Oberstleutnant Heinrich Bär shot down 223 aircraft with 16 confirmed in the Me 262. He flew with JG-51, JG-77, JG-1, JG-7, and JG-3 before joining JV-44. He assumed command after Galland was shot down and wounded on April 26, 1945, receiving the Knight’s Cross, Oak Leaves and Swords. Ray Toliver
Major Heinrich Ehrler scored 208 victories, 8 in the Me 262, and received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves. He flew with JG-5 and JG-7, flying jets following the Tirpitz disaster and resulting in a court-martial. Ray Toliver
Major Theo Weissenberger scored 208 victories flying with JG-5 and later JG-7, with his last 8 kills in the Me 262. He received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and was kommodore of JG-7 following Steinhoff’s departure. Ray Toliver
Oberleutnant Walter Schuck scored 206 victories with JG-5 and later JG-7, with 8 kills in the Me 262. Leading a somewhat charmed life, he survived two bailouts from crippled jets, one being the victim of Joe Peterburs, who became his friend after the war. Ray Toliver
Hauptmann Walter Krupinski received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves for shooting down 197 aircraft. His career saw him fly with JG-52, JG-26, JG-4, JV-44, and JG-11. He scored two kills confirmed in the Me 262, and he retired as a generalleutnant in the West German Air Force as a qualified F-15 pilot. Walter Krupinski
Hauptmann Franz Shall scored 16 kills in the Me 262 for a wartime total of 133. He flew with JG-52, Kommando Nowotny, and JG-7, receiving the Knight’s Cross. He was shot down in the jet twice, once the day that Nowotny was killed over Achmer. Ray Toliver
Oberst Günther Lützow flew in the Spanish Civil War, and by the time of his death had scored 110 victories with JG-3 and JV-44, with 2 kills in the jet (perhaps more), receiving the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He was the leader of the Fighter’s Revolt that almost ended his career and the careers (if not lives) of Galland, Steinhoff, and others. Ray Toliver
Generalleutnant Adolf Galland flew in the Spanish Civil War and commanded JG-26 before becoming General of the Fighters. He scored 104 victories, the last 7 scored in the Me 262. Galland finished the war with the Knight’s Cross, Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, and he has the distinction of being the highest-ranking combat squadron leader in history, as a three-star general by the age of thirty-three. Ray Toliver
Hauptmann (later Major) Georg-Peter Eder (second from left, facing right) and Major Erich Rudorffer (far right) in discussion on Rudorffer’s transfer to the Western Front. After Nowotny’s death, Eder temporarily became kommodore until Johannes Steinhoff took over; Steinhoff was replaced by Weissenberger. Rudorffer would later become kommandeur of I/JG-7 on January 14, 1945. Ray Toliver
Adolf Galland at Lechfeld during the time of his test flight. He was accompanied by all of the engineers, senior military officers, and even Adolf Hitler and Prof. Willi Messerschmitt in July 1943. Ray Toliver
The vaunted Me 262 in full profile as a clean straight fighter version. Ray Toliver.
The Me 262 in the bomb-carrying configuration. Every pilot dreaded the idea of carrying external ordinance, as the increased drag made the jet more vulnerable to air attack. Ray Toliver
Oberleutnant Rudolf Rademacher shot down ninety-seven aircraft with JG-54 and JG-7, with his last sixteen kills in the Me 262. He received the Knight’s Cross and survived the war. Ray Toliver
Major Wolfgang “Bombo” Schenck received the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves as a fighter-bomber and ground attack pilot, the most dangerous duty. He led Kommando Schenck to prove the Me 262 bomber concept and even admitted that the Arado Ar 234 was a better aircraft for bombing. Wolfgang Schenck
Heinz Bär (left of center, seated) apparently dressing down Eduard Schallmoser for ramming another enemy and losing the fighter. This may have been the day after he returned following his landing in his mother’s garden. The pilot standing to the far left is more than likely Johannes Steinhoff. Ray Toliver
Steinhoff’s Me 262. The heat was so intense it melted the fuselage, and due to explosions of the fuel, rockets, and 30mm ammunition, parts of the jet were found a half mile away. Ray Toliver
This second photo of the Steinhoff crash shows one of the Jumo 004 engines, dismounted due to the explosion that ripped the wing off. Ray Toliver
Late February 1945 during the forming stage of JV-44, the first ten pilots have a meal. Steinhoff is fourth from right, wearing a cap. JV-44, like most jet units, was even looser with regard to regulations and military formality. Junior enlisted men and officers ate together, without much distinction. “Saluting even became a rarity,” according to Steinhoff. Ray Toliver
Major Wolfgang Späte scored ninety-nine confirmed victories with JG-54, JG-400, JG-7, and JV-44, with five kills in the jet. He was also the founding commander of JG-400 using the Me-163B Komet rocket fighter. He later flew with JG-7 and JV-44 with the Knight Cross and Oak Leaves for distinguished service. Wolfgang Späte
Prof. Ing. Willi Messerschmitt, the genius behind some of history’s finest aircraft. Ray Toliver
Perhaps the greatest test pilot on either side of the war, Fritz Wendel standing next to the Me 262 “tail dragger” that started the entire jet revolution. Jeffrey L. Ethell
The radar-guided two-seater version of the Me 262 operated by NJG-11 and Kommando Welter. Ray Toliver
Oberfeldwebel Hermann Buchner started the war as a fighter and later was a ground attack pilot with JG-2 and SG-2, flying into history scoring fifty-eight kills, of which twelve were scored flying the Me 262. He finished the war wearing the Knight’s Cross. Hermann Buchner
Oberleutnant Kurt Welter, perhaps the highest-scoring jet pilot of the war (and in history), with most of his kills flying single-seat day fighters, including the Me 262. He flew with JG-300, the Wilde Sau, and later formed his unit of night fighters. Welter scored sixty-three kills, with at least twenty in the Me 262 single seater. He was the lowest-ranking officer ever authorized to form and command a fighter unit. Ray Toliver