meters, his Messerschmidt met these conditions. An airspeed of 1.100 km/hr at an altitude of 8,000 meters clearly surpasses the speed of sound.
Messerschmitt Me 262 on display at RAF Cosford
(Attribution: Paul Maritz)
(Attribution: Paul Maritz)
It's time to give National Socialism the credit it deserves.
It was German scientists and engineers who made the pioneering breakthroughs in modern air and space travel. It was German public health officials who recognised the link between smoking and cancer.
It was National Socialist leaders who introduced measures to protect the environment. Goering legislated to forbid the vivisection and butchering of live animals and introduced humane hunting practices.
Reference: The Revisionist, Vol 1, Number 1, February 2003.
