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ME-262 with 50mm canon


Gildwiller1918

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The ME-262 was a revolutionary jet fighter used by the Germans during the war, and it no doubt influenced future fighter designs after the war was over. However it came a little too late to help the Germans deal with the ever increasing allied air raids. So in January of 1945, after getting  suggestion about using a  canon to beef up the hitting power of this fighter, Hitler immediately demanded one should be installed on this plane. The plane below has had a 50-mm-Kanone MK 214 A installed in the nose, similar to the tank busting versions, but to be used against allied bombers. 

The canon itself was based on the  5 cm PaK 38, which was already being used in combat vehicles as the Kwk 39. To meet the demands of the Luftwaffe, Rheinmetall started to make these as the 50mm Bk5, which was used in the ME-410, and later produced the 50mm MK 214A. 

After several attempts, including the 50 mm BK 5 , the 50 mm MK 214 A V2 cannon with automatic loading device was installed in a Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a on March 11, 1945.

The bow was converted to accommodate the cannon, the normal armament (4 × 30 mm MK 108 ) was removed and the nose wheel was modified to allow it to retract flat (turned 90 °) below the cannon. The gun then protruded about two meters above the tip of the bow. During the factory test, in addition to the flight tests, shooting exercises were also carried out with the on-board cannon. Satisfactory results were achieved both on the ground and in the air. The prototype was then handed over to Jagdverband 44 , where the aircraft was flown by Major Wilhelm Herget . However, when the Me 262 A-1a / U4 was used only on April 16, 1945 against Allied bombers , the on-board cannon failed due to an escapement.

This only aircraft flown in action was blown up at the end of the war. The second test aircraft with a 50 mm Mk 214 A was captured at the Lechfeld airfield in late April / early May 1945 by advancing units of the American armed forces and was initially given the nickname "Wilma Jeanne ", which was later changed to" Happy Hunter II ". The aircraft was transferred from Lechfeld to Melun by test pilot Ludwig Hofmann as part of Operation LUSTY (Capture of LUftwaffe Secret TechnologY) . During a later transfer flight to Cherbourg , the machine crashed due to a turbine fire. Hofmann was able to bail out and be rescued. Another Me 262 A-1a / U4 was still under reconstruction at the end of the war and was captured by the British armed forces in Augsburg. 

An interesting and auspicious project to be sure, but at this point in the war, it was just too late to affect the outcome. 

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Apart from that, there was hardly any fuel to be found, so most remaining aircraft were almost permanently grounded.

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Yes Fritz, you are correct, at this point in the war, all resources were pretty much non-existent as well as trained pilots. 

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