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Me262

Me-262-Jet-Fighter

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe WWII jet fighter displayed for the first time in the UK

by Till Daisd March 13, 2024

written by Till Daisd

The video shown in this article, which was shot at RAF Fairford at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2023, features the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe jet fighter making its UK debut

The video featured in this post, which was shot at RAF Fairford during the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2023 by Dafydd Phillips, features the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe jet fighter making its UK debut.

Phillips explains;

‘To see the first designed operational jet fighter do a demonstration was going to be the holy grail for the Royal International Air Tattoo. Here we have the Me 262 Project, it’s a reproduction of the original Messerschmitt Me 262 that was designed by the Germans at the beginning of the Second World War.’

The world’s first operational turbojet aircraft was the Me 262 Schwalbe, which was developed from a 1938 design by the Messerschmitt company. When it was first used as a jet on July 18, 1942, it outperformed traditional aircraft in terms of speed. Delays in quantity production were caused by Allied attacks, development issues (especially its temperamental engines), and cautious Luftwaffe leadership.

The first jet aircraft to be deployed in combat was a Me 262, which engaged a British photo-reconnaissance Mosquito above Munich on July 25, 1944. The German jet scored heavily in combat against the formations of Allied bombers. However, hundreds more Me 262s on the ground were destroyed by US Army Air Force bombers. Less than 300 of the more than 1,400 Me 262s built were used in combat. Germany’s surface transportation system was destroyed, hence the majority of Me 262s did not reach operational units. For many of those that did, there was not enough fuel, spare parts, or trained pilots to allow them to fly.

The Me 262 project was established in 1993 in Texas with the goal of creating airworthy replicas of the Me 262, based on a real two-seater Me 262B-1 that was borrowed from the US Navy. Five aircraft were to be built: two Me 262B-1 two-seat examples, one Me 262A-1 single-seat example, and a fifth pair that could be converted from A-1 to B-1 as needed. The strengthened undercarriage and the installation of modern, dependable General Electric CJ610 Turbojet engines—disguised to resemble the original Junkers Jumo 004B engines—distinguished these copies from the original aircraft.

Four of these replicas, according to the Royal International Air Tattoo website, are airworthy, and one of them participated in the flying display at RIAT 2023. This aircraft, registration D-IMTT, is operated by Flugmuseum Messerschmitt and supported by the Airbus Heritage Flight. It has been based in Manching, Germany, since its delivery in 2006. This marked the UK debut of one of these modern Me 262s and the first time a Me 262 has flown in UK skies since the 1940s.

Photo by Dafydd Phillips

March 13, 2024 0 comment

When a Luftwaffe Me 262 flew over Stalag Luft III, the Allied POWs were so startled that they worried Germany may yet win WWII

by Till Daisd June 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The prisoners who operated the gun turrets claimed that they couldn’t spin their turrets quickly enough to take one of those creatures out

The Me 262 Schwalbe, which was created from a 1938 concept by the Messerschmitt company, was the first operational turbojet aircraft. On July 18, 1942, it made its first jet-powered flight and quickly outperformed conventional aircraft.

When a Me 262 attacked a British photo-reconnaissance Mosquito flying above Munich on July 25, 1944, it became the first jet aircraft to be used in combat. The German jet was very effective as a fighter against Allied bomber formations. The astounding speed of the Luftwaffe’s new aircraft shocked the Allies.

‘My father was a bomber pilot in WWII,’ Patrick Crowley, who worked for a NASA subsidiary, says on Quora.

‘He was shot down at the beginning of 1944 and spent most of the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III, located in Sagan, Poland. Yes, that Stalag Luft III where The Great Escape came from. Dad was a scrounger in the camp, like Hendley, the James Garner character.

‘Anyway, there must have been some Luftwaffe airfields not far from the camp because every once in a while the POWs would see German fighter planes overhead, not patrolling but apparently training or testing out new maneuvers or new equipment. It was a variety of aircraft, the usual Bf-109s, Focke Wulfs, and so on.

‘From one of the hidden radios in the camp, they heard about the landings at Normandy, and everybody (at least the prisoners) were cheered up by the news. The war was progressing and their side was winning. If they could just hang on for a while longer they’ll be freed and be able to go home. The German guards didn’t seem to be aware of D-Day though. Probably it wasn’t being reported over Nazi radio.’

Crowley continues;

‘Not long after the news of the Allied beachhead, something new happened. The German guards were chattering excitedly and pointing up into the sky.

‘Then the prisoners heard a screeching noise, very loud, and an aircraft with odd, swept-back wings screamed by overhead.

‘It was faster than any fighter plane they’d ever seen. Faster than the P-51s. Faster than the Mosquitoes.

‘But what was more, it didn’t have any visible method of propulsion. No propellers!

‘The gun turret operators among the prisoners said that there was no way they could rotate their turrets fast enough to shoot one of those things down.

‘The mood in the camp went decidedly downhill – for the prisoners at least. The guards, who were all Luftwaffe themselves, were ecstatic. Finally, here they could see one of the new Wunderwaffen (wonder weapons) that the high command had been promising them.

‘The prisoners saw it as a huge stumbling block that at best would prolong the war and their captivity and at worst might turn the tide once again and they could lose the war.’

Crowley concludes;

‘But, as fate would have it, the Me 262s were too late and too few. There were never enough of them and even though they were too fast to shoot down in the air, they were finicky to maintain and didn’t make that much of a difference.

‘But the aircrew in captivity had seen the beginning of the jet age and my father, for one, never forget the feeling of astonishment and woe to see such a thing in enemy hands.’

Me 262 at USAF Museum

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Revell via 3DJake

June 23, 2023 0 comment

Kikka 1170x612 1

Nakajima Kikka, the Japanese Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe

by Till Daisd February 2, 2023

written by Till Daisd

On August 7, 1945, the Kikka successfully completed its one and only test flight, which lasted just 20 minutes, and took off from Kisarazu Naval Air Base. To help it take off, the aircraft used rocket-assisted takeoff gear

After the Japanese military saw a demonstration of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (“Swallow”) in 1944, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force (IJNAF) asked Nakajima to construct a similar turbojet-powered model to be used as a high-speed attack fighter. The IJNAF required the new machine to be simple to produce and have foldable wings so that aircraft could be hidden from Allied aerial raids in caverns and tunnels, as related by Mark Chambers in his book Wings of the Rising Sun. Kazuo Ohno and Kenichi Matsumura, two prominent Nakajima aircraft designers, accordingly came up with the idea for a fighter that closely resembled a scaled-down Me 262, but had straight wings as opposed to wings with a considerable amount of sweep.

Two 441lb thrust Tsu-11 Campini-type engines were originally intended to power the aircraft, but they were swiftly swapped out for more powerful 750lb thrust Ishikawajima Ne-12s. Since these engines similarly failed to provide enough thrust, Ishikawajima began to construct replicas of the BMW 003 installed to the Me 262 using in-depth pictures that IJNAF engineer Cdr Eichi Iwaya had taken. The axial flow turbojet, known as the Ne-20, had a 1,047lb thrust rating. The fighter, by this time known as Kikka (“Orange Blossom”), had a top speed of 432 mph at a height of 32,800 ft. It was equipped with two 30mm Type 5 cannons and had a 1,102Ib or 1,764lb bomb capacity.

On August 7, 1945, the Kikka successfully completed its one and only test flight, which lasted just 20 minutes, and took off from Kisarazu Naval Air Base. To help it, the aircraft used rocket-assisted takeoff gear. Japan surrendered shortly after, ending the opportunity for further flying tests. At the end of the war, a second prototype was almost finished, and American forces discovered roughly 23 Kikkas being built at Nakajima’s main facility in Koizumi, Gunma Prefecture, and at a location on Kyushu Island.

The Kikka airframes 3, 4, and 5 were sent to America in late 1945, together with a number of Ne-20 engines, where they underwent technical analysis. The second Kikka prototype was also brought to the US and only underwent brief ground testing at “Pax River” in 1946, and it was equipped with two Ne-20 turbojet engines. The Chrysler Company received a second set of Ne-20s in the same year, and by merging components from both turbojets, they were able to put together a single functional powerplant. The official Chrysler Ne-20 Turbojet Report, titled “Japanese NE-20 turbojet engine,” was ran for 11 hours and 46 minutes. The Tokyo National Science Museum now has a display called “Construction and performance.”

Two of the four Kikkas that were shipped to America were demolished, while the other two were kept in long-term storage at NAS Norfolk from the late 1940s. In March 2016, the fuselage and center wing portion of one of the airplanes were placed on static display in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center without its engines. Both aircraft were relocated to “Silver Hill” in September 1960. Another Kikka is still in storage. The National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola and the Tokyo Science Museum both have Ne-20 turbojet engines on exhibit right now.

Wings of the Rising Sun is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

The story of the Nakajima Kikka, the Japanese Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe that never was — Nakajima Kikka in the restoration hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Washington, D.C. on Jul. 15, 2012.

Photo by unknown

February 2, 2023 0 comment

Arado Ar 234 V2 1170x884 1

The observation mission to monitor V2 impacts flown by Luftwaffe Arado Ar 234 reconnaissance aircraft

by Till Daisd January 9, 2023

written by Till Daisd

Even though they weren’t as well-known as the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters, the Ar 234s that made it to Luftwaffe units were outstanding aircraft, especially for reconnaissance

The world’s first operational jet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft were the Arado Ar 234 B Blitz (Lightning). On August 2, 1944, the Ar 234 conducted its first combat mission, a reconnaissance flight over the Allied beachhead in Normandy. The Blitz quickly avoided Allied fighters with piston engines thanks to its top speed of 735 kilometers per hour (459 miles per hour).

Even though they weren’t as well-known as the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters, the Ar 234s that made it to Luftwaffe units were outstanding aircraft, especially for reconnaissance.

It was decided on Christmas Day of 1944, as recounted by Robert Forsyth and Nick Beale in their book Arado Ar 234 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units, that all Ar 234 reconnaissance flights should begin from Rheine for the time being. Once reinforcements had arrived, Kommando Sperling (Detachment Sparrow) should hold a pilot at readiness for V2 spotting over Antwerp “in accordance with oral instructions to detachment pilot Hauptmann Horst

Oberleutnant Werner Muffey and Leutnant Wolfgang Ziese took off in quick succession to cover the combat area, Nijmegen, and Tilburg on the 25th, which for once had clear skies. Meanwhile, Oberleutnant Erich Sommer was driving to the photographic division of Lw.Kdo. West (Luftwaffenkommando West – Air Command West).

Muffey completed a duty given to him a week prior on the 26th by taking photos of the English coast from Southwold to Dover, followed by Boulogne, Calais, Dunkirk, Ostend, Zeebrugge, the Scheldt, and Antwerp. Later, he remembered such a flight; ‘Crossing the coastline near Lowestoft at around 10,000 m and in a clear blue sky, trailing long white condensed streams for everyone to see. I can’t remember just how many airfields we counted on the film I had brought back, full of Fortresses and Liberators, but that had been the order – to start early enough [so as] to still have them on the film before they had left their base, heading for Germany.’

On the morning of the 25th, Ziese was also up and flying an observation mission to monitor V2 impacts on Antwerp in Ar 234B2 WkNr 140153 T9+HH. Since October, V2 aircraft had been continuously attacking Antwerp, the main supply port for the Allies; the assault would persist until March 28, 1945.

At an altitude of between 7000 and 9000 meters, he was flying over the city when three rockets were reported: the first at 1307 hours, 7.5 km south-southwest of the city center, west of the Willebroek road; the second four minutes later, in the angle of “the Turnhout-Meuse canal,” probably the intersection of the Kempisch and Albert Canals; and the third rocket at 1314 hours, at Rijkevorsel, 30 km east. Photographs were taken of the impact points and of the Scheldt as far as Vlissingen, as well as of Antwerp itself, Breda, Tilburg, ’s‑Hertogenbosch, and Nijmegen.

The specially commissioned cover artwork by Mark Postlethwaite included in this post shows Ziese’s Ar 234 flying over the Belgian port city immediately after the second impact on the Turnhout-Maas canal with smoke billowing into the sky.

Arado Ar 234 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

January 9, 2023 0 comment

Mutke Me 262 1170x585 1

Hans-Guido Mutke, a Me 262 pilot who may have achieved supersonic flight before Chuck Yeager

by Till Daisd November 29, 2022

written by Till Daisd

“The airspeed indicator was stuck in the red danger zone, which is over 1100kph. I noticed that rivets began popping out of the tops of the wings. The aircraft began vibrating and shaking wildly, banging my head against the sides of the cockpit,” Hans-Guido Mutke, Me 262 pilot.

There are a dozen more pilots who flew the Me 262 in the final days of the war who history has all but forgotten for every well-known one. Fahnrich Hans-Guido Mutke appeared to have every chance of becoming just such an unknown and uncelebrated pilot.

He was called up to serve in the war effort despite being a medical student. He was born on March 25, 1921, in Neisse, Germany. He joined Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 in 1942 after completing his pilot training, flying Messerschmitt Bf 110s and Dornier 217s against British bombers.

His experience with twin-engine aircraft made him the perfect candidate, so in March 1945, he was transferred to 10./EJG 2 (Erganzungsjagdgeschwader 2, or “Operational Fighter Training Group 2”) in Lechfeld for retraining on the Me 262.

According to Dan Sharp’s story in Spitfires Over Berlin, Mutke was instructed to conduct a training trip at a high altitude on April 9. As a result, he climbed to a height of a little over 36,000 feet, which is nearly as high as the Me 262’s ceiling of 37,565 feet. He was at this near-maximum altitude when he overheard a flight controller warning that a P-51 Mustang was about to intercept one of his fellow trainees and decided to fly down to help.

With both engines running at full power, he drove his Me 262 “White 9” over into a steep 40–50° left bank and started to descend. In just a few seconds, the plane started to tremble violently.

Mutke himself recalled: “The airspeed indicator was stuck in the red danger zone, which is over 1100kph. I noticed that rivets began popping out of the tops of the wings. The aircraft began vibrating and shaking wildly, banging my head against the sides of the cockpit.

“I moved the stick wildly around the cockpit. For a brief moment, the aircraft responded to controls again, then went back out of control. The aircraft still did not respond to pressure on the stick so I changed the incidence of the tailplane.

“The speed dropped to 500kph, the aircraft stopped shaking and I regained control. After diving about three miles I was able to return to base. On the runway, the mechanics were very surprised by the appearance of the aircraft, which looks as though it had been shaken by the hand of a giant.”

The story of Hans-Guido Mutke, the Me 262 pilot who might have gone supersonic two years earlier than Chuck Yeager — Hans-Guido Mutke

In another interview, Mutke stated: “What happened had never happened to another pilot as I entered a very dangerous realm without knowing it. I had no idea what was happening. I thought there was something wrong with the aircraft.”

The condition of Mutke’s jet fighter may have confused the mechanics, but his bosses were unimpressed.

He said: “When I landed, the commander was furious and demanded to know if I had gone above the red fork mark of 950km.

“I said, ‘Of course not. You know, this might be a Monday production’. That means it was made the day after the workers had been drinking.”

Mutke soon learned that the colleague he had been trying to save had been shot down despite his efforts to save him, but had been able to parachute to safety. And the story may have come to an end there.

In 1989, at a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of jet-powered light, Mutke spoke with some of the experts in attendance about his experiences on April 9, 1945, and they speculated with him about the possibility that he may have actually broken the sound barrier two years earlier than Chuck Yeager, who achieved supersonic flight on October 14, 1947.

Since then, Me 262 enthusiasts and critics of the aircraft have debated the specifics of Mutke’s flight, the Me 262’s suitability or lack thereof for breaking the sound barrier, the accuracy of its in-flight instruments, and the technical challenges of conclusively proving or disproving the pilot’s account.

His supporters mention a handbook on Me 262 published by the USAAF in January 1946 based on tests of captured aircraft. He died on April 8, 2004, and donated his body to anatomist Gunther von Hagens.

This states: “At speeds of 950 to 1000kph the airflow around the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, and it is reported that the control surfaces no longer affect the direction of flight. It is also reported that once the speed of sound is exceeded, this condition disappears and normal control is restored.”

The story of Hans-Guido Mutke, the Me 262 pilot who might have gone supersonic two years earlier than Chuck Yeager

The Me 262 may have had the ability to reach supersonic speeds, according to computer simulations conducted in 1999 at Munich Technical University.

Professor Otto Wagner told Reuters, which was reporting on Mutke’s claims in 2001: “I don’t want to exclude the possibility but I can imagine he may also have been just below the speed of sound and felt the buffeting, but did not go above Mach 1.”

Additionally, engineers at the time in the US who were building a replica Me 262 with contemporary engines said they thought Mutke might have been right.

Jim Byron of the Me 262 Project said: “We met with Herr Mutke and having listened to his story, we believe he could have accomplished this in the severe dive and engine flameout.”

The Me 262 would become unmanageable after Mach 0.86, according to flight tests conducted during the war by Messerschmitt engineers, resulting in an ever-steepening dive that the pilot would be unable to prevent. Then, as a result of high G loads, speeds would increase until the airframe broke apart.

Some people think Mutke was able to resist the steepening dive and level out to momentarily regain control at just before supersonic speed because he changed the tailplane incidence.

The German measuring equipment’ later-war unreliability and the compressibility of pitot tubes, which led to incorrect readings close to the speed of sound, have been cited as reasons for skepticism.

The Me 262’s fuselage’s area rule design, which would have produced extremely high drag at transonic speeds, also worked against it. However, it is acknowledged that the Me 262 would have been able to break past the sound barrier and enter supersonic flight if the force of gravity and engine thrust combined during a steep descent.

While the air traveling over Mutke’s aircraft may have exceeded Mach 1, it is highly unlikely that his jet did. However, the exact speed at which he traveled will never be known.

Spitfires Over Berlin

Spitfires Over Berlin is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

The story of Hans-Guido Mutke, the Me 262 pilot who might have gone supersonic two years earlier than Chuck Yeager

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Noop1958 via Wikipedia

November 29, 2022 0 comment

Me 262 Vs P 51 1170x585 1

The first fight of a P-51 with a Me 262, which resulted in the death of Luftwaffe Ace Walter Nowotny

by Till Daisd September 5, 2022

written by Till Daisd

Even though his last statements were muddled, Nowotny’s aircraft was struck and on fire when he plunged to his death

For their respective air forces, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang were the cutting edges in terms of design, performance, and combat capabilities.

The Me 262, which made its operational debut in the summer of 1944 and was powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, was faster and more powerful than anything the Allies possessed. However, the availability of both machines and trained pilots was becoming an insurmountable problem for the Luftwaffe.

The USAAF, meanwhile, finally had a fighter with the “legs” to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace, and back, for well over 1,000 miles in the P-51, fitted with the Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engine and drop tanks. Furthermore, while having a different powerplant and top speed from the feared Me 262, the P-51 was more than capable of competing against it on an equal footing if flown to its strengths. In actuality, the Mustang would emerge as the enemy of the Luftwaffe fighter arm.

Since August 1944, the USAAF had been aware of the Luftwaffe’s beginning to use the Me 262 in small numbers over the Western Front in both the fighter and bomber roles, according to Robert Forsyth’s account in his book Me 262 Vs P-51 Mustang. Meetings between Allied fighters and “jet jobs” gradually increased as the summer gave way to fall, but there was something of a cat-and-mouse nature about them.

One of the earliest known engagements between a P-51 and a Me 262 took place on Aug. 20 when a Mustang pilot reported spotting “a ship similar to an A-20.” The pilot went on to describe how the jet “turned into the sun from ‘six o’clock’. We turned into this attack, but due to the tremendous speed of the enemy aircraft, I was unable to get my guns on him. We easily out-maneuvered him, and when he dived past us, I realized the enemy aircraft was jet-propelled.” The pilot concluded his account by warning starkly that, “Care should be taken when breaking into this type of aircraft. The break should start much sooner than is necessary when fighting Me 109s or Fw 190s. This is due to the tremendous speed of the enemy aircraft.”

A Mustang “jockey” wouldn’t claim the first Me 262 “scalps” until October 7. Despite having started operational flying four days earlier, Kommando Nowotny’s first mission of any significance wasn’t carried out until the 7th, when a formation of Me 262s piloted by the legendary Hauptmann Georg-Peter Eder prepared to take off from Achmer to intercept enemy bombers attacking oil targets. Eder had to abort when one of his Jumo engines flamed out as the jets started to move across the concrete taxiways.

The P-51D of 361st FG pilot 1Lt Urban L. Drew swooped down while the three other Me 262s, flown by Oberleutnant Paul Bley, Leutnant Gerhard Robert, and Oberfahnrich Heinz Russell, proceeded to taxi out for takeoff.

When a “box” of B-17 bombers came back from attacking one of the refineries, Drew, who was in charge of the 375th FS, noticed a dogfight below the bombers and left his section to descend with his own flight to investigate. He duly joined up with some other Flying Fortresses that were in need of suitable escort after discovering that the aircraft had dispersed when he arrived on the scene. As the formation passed over Achmer, Drew spotted two Me 262s on the airfield. For a few moments he monitored their progress:

The First Engagement Between a P-51 and an Me 262 and the Death of Luftwaffe Ace Walter Nowotny

‘The lead ship was in take-off position on the east-west runway and the taxiing ship got into position for a formation take-off. I waited until they were both airborne and then rolled over from 15,000 ft and headed for the attack, with my flight behind me. I caught up with the second Me 262 when he was about 1,000ft off the ground. I was indicating 450 mph and the jet aircraft could not have been going over 200mph. I started firing from about 400 yards, with 30 degrees deflection. As I closed on him, I observed hits all over the wings and fuselage.’

This aircraft, which blew up soon as it was taking off, was possibly Leutnant Kobert’s. Drew’s P-51 flew directly through the victim’s burning remains and dispersed the debris.

‘Just as I passed him I saw a sheet of flame come out near the right wing root. As I glanced back I saw a gigantic explosion, and a sheet of red-orange flame shot out over an area of about 1,000ft. The other jet aircraft was about 500 yards ahead of me and had started a fast climbing turn to the left. I was still indicating about 400mph and I had to haul back on the stick to stay with him.’

Oberfahnrich Russel might have been piloting the Me 262, which collapsed under machine gun fire from the P-51. Drew explained:

The First Engagement Between a P-51 and an Me 262 and the Death of Luftwaffe Ace Walter Nowotny — Walter Nowotny

‘I had started shooting from about 60ndegrees deflection at 300 yards and my bullets were just hitting the tail section of the enemy aircraft. I kept horsing back on the stick and my bullets crept up the fuselage to the cockpit. Just then I saw the canopy go flying off in two sections and the plane rolled over and went into a flat spin. He hit the ground on his back at about a 60-degree angle. I did not see the pilot bailout. The enemy aircraft exploded violently, and as I looked back at the two wrecks there were two mounting columns of black smoke.’

Oberleutnant Bley’s plane crashed on the runway amid the commotion, but he managed to flee. Despite the fact that his gun camera was unable to capture the action on video, 1Lt Drew claimed responsibility for the downing of two Me 262s.

As the Luftwaffe increased the rate of Me 262 sorties in November, the battle against the jets became more intense. On the first day of the month, Oberfahnrich Willi Banahaff of 3./ Kommando Nowotny was forced to leave following a run-in with P-51s over Holland. However, 24 hours later, there was a relief when Feldwebel Erich Buttner shot down a P-51 and a P-47. The loss of three more jets to Mustangs on November 4 dampened this event, though.

Worse was to come when Major Walter Nowotny, the famed commander of the Kommando and one of the most distinguished pilots in the Luftwaffe, finally took off to combat the enemy in a Me 262 on the afternoon of November 8. For his 257th and 258th victories, the ace downed a P-51 and a four-engine bomber, but on his way home, he was apparently intercepted by Mustangs thought to have been flown by ace Capt Ernest C. “Feeb” Fiebelkorn of the 20th FG and 1 Lt Edward “Buddy” Haydon of the 357th FG, who each has been given credit for a shared kill. Whatever the reason, Nowotny’s cracking voice could be heard on the radio a short while afterward.

Adolf Galland witnessed events from the ground. ‘A Me 262 appeared out of the cloud and dived vertically into the ground. There was black smoke and an explosion.’ Even though his last words were muddled, Nowotny’s aircraft was struck and on fire when he plunged to his death.

Me 262 Vs P-51 Mustang is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

September 5, 2022 0 comment