Should the Me262 been used exclusively as a jabo ....

[bearoutwest]

Thank you Gary & Leo for confirming a vague memory of what I'd previously read.

As I understand it, the immediate problem was with the small numbers of jet bombers or jabos (if you prefer) involved, was that it allowed the Allies to swamp them with defensive fire and/or interceptors. This forced the jets to keep their speeds up and reduced their bombing effectiveness. I guess a larger number of jets in each attack would have reduced the ability of the defenses to concentrate their fire; but the jets still would have had to slow down to bomb accurately. Then their effectiveness would have been similar to the hordes of Typhoons and Thunderbolts flying into 20/30/37/40mm flak to attack the tank columns - better accuracy of bomb delivery (I am staying away from any heated discussions on rocket effectiveness) but heavier losses.

The extract from Leo's copy of "Warplanes of the Third Reich" (if reasonably accurate) would indicate that the high speed of the jets allowed for relatively safe approach to and egress from the target area, and appears to have helped in keeping away from the defensive fighters.

The lack of hits on the bridge would summize that high-speed/low-level jet raids got them to the target but didn't make them any more effective in hitting the target. If the Ar 234 raids were from medium-altitudes using the auto-pilot/bomb-site, then their bombing accuracy would also seem to be ineffective.

[Leo Etgen]

Hello Geoff

Thank you for your reply. Here are another pair of excerpts from The Warplanes of the Third Reich that deal briefly with the suitability of the Me 262 as a fighter-bomber.

"Although the externally-mounted bombs reduced the speed of the Me 262 A-2a en route to its target to the extent that it could be intercepted by conventional fighters, the high speeds attained by the Sturmvogel during the diving attack itself enabled it to fulfill its mission in complete Allied air superiority. Bombing results were as accurate as those achieved with the Fw 190, but one disadvantage of the Me 262 A-2a was that its high speed rendered identification of very small targets virtually impossible. The usual practice was to approach the target in level flight until it disappeared from sight under the port or starboard turbojet, and then commence the diving attack."

"Some attempt was made to employ the Me 262 for ground strafing missions but the aircraft was poorly suited for this role. The MK 108 cannon had so low a muzzle velocity that the attack had to be made from an altitude of 1,300 ft. or less for accuracy, and the 360 rounds of ammunition carried were inadequate for the amount of target area that could be covered by a fast-moving Me 262A."

I hope that you find this information interesting as well.

Horrido!

Leo

[Franek Grabowski]

Leo
Indeed! A friend recalled that during such attacks altimeter of his Mustang changed into a prop! It is obvious the faster aircraft needs more altitude to start the attack, more altitude to recover from the dive, there is less time to identify target, make aim, deliver bomb or rocket attack, make a strafing attack, etc. That is why air brakes were introduced.

Richard
The question is who, when and where. I did some experiments and achieved results that were just expected. Otherwise, could you make a summary of the report? Conditions, number of approaches, percentage of hits or near misses, etc.

[George Hopp]

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.

[Nick Beale]

If you go into the Remagen operation, you'll find that the weather was so bad much of the time, so that even seeing the target was a serious problem for the Germans who often bombed secondary objectives other than the bridge.

[Kutscha]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

Dear George,
The Me 262 had been rushed into service long before the bugs had been worked out. These, alone, accounted for many of the combat problems. And, it wasn't just the engines, but the airframe, as well. In the fall of 1944 in a complaint by KG-51, they requested 3 spare noses for each aircraft, as the guns or gun barrels would work themselves loose in a mission, requiring replacement of the nose. Parts had to be beefed up because they were inadequate to the rigors of field and combat conditions.

Regards,
Richard

Richard, did any other units have problems with the nose of the Me262?