The Me 262 Stormbird: From the Pilots Who Flew, Fought, and Survived It

“They just flamed out. These engines were very slow, and the takeoff distance was incredible. Later it also was learned that had the piston engine not been in the aircraft, thereby reducing airflow, there might not have been the overheating that cracked the fan blades. The jet needed free flowing air coming through the intake, and this was restricted. Well, we learned something, saved the aircraft. I was just very lucky to have been a part of all of this.”^{2}

The second full test flight version with both Jumo 004 engines in conjunction with the conventional backup engine was Me 262 V2, PC+UB, work number 000002, and it flew on October 2, 1942, at Lechfeld, with the first flight lasting twenty minutes. This aircraft flew forty-eight times until the crash that killed Wilhelm Ostertag on April 18, 1943, while in a high-speed dive. This incident could have been the result of the high-speed loss of the control surfaces, experienced by a few pilots, such as the incident described by Hermann Buchner.

The first jet to fly on jet power alone was Me 262 V3, PC+UC, work number 000003. This aircraft flew from Leipheim, and on July 18, 1942, Wendel took off and flew at a conservative 600 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 2,000 meters. After twelve minutes, he landed and was very enthusiastic about the experience. This was when he reported that the rudder was ineffective for the first 600 meters of takeoff, but after liftoff all was well, even though the ailerons required attention due to high forces until airborne and the jet was trimmed out.

As stated in Morgan, Wendel wrote: “My engines ran like clockwork, it was a pure pleasure to fly this new aircraft. I have rarely been so enthusiastic about a test flight in a new aircraft as I was by the Me 262.”^{3} Wendel flew most of the mission in this version, with Heinrich Beauvais flying this model on August 11, 1942, the second flight of that day after Wendel. Beauvais ground looped the jet by not having enough takeoff speed, causing a long delay between tests while the aircraft was repaired. (See Table 2. As posted in Morgan, the flight record for this Me 262 is incomplete, but interesting nonetheless.)

TABLE 2: