Re: John Fitch - RIP
 

Thanks for the link, that was a great tribute.

As I mentioned, very, VERY few Me262's were lost in battle. Most were destroyed while parked on the ground, or while in the process of taking off or landing (Fitch mentioned in the interview he shot one down as it was taking off). Many of the Me262's were also destroyed by their own pilots in order to prevent them from falling into Allied hands. Sometimes P-51's and P-47's would be down strafing an airfield, looking for ground targets, and see an Me262 in the process of landing. And of course, at slow speed, wheels down, the Me262 was like any other fighter plane, not able to maneuver, and extremely vulnerable. The Me262, being a jet, had a high landing speed, and required a longer runway (the Autobahn was used as a runway in the closing weeks of the war).Towards the end of the war, elite Me262 squadrons would have several FW190's (D9 models) supplying cover while the Me262's taxied and took off.

They were special aircraft, and their pilots felt privileged to fly them. Many times Me262's would fly in groups of 2 or 3, and not even blink when attacking a formation of 100-200 bombers, even if they had 50 or so fighter escort. They simply flew right through the formations, unloaded guns and cannons (and sometimes rockets), sweep around for another pass or two, then be gone, frustrating the Allied fighter pilots to no end.

The benefit of having an aircraft that was almost 100 mph faster than anything else in the sky.