Post by EunometicPost by David E. PowellPost by Rob Arndthttp://www.luft46.com/gmart/gm262-1.jpg
Rob
I can see moving the motors to the wing roots, but the canopy has the
Gee Bee thing going.
I would have been thinking "Straight 262 volume production" by
1944....
Advanced versions of the Me 262 were needed to maintain a lead on
allied fighters by 1946. Swept wings to get the craft to Mach 0.95
and in the 45 degree sweep versions perhaps break the sound barrier.
There are more aesthetically pleasing versions of this craft with a
conventionally placed canopy. More or less the same wing with the
engines moved to the roots of the wings, the orginal place anyway.
http://games.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/Microsoft-Flight-Simulator...
The keepfin canopy must have allowed plenty of room for a large fuel
supply.
It should be noted that there were three versions of the Me-262 HG.III
and the one depicted is the III/3 version (sometimes mistakenly listed
as HG.IV) and not the original swept-wing dayfighter nor 46.5o swept-
wing inline 3-seat Nachtjaeger (pilot, navigator, radar operator) that
Gordon is seeking.
The history of these variants are complex due to two different
requirements Messerschmitt made in Jan and Feb 1945. One was for a He
S 011 powered machine based on the Me-262B-1 which evolved into the
original 2-seat Nachtjaeger that could be adapted to fit another
section for the navigator or alternatively and oblique gun
installation. The second proposal at first had more wing sweep, but
would still keep the Jumo engines podded... until this too was evolved
into the He S 011 engines being buried in the wing roots.
No concrete proof is found of actual construction; however,
Messerschmitt's secret Oberammergau facility had some information on
the first type captured there and evaluated by representatives of De
Havilland and Bell aircraft companies since April 29, 1945. No
aircraft was on the premises though, only the Me P.1101 and flying
models of the P.1112 project.
There are persisitent rumors of one HG.III being constructed near or
on a Me-262 base with a bad landing accident that damaged the
prototype under construction... but the source is never identified nor
even which version it was- dayfighter or Nachtjaeger. Given the time
period from requirements (Jan-Feb 1945) I suspect that possibly only
the wings could have been manufactured and possibly mated to a Me-262
fuselage. The He S 011s were not available and there was considerable
debate about whether this machine should be a 2-seater or 3-seater.
Rob