Developed from a 1938 design by Messerschmitt the Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the world's first operational turbojet aircraft. First seeing combat in July 1944, it proved to be particularly effective against the large Allied bomber formations that were operating over Germany late in the war and more than 1,400 were produced, though less than 300 saw combat. This book showcases six different builds of the Me 262 across the scales from 1/72 to 1/32, across a range of skill levels. It also includes a comprehensive list of all the available kits and aftermarket products.
Fighting Hitler's Jets brings together in a single, character-driven narrative two groups of men at war: on one side, American fighter pilots and others who battled the secret “wonder weapons” with which Adolf Hitler hoped to turn the tide; on the other, the German scientists, engineers, and pilots who created and used these machines of war on the cutting edge of technology. Written by Robert F. Dorr, renowned author of Zenith Press titles Hell Hawks!, Mission to Berlin, and Mission to Tokyo, the story begins with a display of high-tech secret weapons arranged for Hitler at a time when Germany still had prospects of winning the war. It concludes with Berlin in rubble and the Allies seeking German technology in order to jumpstart their own jet-powered aviation programs. Along the way, Dorr expertly describes the battles in the sky over the Third Reich that made it possible for the Allies to mount the D-Day invasion and advance toward Berlin. Finally, the book addresses both facts and speculation about German weaponry and leaders, including conspiracy theorists’ view that Hitler escaped in a secret aircraft at the war’s end. Where history and controversy collide with riveting narrative, Fighting Hitler’s Jets furthers a repertoire that comprises some of the United States’ most exceptional military writing.
"It was as if an angel was pushing." So Adolf Galland, absolute icon of the German, described the Messerschmitt 262 "Schwalbe" record holder's first fighter in history with jet engine to enter into operational service. The Messerschmitt Me 262 was a twin-engine multi-role jet fighter wing arrow developed and produced by the German company Messerschmitt AG in the forties. Used by the Luftwaffe during the final stages of World War II, he holds the distinction of being the first fighter in history with jet engine to enter into operational service and the first fighter twin-jet. It is considered the most advanced aircraft used by the Germans, also forerunner of fighter jets made in the Soviet Union after the war. According to some historical allies, with the Me 262 the German aircraft industry created a plane that theoretically could have won the war for air defense and give back to the Luftwaffe supremacy in Germany. Compared with the fighters supplied to the allies at the time, including the Gloster Meteor which would come into service shortly thereafter, the German jet proved faster and more powerfully armed. But many problems of development delayed the entry into service and the technical problems he suffered it made an operating too few examples in order to influence the tide of the air war in Europe. However, unlike the jet planes of the allies, which were used only for operational service and not clash with enemy aircraft, the Me 262 they shot down more than 100 aircraft, including bombers and fighters.
This is the most detailed study ever published on the Me 262: the world's first operational military jet aircraft. The authors have drawn on more than 30 years of detailed and unrivaled research. Each volume includes vintage photos, detailed diagrams, and foldouts of the Me 262, along with full-color illustrations of many of the variants produced by Messerschmitt. Incredible detail.
When the revolutionary twin jet-powered Arado Ar 234 first appeared in the skies over north-west Europe in the summer of 1944, it represented the state-of-the-art in terms of aeronautical and technical development. The Ar 234 was a formidable aircraft – powered by Jumo 004Bs, the same engine used by the Me 262, and with a maximum speed of 735 km/h and range of 1600 km/h, it was very difficult for the Allies to 'catch'. Here was a machine that with its superior speed could operate with impunity as both a bomber and in the reconnaissancerole. As such, the aircraft became the world's first reconnaissance jet, undertaking secret, high-speed, high-altitude observation missions for the German High Command over the Allied beachheads in Normandy and other Allied strongholds. Astonishingly, in September 1944 and as late as 1945, lone Ar 234s conducted reconnaissance flights over British ports and theMediterranean. The aircraft was equally efficient as a jet bomber – although the Ar 234B-2 bomber variant carried no defensive gun armament, it was able to deliver 1000 kg of bombs at high-speed and at either low- or high-level with considerable and devastating accuracy. This highly detailed title from renowned aviation historian Robert Forsyth explores the history of this incredible aircraft, from its development in the early 1940s to its deployment in both reconnaissance and bomber roles throughout the rest of the war. The masterful text is supported by stunning, specially commissioned artwork.
The Me 262 was the first of its kind, the first jet-powered aircraft. Although conceived before the war, with the initial plans being drawn in April 1939, the Stormbird was beset with technological (particularly the revolutionary engines) and political difficulties, resulting in it not entering combat until August 1944, with claims of nineteen downed Allied aircraft. The performance of the Me 262 so far exceeded that of Allied aircraft that on 1 Sepember 1944, USAAF General Carl Spaatz remarked that if greater numbers of German jets appeared, they could inflict losses heavy enough to force cancellation of the Allied daylight bombing offensive. The story of how the Stormbird came to be is fascinating history, and it comes to life in the hands of noted historian Colin Heaton. Told largely in the words of the German aces who flew it, The Me 262 Stormbird provides the complete history of this remarkable airplane from the drawing boards to combat in the skies over the Third Reich. Features two forewords, one by Jorg Czypionka, Me 262 night fighter pilot, and another by historian and author Barrett Tillman.
Continuing in the popular series, EagleFiles, Stormbird Colors is EF#5. The construction, camouflage and markings of the Me 262, the German Luftwaffe's late war jet, is examined with the aid of over 40 WWII period photos, some in color from a period film. Also included are scale drawings, excerpts from an original Me 262 engineering handbook and a full color photos of "Black X”, the last remaining complete Me 262 bomber housed in Australia.
This eagerly awaited companion volume to the enormously popular volume on fighters looks at the might-have-been strategic German bombers. Filled with transatlantic jets and projects that were on the drawing board or in prototype form at the war's end. Full color action illustrations in contemporary markings and performance data tables show vividly what might have been achieved had the war continued beyond 1945.
