ORIGINAL: Przemcio231
ORIGINAL: crsutton
The mustang was a good aircraft that could above anything else fly far-very far-all the way to Berlin far. In the end performance and firepower and maneuverabilty were all secondary to flying far. This is why the mustang was the "best" fighter of the war. It was a excellent plane that could range far into enemy airspace and fight some excellent fighters there that really could not go as far. In the end that was the difference
Well point well taken the mustang had a relly impresive Range... and i would agree that it was the best Allied plane of the War... but nothing beats Me-262 Schwable[:)]
The 262 was revolutionary although there were some serious problems with it. When we fly the aircraft in IL2 or EAW we really don't see some of the problems that the aircraft was plagued with.
1. It was fast, but had a relatively poor thrust to weight ratio. This meant the plane had to be flown fast to be safe from the bounce. All of us know that the allied tactic of bouncing the aircraft on takeoffs and landings was the preferred tactic. It wasn't very maneuverable so being low and slow was absolutely deadly for the pilot, even more so than any piston engined plane.
2. The aircraft was notoriously unreliable in its early stages. The metallurgy in Germany was among the best in the world but it was still primitive and the early engines of the aircraft were prone to flamout or plain disintegration. Many pilots were killed because the aircraft simply had too many bugs. I am sure being made by slave labor didn't help matters any, if I was building those aircraft I wouldn't put too much pride into my work either. In addition the engines were simply not capable of sustaining a rapid change in throttle input. Slamming the throttle forward (a natural reaction when being shot at) would result in engine detonation or flameout. Pilots had to be real careful about flying the Swalbe.
3. It had poor takeoff and landing characteristics. Landing speeds were much higher than normal aircraft and it required a fairly long runway for takeoffs and landings. Approach length was much longer than regular aircraft. I am not totally sure about the ability of the aircraft to use unimproved runways but most German aircraft were not all that good at using field strips (unlike russian birds). It took a LOOOONNNNNGGG time to slow down and it was very vulnerable during these times.
4. It wasn't the most durable aircraft. Like all early jets it was easily combustable. Early jets were poor utilizers of fuel and as such they were flying gas cans. Flying into a formation of 100 plus B-17s wasn't always a sure thing for the 262. Sure it could take one or two out but one good fifty cal could turn it into a flaming torch. Pilots didn't fare too well when they went up. It wasn't the infamous Me 163 but it was a dangerous aircraft.
This isn't a slam on the 262, it was a revolutionary aircraft and one of the top five aircraft made during WW2. It introduced a load of features that affected aircraft development for the next 50 years. Unlike the P-51, which was an evolution in aircraft design, the Me 262 was a revolution. Like all first generation aircraft it had its problems but that shouldn't take away from its significance. To me though, the significance of the aircraft was after the war, not during it.