Me262 over Korea

[Franek Grabowski]

Hmm, could you explain the British system then, please? I thought that the principles of any budget expenses were the same.

[CJE]

May I add my two cents to the original question?

The Me 262 was already an outdated model when it first became operational. Its design dated back to the late 30s when absolutely nothing was known about high subsonic flights - not to speak about supersonic flights.
Had war kept raging on in 46, it would have been superseded by more modern types embodying the latest state-of-art technology and aerodynamics.
The subsequent development of the 262 would have been a dead-end issue, because its basic design was just not good enough to make it a potent warplane - something it NEVER was.
Spotting a Me 262F or G or whatever over Korea is just a teenager silly joke.
On which side, incidentally?

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Graham Boak

Given the rate of spend during WW2, economic/political influences were totally irrelevant on the choice of name, if it ever had been. Later, the Hunter, Buccaneer and Victor changed engines without a name change.

I can't think, offhand, of a single example of a British aircraft where the name was kept the same for economic/political reasons. The British system just doesn't work in that manner.

Maybe ships are different, though? I remember how the Invincible class aircraft carriers appeared in 1970s defence budgets as "through-deck cruisers" to get them past sceptical politicians.

[JoeB]

Originally Posted by CJE

Spotting a Me 262F or G or whatever over Korea is just a teenager silly joke.
On which side, incidentally?

I doubt there were any Me 262's actually used over Korea, by the Communist side, there's no doubt on the other side. However, a number of US pilots reported seeing twin engine jets, generally at night, that they sometimes identified as Me262's. In one case the sighting was after dawn, and the B-26 (Invader, formerly A-26) pilot, who had flown medium bombers in late WWII ETO and seen real Me-262's, said it was an Me 262. The source is primary documents.

These indentifications were likely errors, however what the pilots actually saw in these multiple cases hasn't been otherwise explained. Il-28's are a possiblity. One well known Russian authority on Soviet participation has written that an Il-28 unit flew recon missions over Korea at night late in the war, but that the details are still classified in Russian archives. And for example the Lavochkin design competing with the MiG-15 is reported in some sources to have been evaluated over Korea; it wouldn't be mistaken for an Me-262 of course, but what about other prototype evaluations?Much has been revealed about Soviet ops in Korea but we can't assume everthing has. I doubt those sightings were literally Me-262's, but there could be an interesting story behind them nonetheless.

Joe