Me 262A-1a Messerschmitt 1/72 academy 12410

Me 262A-1a Messerschmitt 
1/72
Academy AC12410

Manufacturer: Academy
Scale: 1/72
Material: Plastic
Paint: Unpainted, Unassembled, Kit do not contain paints and glue.
Condition: New in Box
 

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (English: "Swallow") of Nazi Germany was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft.Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems and top-level interference prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Compared withAllied fighters of its day, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor, it was much faster and better armed.One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II,the Me 262 was used in a variety of roles, including light bomber,reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions.The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by attacking the aircraft on the ground and while taking off or landing. Engine reliability problems — from the pioneering nature of its Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow turbojet engines, the first ones ever placed in mass production — and attacks by Allied forces on fuel supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation also reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war as a result of its late introduction and the consequently small numbers that were deployed in operational service.The Me 262 was often mistaken by observers for the Gloster Meteor, the first allied jet fighter aircraft, due to similarities in their appearance, leading to numerous friendly fire incidents on both sides. While German use of the aircraft ended with the close of the Second World War, a small number were operated by the Czechoslovak Air Force until 1951. Captured Me 262 were studied and flight tested by the major powers, and ultimately influenced the designs of a number of post-war aircraft such as theNorth American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet.A number of aircraft have survived on static display in museums, and there have also been several privately built flying recreations.Several years before World War II, the Germans foresaw the great potential for aircraft that used the jet engine, constructed by Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain in 1936. After the successful test flights of the first jet of the world, the Heinkel He 178, they adopted the jet engine for an advanced fighter aircraft. As a result, the Me 262 was already under development asProjekt 1065 (P.1065) before the start of World War II.

Plans were first drawn up in April 1939, and the original design was very similar to the aircraft that eventually entered service. The progression of the original design was delayed greatly by technical issues involving the new jet engine. Funding for the jet engine program was also initially lacking as many high-ranking officials thought the war could easily be won with conventional aircraft. Among those were Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe, who cut the engine development program to just 35 engineers in February 1940; Willy Messerschmitt, who desired to maintain mass production of the piston-powered Bf 109 and the projected Me 209; and Major General Adolf Galland, who supported Messerschmitt through the early development years, flying the Me 262 himself on 22 April 1943. By that time, problems with engine development had slowed production of the aircraft considerably. One particularly acute problem arose with the lack of an alloy with a melting point high enough to endure the high temperatures involved, a problem that by the end of the war had not been adequately resolved.lthough the Me 262 is often referred to as a "swept wing" design, the production Me 262 had a leading edge sweep of only 18.5°, too slight to achieve any significant advantage in increasing the critical Mach number. Sweep was added after the initial design of the aircraft, when the engines proved to be heavier than originally expected, primarily to position the center of lift properly relative to the center of mass. On 1 March 1940, instead of moving the wing backward on its mount, the outer wing was repositioned slightly aft; the trailing edge of the midsection of the wing remained unswept.

Me 262 Schwalbe
Messerschmitt Me 262A
Role	Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer	Messerschmitt
First flight	18 April 1941 with piston engine