Imagine that you are a test pilot for the Luftwaffe and they have asked you to fly the Me 262. They have warned that it could be dangerous because of its brand new Jumo 004B-1\2\3 turbojets and its revolutionary design. As you walk out to the airstrip you see this aircraft with its sleek lines and totally different engines. You wonder if this will even fly as you get into the cockpit and get situated. You carefully check your flight options and controls. Finally, you start up the engines and hear how loud they are. The plane starts to pick up speed and it takes off at an incredible climb rate. You rise to a safe altitude and pull up the landing gear checking for any problems with the design or engines. You go through the your maneuvers checking for control problems and speed. As you look down at the speedometer you realize you are flying over five hundred miles per hour. This is at least one hundred miles faster than any aircraft in the war. After landing, you are questioned about the plane’s performance and your response is that it was magnificent. This is only one of the many ways that the Germans explored the new age of aviation, which they initiated, on a grand scale. They first created the jet engine, were the first to use various wing designs, and the guided missile or rockets. All these things revolutionized aviation and the overall style of warfare.

The Germans first jet aircraft that was to become successful was the Messerschmitt Me 262. This plane was designed to be an interceptor. It was powered by two Junkers Jumo 004b-1\2\3 turbojet engine with 1,984 pounds of thrust each. The Me 262 wing span was forty-one feet and a half-inch and a length of thirty-four feet and nine and a half inches. It had a speed of 540 miles per hour and a range of 652 miles. It was armed with four thirty mm forward firing cannon, holding a hundred rounds each.

German air ministry set a requirement for a new plane to have two axial flow turbojet engines. The Germans created an axial flow turbojet engine. It has air drawn through the inlet at the front of the engine and is compressed longitudinally as it moves through axial compressors on its way to the combustion chamber. The German industry accepted the design of the Me262 in 1940, and the airframe was going along fine, but the engines did not produce the correct amount of thrust. Its design and engines had several problems, which took some time to fix. The two engines mounted on the wing caused a problem and they decided to sweep the wings back instead of almost straight out. The Me 262 went through many small changes and delays. When Hitler saw this new plane he thought that it should be a fighter-bomber because an interceptor was a defensive move. This made them make several more changes. During the course of the war Hitler found out that it was being used as an interceptor because of the advancing allies. This enraged Hitler and he ordered them to be fitted for bombing. As an interceptor it proved superior because of the speed and armament. As for using it as a dive-bomber, it was nose heavy and therefore difficult to pull out of a dive. There were several different versions made such as a bomber, interceptor, and reconnaissance.

Another of type of a jet fighter was the He 162 Salamander. The He 162 design and a mock of the plane were created in 69 days according to Aircraft of WWII. This proved that Germany worked well under intense pressure. The Salamander was propelled by one BMW 109-003e-1\2 with 1764 pounds of thrust. It had a wingspan of 23 feet and seven and a half inches and a length of 29 feet and eight and a half inches. Its range was about six hundred miles and a speed of five hundred and sixty two miles per hour. The total armament was two 20mm MG forward firing position.

Its fuselage had a plywood skin and dural frame and the wing was plywood. The tail was made of both wood and steel and it had a clear canopy toward the nose. Germany had planned to make up four thousand planes, but only made about 115. The reason for this was that it was being made in 1944 and Germany surrendered before they could build more. This aircraft was to be the people’s fighter and flew at speeds of five hundred and sixty-two miles per hour.

Another jet aircraft was the Arado Ar 234 Blitz, which was a twin, engine reconnaissance bomber. It had two Junkers Jumo 109-004b-1 Orkan turbo jets with a 1,984 pounds of thrust each. It had a wingspan of 46 feet and a length of 41 feet. With a top speed of 461 mph and a range of 1,013 miles easily reaching allied territory. The German air ministry wanted a fast reconnaissance plane. They made no less then eighteen prototypes and the plane made its first flight in 1943. They had to make several adjustments due to the new design. It needed new landing gear instead of sleds. In 1944, it flew two sorties and easily eluded the allies. A total of 210 aircraft were built. As stated in Wings, "It succeeded on almost all of its missions without any allied interference."

Germany’s final jet fighter was the Me 163 Komet which had a top speed of 593 mph, but could only fly for seven and a half minutes. The wings had a span of thirty feet and a length of 19 feet. It was propelled by one Walter HWK 109-509a-2 liquid propellant rocket, with 3,748 pounds of thrust. Germany went through several different types of designs and tried to determine to make it of wood or metal. It used a combination of Tstoff that is 80%hydrogen peroxide and stabilized by phosphate and Zstoff that is calcium permanganate. These two mixtures made the refueling process grueling and time consuming and very dangerous if done wrong. Cstoff, which is 30% hydrazine hydrate, 50% methyl alcohol, and 13% water later, replaced Tstoff. A total of 90 were built and they scored a total of nine confirmed kills. The Komet had the ability to climb 16,000 feet per minute according to The Rocket Fighter. The Komet was most susceptible to being shot down when gliding back home or on the runway after landing because it had a skid instead of normal landing gear. Some where lost when they landed because a rough landing caused fuel to combust. It had swept wings a special tail and ailerons for pitch and yaw.

These jet engine planes were very revolutionary in design and concept and were later copied by many different countries after studying German aircraft. Jet engines are basis of power and design of modern airplanes. Almost all of these planes flew at least one hundred miles per hour faster than the best allied aircraft at the time. They would have helped win the air back if it were not for lack of supplies and allied force movements.

Another key way that Germany revolutionized aviation design was through the use of different variations of wing design. The first variation is that of a swept back design. Doing this helps improve performance with the jet engines. It would allow for the airflow to be faster. This gave the plane a considerable increase in speed as demonstrated on aircraft’s such as the Me 262 and the Arado Blitz. A swept back wing was also into the idea of a delta wing with out fins. The Komet was the first operational aircraft of its kind. Other aircraft used this design that has proven very effective. These aircraft put together with the new jet engines created a formidable force.

Another way the Germans revolutionized aircraft design was an experimental forward swept wing. They did this on the Ju 287 bomber. The Ju 287 had four turbo jet engines, two on the wings and two placed next to the fuselage. The Ju 287 was put together from parts of several different aircraft. By placing the engines in a correct spot the stress on the wings was greatly reduced. This aircraft proved itself during 17 flights that this design would work and they decided to do more tests with six engines. The aircraft itself could fly at five hundred thirty-seven miles per hour (www.greenspider.com/dan/ww2/ju287htm). This bomber could outrun any allied fighter in the air.

The flying wing design was another revolutionary idea. Several different countries where working on this design, but Germany was the first to succeed in it. The Horten brothers’ aircraft was the most revolutionary aircraft of the time. The flying wing would achieve faster lift and maximized thrust because it had no tail surfaces to create drag. Also this plane would be almost undetectable by radar at the time. Its engines were buried deep inside the aircraft. The flying wing was able to pull seven Gs or seven times the gravity force (www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org). The best modern fighter can only pull nine Gs. Also it could fly at speeds over six hundred miles an hour. If it had made it into combat it would have easily foiled allied forces.

Germans also changed the way war was fought by the creation of guided missiles or rockets. One of the guided missiles is the Fieseler FI-103 (v-1), which is a surface to surface missile. The V-1 has a span of about 17 feet and a length of 25 feet. This vengeance weapon is propelled by one Argus 109-014 pulsejet rated at 661 LB of thrust. The V-1 carries a deadly 1,874-pound warhead of high explosive and is guided by an Askania autopilot, with a range of 130 miles. For stability the V-1 has a tail unit and an elevator. The first launch was on June 12, 1944 and it was aimed at London. The Luftwaffe fired a total of 8,617 and the army fired 11,988 units from land. The Luftwaffe launched 865 from bombers. The V-1 was the first cruise missile used, had its own guidance system and flew over four hundred miles per hour. The V-1 could barely be shot down by allied aircraft and proved to be a vengeance weapon that struck fear into England. For the most part it was not the most accurate of weapons.

The V-2 was another type of surface to surface missile. This was the first type of a ballistic missile that could attack at a range of 200 miles, with a 2,145-pound warhead. A liquid propellant rocket with 69,995 pounds of thrust powered it. A total of 3,165 of these were launched at paces in Europe and in England. The first was fired on September 8, 1944. The V-2 was more expensive then the V-1 and carried a similar size warhead, but it was more mobile and there was no warning that the V-2 was going to hit.

Another type of missile is the surface to air missile. The first one that came closest to seeing operational service was the Hs 117 Schmetterling. It was about 6 feet span and 14 feet in length. It also had a high explosive of 90 pounds and a speed of 472 mph and a range of 32,000 meters. Its structure was based on an airplane-shaped structure with two rockets to propel it. Its guidance of radio command and clear sights to target from a person. Another missile is the Peenemunde Wasserfall, which has a span of 8 feet and a length of 25 feet. It had a incredible speed of 1,709 mph with a 518 pound warhead, guided by radar or optical or radio command. The first launch attempt blew up on pad, but the second was successful and they made about 35 missiles before being evacuated by USSR attack. A couple other types were Rheintochter and Messerschmitt Enzian.

Another type of missiles was air to surface and an example of this was the Hs 294. It had a span of 13 feet and a length of 20 feet. It had a 1,446-LB warhead that was propelled by two liquid propellant rockets. It was guided by autopilot and wire command guidance and was used as an anti-ship missile, but not very effective, due to the fact that when the missile struck water it would stray away from the target. The other missile is the Hs 293, which have a span of 10 feet and a length of 11 feet. It can carry a 650-LB explosive to a speed of 559 mph. It was guided by a gyroscopic autopilot, radio, and even used some TV guidance. Germany took a 551 LB bomb and added a mid set wing, tail unit, and inset ailerons. It used wire guidance and was launched from a bomber. Another air to surface missile was the Fritx X. This bomb was radar guided. Both of these types struck and sunk several ships. Another guided bomb was called the Mistel, which was a Fw-190 fighter carrying a Ju 88 bomber loader with explosives. They would drop the Ju 88 and guide it to the target via radio. The last missile was the X-7 that had infrared homing detection.

Finally there was an air to air missile. The first type was in the shape of a plane with a rocket and was wire guidance. The next, the Kramer X-4 was one of the most successful. The closest thing to an actual modern missile was a R4m that had four control fins and a narrow body.

All these different types of missiles were designed and constructed in Germany. This shows how far ahead they were in the exploration of new ideas. Their missiles were revolutionary in design and guidance. Allied forces after defeating Germany stole some of the same weapons and pushed more research in the areas that weren’t finished. Many of these ideas proved to be revolutionary and key to many weapons today.

The making of the first successful jet engine led the way for better and faster aircraft. It created a need for more exploration in the area of aircraft and missile design and lead to better aircraft, but an uncertainty for forces of the future. The use of jet engines, better wing design and guided weaponry revolutionized aviation warfare. Air warfare would never be the same after World War II. We entered into a war where some countries were flying biplanes and other aircraft that could not even go four hundred miles an hour and when it was over no longer used propellers and were able to attack beyond visual range.
 
 

Discovery Channel: Wings Midway to Hiroshima.

Green, William: Rocket Fighter. New York: Random House Inc. 1971.

Junkers Ju 287: http://www.greenspider.com/dan/ww2/ju287.htm4\15\99.

Mason, Francis K.: German Warplanes of WWII. Italy: Aerospace Publishing. 1983.

Munson, Kenneth: Aircraft of World War II Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company Inc. 1972.
 
 

Home page