Need help identifying vane on Me 262
 

Dear All,

After the war, the U.S. Navy test flew Me 262, W.Nr. 501232. Photos taken at the time of the testing and later show a vane about 4-1/2" tall with a small diameter horizontal cylinder atop it located to the right front of the windscreen on the fuselage. While the Navy claimed that they added nothing external to the aircraft for flight testing, I somewhat suspect that the vane and cylinder were indeed added to the aircraft for flight testing. One possibility is that the cylinder is a calibrated venturi used to determine the accuracy of the plane's pitot tube in measuring true air speed.

Is anyone an expert on instrumentation used by the Navy to help me settle this question? I can provide photos. Please respond by PM with your e-mail address. Alternatively, can anyone put me into contact with someone having expertise in this area?

Regards,
Richard

Re: Need help identifying vane on Me 262
 

It is test equipment installed by the Navy. Not able to post pictures right now, but I have several Pax River photos of US Navy aircraft during evaluation with the same venturi attached.