View Single Post
  #44  
Old 11th November 2007, 00:33
George Hopp's Avatar
George Hopp George Hopp is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ottawa, CA
Posts: 830
George Hopp
Re: Should the Me262 been used exclusively as a jabo ....

Quote:
Eventually, as most know, the 2 Lotfe bomber test vehicles were developed to get around the shortcomings of a simply modified fighter. Tests with these proved quite successful. However, by this time in the war, it was really too late to move forward with their deployment. It should further be noted that these were, short of bombs, unarmed, and thus were purely bombers without fighter capability.
These a/c were to be bombing masters, as with the P-38, for level bombing. This a/c would lead the formation and do the bomb-sighting, while the other a/c bombed on this a/c's command.

As to whether or not the Me 262 should be used exclusively for bombing, this was answered by Karl-Otto Saur at the meeting of the Jaegerstab on 25 June 1944. He "emphasised that the (Me 262) should be used as a bomber; only when the Ar 234 became available in sufficient numbers would the aircraft revert to a fighter." ("Me 262 - Volume one" by J.R. Smith and E.J. Creek, page 191). In fact, production of Me 262 fighters never really stopped, and it couldn't be because it was so vital to anti-bomber operations.
Reply With Quote