Me 262 "-S" aircraft at Riem April 1945
 

Good Evening,

I have reason to believe that Me 262 "white 1 + S" and Me 262 "white 8 + S" found at Innsbruck-Reichenau in May 1945 were present at Muenchen-Riem on 26 April 1945. Perhaps they were not included in the inventory of JV 44 Me 262s that day because "-S" aircraft may have been substandard and not suitable for combat. Dan O'Connell infers this in Me 262 Production Log, (2005), p. 87:

"... A white 'S', for Schule (school), was painted under the tail plane, indicating the aircraft should only be used for flight training..."

Is there any documentary evidence forbidding the use of "-S" Me 262s for combat?

best regards,

Jim

Re: Me 262 "-S" aircraft at Riem April 1945
 

See here: http://www.ghostbombers.com/markings/me262-s.html

Re: Me 262 "-S" aircraft at Riem April 1945
 

Hi Nick,

While your link does not work for me, I went to your home site and found the article under "Markings and camouflage". It confirms what I thought.

much appreciated,

Jim

Re: Me 262 "-S" aircraft at Riem April 1945
 

Thank you Nick, this was my understanding as well.

Re: Me 262 "-S" aircraft at Riem April 1945
 

Thanks Nick for the link to your website!
The explaining that S may not necessarily mean Schul(Flugzeug) but could mark aircrafts with defects not to be used for combat seems convincing.