Smith, J. Richard and Eddie J. Creek. Me 262 volume one. Burgess Hill, West Sussex: Classic Publications, 1997.

ISBN 0-9526867-2-4
224 pages

Authors' Introduction; Foreword; photos; maps; diagrams; technical drawings; color illustrations; Glossary; Index.

Appendices: Camouflage and Markings; Me 262 Prototype Flights; German Reaction Engines Designation System; Messerschmitt Personalities and Company Organisation.

With its JV 44 and Hs 129 Classic Publications has made a big splash in the arena of oversize, high-quality books about the Luftwaffe. That splash here continues with the first volume of two on the Me 262 jet.

Although a little slimmer than its predecessors, Me 262 otherwise sticks to the same successful formula: lucid text covering both the personalities and technology involved in producing the aircraft; remarkably revealing period photos illustrating design and production details; elegant line drawings; beautiful color plates (some folding); and masses of hard technical information.

The book opens with a chapter on the early years of Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt (he with "the skull of a genius" who was involved in building and piloting gliders at age 15) and his pioneering aircraft designs, touching briefly on the Me 109, Me 110, and the unsuccessful, nearly ruinous Me 210. But the real story of the book, of course, is the lengthy genesis of the Me 262. Smith and Creek describe the early work on jets undertaken by various designers and the successful development by Heinkel which culminated with the world's first turbojet flight in August 1939. The narrative is readable, but full of engineering detail:

To establish the best line of development, Dipl.-Ing. Hermann Hagen, Oestrich's assistant and Head of Basic Design, examined the characteristics and parameters of centrifugal- and axial-flow compressors, and came to the conclusion that a counter-rotating axial-flow design was the optimum unit. This appeared both lighter and smaller for a given thrust than any other type of turbojet. Bramo would have preferred to develop this type of engine immediately, but because of their lack of gas turbine experience, they decided to proceed first with the design of a simple straight-axial turbojet. During the spring of 1939 Oestrich's team laid down the basic design of a turbojet engine featuring a six-stage axial-flow compressor driven by a single-stage turbine. The compressor gave a pressure ratio of only 2.77 to 1 at 9,000 rpm. An annular combustion chamber operating at the very low temperature of 600° C (1,110° F) was originally planned, but this was later raised to the much higher figure of 900° C (1,650° F) by using the air-cooled turbine, with hollow blades, developed by BMW. Like the competing Jumo T1, the turbojet was designed to produce 600 km/h (560 mph) or about 700 kg (1,540 lbs) static thrust at sea level.

At the same time Willy Messerschmitt was working on his own jet design. A series of feasibility studies and developmental projects ensued with rapidly evolving design specifications. By December 1939 a mock-up of the P 1065 had been constructed, the first prototype was built in early 1941, and on 18 April the aircraft -- now designated Me 262 -- flew for the first time...but fitted with a piston engine for test purposes. Meanwhile the development of the jet engines and evolution of the aircraft specifications dragged on. In July 1942 the first flight powered by turbojets succeeded. Various prototype configurations were tested and further pre-production machines ordered. It was apparent to all concerned that the Me 262 offered enormous promise, but teething problems exacerbated by bureaucratic in-fighting -- endemic in the Luftwaffe and particularly vicious between Messerschmitt and Erhard Milch (dating back to 1931 when Milch cancelled orders for the civilian M 20) -- and production bottlenecks dogged the project.

Adolf Galland -- who told Goering the plane flew "as if being pushed by angels" -- demanded 1000 Me 262s per month. Milch took a much more conservative approach. Messerschmitt preferred his Me 209 design. In August 1943 the US 8th Air Force heavily bombed the plant at Regensburg and forced relocation of the Me 262 production. Hitler insisted that the plane's role should be that of bombing the Allied invasion beaches. "'The jet fighter with bombs,' pronounced Hitler, 'will be vital, because at the given moment it will scream at top speed along the beaches and hurl its bombs into the massive build-up that is bound to be there.'"

On 13 January 1944, the Me 209 was abandoned for the second and last time. This freed production capacity for the Me 262 but still there were not enough skilled workers available. During an armaments conference six days later, Speer's own trouble shooter, Maj. Dr.Krome, asked if workers could be released from the other special weapons projects. Milch replied: "I cannot speak for the A4 [V2 rocket]"

Krome then asked pointedly: "Which do we need more, the A4 or the Me 262?"

Milch rasped: "We need the Me 262 more than anything else-- more than submarines, more than tanks, because without this aircraft all armament production will become impossible...."

In May 1944, Milch, Speer, Galland and other Luftwaffe officers and specialists met with Hitler to discuss aircraft production. Upon hearing the figures for the Me 262 listed under fighters, Hitler flew into a rage. Galland was silenced. Milch was disgraced. There would be no unstoppable jet fighter-bombers to defeat the Allied invasion of France.

Another excellent book from Classic. Great sidebars (like "Turbojet Development" and "Evolution of Wing Design"). A lengthy section on proposed Me 262 variants like the rocket-boosted interceptor. Looking forward to the second volume when the plane finally enters combat.

Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Classic Publications.

Thanks to Classic for providing this review copy.