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Re: Me 262 should have been used as a bomber?
Franek,
I completely agree with you, there is absolutely no reson to glorify it. Therefore, I tried to base all my statements on technical source documents. The 13.5km maximum service ceiling with bombs is given in a technical report of the Messerschmitt company. I even said that they had engine problems in summer and fall 1944. The fact that they found a way out of the most severe engine problems is based on the diary of the Technische Luftrüstung as well as Jumo reports and last but not least an US interrogation report. I hope you agree with me that using source documents is not glorifying the technical achievements of that time.
So, again, I couldn’t find any source document that states that it could fly above 13.5km. But they were able to fly at 13.5km with bombs according to Erprobungsbericht No. 50 (why should they lie in this report? There was no need for that). Assuming that it couldn’t fly much higher without bombs and assuming that your information regarding the maxium service ceiling (above 14’000m) is correct for the Sptifire, it has to assumed that the Me 262 could not reach it even if it had a pressurized cabin. But as I said in one of my earlier post, you will always find a special purpose aircraft that excels in its role but cannot outperform others in other roles. Just take the Me 163 and the Spitfire XIX as an example and talk about rate of climb. And then again, the Ar 234 could carry out reconnaissance missions as well over Allied territory without being harassed (which was less due to its maximum service ceiling but more due to the high speed at which it carried out these missions). And in the end it made no difference as there were much more serious problems the Luftwaffe was faced with than high flying enemy aircraft: inferior number of aircraft employed, fuel shortage, low quality of pilot training, collapsing logistics, enemy fighter bombers that waited over own airfields, etc. etc. The Me 262 could not win the war, neither did the Spitfire XIX. And as another member stated in this thread, if a technology did win the war, then it was the atomic bomb.
Regarding Soviet fighters. I am no expert of early Soviet jets, but I know that not only the engine but also the wing type and profile was important for the maximum service ceiling. But I really don’t want to start arguing about their performance as I believe that your information is based on true facts.
Regards
Roger Gaemperle
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