Jet fighters of the Third Reich had nothing to do with their descendants. The Me.262 "Schwalbe" was created under the influence of its predecessors and combined the features of the aircraft of the piston era, unacceptable for jet aircraft. First of all, this is noticeable on its wing with a thick profile and low sweep.
After the war, no one used the technical solutions incorporated in the design of the Me.262. None of the post-war fighters had wings with such a profile or located under the planes of the engine nacelles (outside the main landing gear struts).
With the jet era "Schwalbe" was related only to the principle of operation of the turbojet engine. Everything else turned out to be a lie.
An experimental model, which in the confusion was given the go-ahead for launch into the series.
The haste cost the Luftwaffe dearly. And the "Schwalbe" itself turned out to be a dead-end branch of aviation development.
Jet Me.262 and piston "Thunderbolt" P-47D had a normal takeoff weight of about 6.5 tons
The wing area of the Thunderbolt was 28 square meters. meters. Schwalbe has 22 square meters. m.
The record weight of the Thunderbolt by the standards of single-engine piston fighters was compensated by the size of its wing, an area of 1.6 times larger than that of the La-5.
The Tander designers had no illusions. They had to create a fighter to counter the same piston aircraft. Despite the huge mass, the "fat man" retained the proportions and relationship of characteristics characteristic of its rivals. Among the advantages - a proportional increase in the "payload", which meant powerful weapons and equipment, expensive and rich in comparison with lighter vehicles.
With specific indicators of 220-230 kg / m2 "Thunderbolt" could be considered a successful fighter, while it was the only type of combat vehicle capable of effectively escorting bombers and fighting at altitudes over 8 km. At the very least, the P-47 could "lift" a significant amount of weapons, fuel, avionics and various systems for long-range flight and make any kind of energetic maneuvers at high altitudes.
With the advent of other fighters equipped with "high-altitude" turbocharged engines, the Thunder quickly gave up the initiative to the more balanced Mustangs. Which, along with "Lavochkin", "Messerschmitt" and "Spitfire" preferred to engage in battle at values of specific load 200 kg or less per square meter. wing meter.
The specific wing loading of the Me.262 jet was approaching 300 kg / m2
The Germans slashed his wings without looking. The wing loading of the Me.262 exceeded the specific indicators of all jet aircraft - ten years ahead! All MiG-15 and Sabers, which were created for air combat, and not for direct flights.
Value 300 kg / m2 corresponded to the first generation of supersonic fighters (MiG-19, second half of the 1950s).
But the engines of supersonic aircraft had afterburners and developed crazy thrust. And where did the Luftwafle's optimism begin?
Howls, whistles, but does not pull
Junkers Jumo-004 is the world's first serial turbojet engine with a thrust of 880 kgf.
Launching a large series of turbojet engines with such characteristics in the most neutral epithets can be characterized by a gamble.
Two "whistles" under the wing provided Schwalbe with a total of less than 1.8 tons of thrust. This is very bad. Comparison with the fighters of the post-war period is out of the question. "Schwalbe" was inferior in thrust-weight ratio to piston peers!
On paper, the Me.262 overtook piston fighters by 150 km / h. But any maneuver is always associated with a loss of speed. And again the Swallow did not have time to pick up speed.
Desperately jerking the fuel knob was fraught with danger. The sudden movement caused the flame to burst and the Jumo-004 stopped. For Schwalbe, this meant an engine fire and another disaster for non-combat reasons.
The seconds dragged on painfully. All the pilot could do was wait and wait while the low-power engines accelerate his plane. But will the enemy's fighters wait?
Unlike turbojet engines, the thrust of piston aircraft was created by a propeller-driven group
Even without analyzing the geometry and efficiency of the propellers and the mass of the air they throw out, it is known that for flight under normal conditions, thrust of at least a quarter of the take-off mass is required. The thrust-to-weight ratio of WWII fighters could reach 0.5.
The larger the fighter, the more powerful the engine. The heaviest ("Corsair", "Thunderbolt"), whose take-off weight was close to that of the "Schwalbe", used units with appropriate dimensions and performance.
Against 2x880 kilograms of force developed by the Jumo-004 thrust. The difference is one and a half times, fatal in real conditions.
Due to the insufficient thrust of the Schwalbe engines, a runway with a length of at least 1,500 meters was required. They quickly abandoned the idea of gunpowder boosters - they got such jokes from everyone. The impossibility of basing the Me.262 on conventional field airfields put the Reich Air Force, which was already breathing on its own, in a completely desperate situation.
The Ubermensch built the "fighter of the future" without the necessary experience and technology. The result is a replica of a heavy piston fighter with clipped wings and an exceptionally frail engine.
But how it whistled, how it whistled!
Whistled and shook
In theory, the advantage of jet thrust is the achievement of transonic and supersonic speeds. But this had nothing to do with the German handicraft. According to available data, the speed limit of 869 km / h (less than 0.8M) was designated for "Schwalbe". When it was exceeded, “strange” effects began, such as deafening blows, loss of control and being pulled into an uncontrolled dive.
German uberengineers clipped the wings, forgetting to change their profile.
In the jet aircraft era, significantly sharper airfoils and laminar flow wings are used. To increase directional stability and prevent the spread of disturbances in the air flow over the wing, various tricks are used in the form of forks and aerodynamic ridges.
To find out these moments and features of flight at transonic speeds, it was necessary to carry out more aerodynamic tests, and not to rush to launch the Messerschmitt-262 into the series.
It is curious that during the war years, only one North American managed to design and launch a series of a fighter with a laminar wing. The plane was called the Mustang. Although the P-51 did not fly at speeds at which there was a strong need for such a wing, laminar flow helped to reduce drag in flight and lower fuel consumption. What mattered in long-distance raids while escorting bombers.
On enemies from the belly tra-ta-ta
The only tactic for using such controversial fighters was a high-speed attack on the "boxes" of strategic bombers. But here the history of "Schwalbe" took on a dramatic turn.
Creating the Luftwaflu, the Germans made a mistake in everything, even in the choice of weapons.
Sounds powerful at first glance: four automatic cannons of 30 mm caliber.
650 rounds per minute, 4 barrels = 13 kg of hot lead per second!
The MK-108 aircraft cannon turned out to be extremely light, only 63 kg. The German system weighed less than the Allied air cannons at significantly lower calibers. The VYa-23, created by the Soviet barbarians, barely fit into 66 kg, another famous 20 mm Hispano cannon had a mass with a magazine under 70 kg!
Lightness, compactness, fire!
The secret to the MK 108's lightness was that it lacked … a barrel.
A 540 mm trim was found to be sufficient for a 30 mm air cannon, which, by its purpose, required flat firing. The length of the so-called "Trunk" was only 18 calibers. For comparison: "Hispano-Suiza" had a barrel length of 80 calibers!
The muzzle velocity of the projectile (540 m / s) was in sharp contrast to the performance of other cannons that gained recognition during the war. The Soviet ShVAK - 800 m / s. At "Hispano-Suiza" - 880 m / s. The domestic large-caliber N-37 - up to 900 m / s!
Let me explain, here the conversation is not about the calibers and power of ammunition. Taking into account the conditions of air combat and the lack of time for aiming, the projectiles of the air cannons must fly along a strictly predictable trajectory. Aircraft cannons must have excellent ballistics.
Compactness, manufacturability, abundance of simple stamped parts, high rate of fire - all did not matter. The uberpushka MK 108 could not be the main thing for which any firearm is created. Launch projectiles at the required speed so that they reach the enemy.
Experiments have shown that the deflection of the MK 108 projectile at a distance of 1000 meters was more than 40 meters!
The aiming range of the gun (150-200 meters) was several times less than the aiming range of defensive machine guns of bombers.
Another problem with the MK 108 was the frequent failure. Because of the cold at high altitudes, one of the four guns fired. Although who cared … The gun had more serious problems.
Battering ram - the weapon of heroes
Shooting from the MK 108 at a calculated distance required experience and ice exposure. Taking into account the tactics of the Me.262, attacking at maximum speed, they had to aim and shoot at the last second before colliding with the target.
In practice, after the first shot, the Me.262 pilots preferred to turn to the side. The next moment they were worried about another problem - no matter how they were finished off by the "Mustangs" of the escort.
Instead of the formidable 4x30mm armament, each Me.262 carried four useless crackers. In the best traditions of German engineering, turned into 300 kg of dead ballast.
Mk 108 - in fact, the best thing that was created by the gloomy German gunsmiths. There were no other cannons of a similar caliber suitable for installation on a fighter plane. The only possible competitor, obsolete by that time MK 103, did not fit due to the prohibitive weight (141 kg) and insufficient rate of fire. There was a possibility of returning to smaller calibers, very successful MK.151 / 20, but here the Nazis, as they say, suffered …
The complete ineffectiveness of cannon armament gave rise to experiments with unguided aircraft missiles. The missiles were at least launched from a distance of 600 … 1000 m from the formation of the "Fortresses", when there was still enough time to aim, without risking ramming the target and without being exposed to machine-gun fire. The exact figures on the combat use of the R4M system have not been preserved, however, given the post-war interest of the air forces of many countries in equipping fighter-interceptors with NAR units, the missiles could be the only Me.262 weapon of any kind.
A technique created by geniuses
"Whistle", inferior in thrust-weight ratio, acceleration and maneuverability to piston fighters. Armed with cannons without a barrel. Requiring the presence of two types of fuel, high-quality specialists for maintenance and high-quality airfields (which looked especially funny at the end of the war). And also - compulsory fighter cover with "conventional" Me-109, tk. the jet after takeoff was completely helpless in the air. All the time until its speed exceeded the speed of piston fighters.
In order not to die in the first seconds after takeoff, an experienced ace, who had completed a retraining course and was familiar with all the features of the Schwalbe, had to be in the Me.262 cockpit. Amazing takeoff manipulation. Strong avoidance of horizontal maneuvers and any maneuvers that result in a loss of speed. One wrong move of the RUD is death. Landing with one engine running is death.
Pilot ace. Sniper pilot. There were fewer and fewer of them every day.
The lower edge of the nacelles hung half a meter above the ground: instead of an airplane, the Germans got a vacuum cleaner. Long, clean concrete runways were required to operate the Schwalbe. The requirement, it should be noted, is very impudent for the aviation of the Second World War.
The creators of the "Luftwafle" beat out recognition and funding for themselves, demonstrating to the management their own "robot Fedor" - a project that only outwardly resembled the technology of the future. Having neither the necessary materials, nor technologies, nor even a concept of the principles of operation of such equipment.
In an effort to impress the bosses and "push" the plane at any cost, the creators of the Me.262 made gross miscalculations even in such matters as the composition of the armament. Where, it would seem, only proven and well-known solutions were used.
This is not about "childhood illnesses". All of the above are incorrigible design flaws of the Me.262 associated with the inability to build a combat-ready jet aircraft in 1944.
The Germans' interest in jet engines was due to the deplorable state of their aircraft and engine industries. In which it was easier to launch such crafts than to create your own analogue of "Griffin" or "Double Wasp".
The same age as "Schwalbe" - fighter "Gloucester Meteor"
All of the above fully applies to the British project "Gloucester Meteor". Which made the first sorties simultaneously with the German, in July 1944.
The Meteor F.1 was distinguished by a more successful design, primarily due to the Welland engines, which had 1.5 times better specific indicators. Rolls-Royce "Welland" developed a thrust of 720 kgf at dry weight 385 kg … Against 880 kgf with dry weight 719 kg from the German Jumo-004.
To the credit of the RAF, they were aware of the experimental nature of the machine and did not draw far-reaching conclusions. Nobody tried to build "Meteora" in thousands of pieces. Jet machines did not take part in the battles against piston fighters: the combat missions of the Meteors were quickly reduced to the pursuit of Fau missiles flying strictly in a straight line.
Thanks to the continuous evolution and replacement of Wellands with turbojet engines of a new generation, Meteora remained in service until the mid-50s. Of course, the later modification of the F.8 had little in common with the 1944 model Meteor.
The Meteors, like the Schwalbe, have sunk into oblivion. And no one else built such freaks.
A bright future for jet aviation
It was impossible to build a full-fledged jet fighter in 1944.
But it already became possible in 1947.
The first domestic serial turbojet engine VK-1 (RD-45) exhaled 2.6 tons of flame and fire with a dry weight of 872 kg. It differed from German crafts four times more resource, at the same time did not require complex tricks with the use of two types of fuel (takeoff on gasoline, the main flight on kerosene / diesel fuel for Jumo-004).
Everything that happened before was just experimentation, a technical search. During WWII, each of the great powers conducted research in the field of jet aircraft. And only the Germans decided to launch the models into mass production and send them into battle against the most advanced aircraft of the piston era.
Qualitative growth was required: 2, 5 times better specific indicators at 3 times higher absolute value of thrust! These were the initial conditions for the creation of the Jet Fighter.
Only such indicators opened up prospects for the creation of legends like the MiG-15. Which, along with the Sabers, forever crossed out the era of piston aviation, so great was their gap from their predecessors. And then … And then - only higher, aviation went to the stars.
