Me 262 in Action

The Messerschmitt Me 262 was the first operational jet-fighter in the world. Apart from its Jumo 004 turbojet, the Pfeilflugel (swept wing) was a further innovation that made the Me 262 one of the most extraordinary designs of WWII. The Me 262A-1A achieved an incredible speed for it’s time of 540.59 mph. Nearly 124.27 mph faster than the North American P-51 Mustang. The Me 262 enjoyed not only a superior tip speed, but also deadly firepower, four MK 108 mm cannons were mounted in the nose. Its operational service, however was hampered by it’s powerplants, which were far from reliable, and a weak undercarriage. Hitler also delayed it as a pure fighter by insisting that it be a bomber. A total of 1,433 were built during WWII.

This new book, by Squadron Publications, is in their usual soft-cover 8 1/8” x 11” parge format. It is 52 pages long.

The cover art is by Squadron’s resident artist, Don Greer, who does most of their covers for the In Action series. It shows a 262 with Jagdverband 44 (Fighter Unit 44) attacking B-26 Marauders that are enroute to the marshaling yards at Memmingen in Bavaria on 20 April 1945. This Munich-Reims based unit shot down 3 Marauders and damaged 7.

The back cover is also done by Greer and shows a Me 262B-1a/U1 night fighter of the 10th Staffel (10th Squadron) of Nachtjagdgeschwader (Night Fighter Wing) 11 attacking Mosquitoes bombing Berlin on 5 April 1945. This nightfigher shot down one Mosquito.

Color profiles are done by Tom Tullis, and there are 12 of them in the center fold of the book. Line drawings are by Ike Anderson, and there are 71 of these. Some of them are side profiles and other are scrap drawings of various parts of different types of 262’s anatomy.

There are 99 black and white photos. In addition to the majority of these photos showing the 262 in German markings, some show it in captured Russian, British and US markings also, plus Czech markings for the S-92’s.

(The book covers the Me 262V-1, V-3, V-5 through V-10, S, A-1a early and late, A-1a/U1, A-1a/U3 reconnaissance version, A1a/U4, A1a/U-5, A-2a fighter bomber, A-2A/U2, B-1a trainer, B-1a/U1 night fighter, C-1a interceptor I and C-2b interceptor II., the Czech Avia S-92 & CS-92.

There are, and have been, a lot of different kits of the Me 262 in every modeling scale imaginable. This book will be a valuable reference for modelers and armchair aviation historians. The Me 262 has always been a popular subject. Recommended.

I purchased my copy at my local hobby shop.