Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe: libri illustrati di storia e guide

Me 262 - Northwest Europe 1944-45 (Osprey)

Fin dal suo debutto operativo nell'estate del 1944, il Me 262 surclassò qualsiasi velivolo alleato in termini di velocità e potenza di fuoco, offrendo una formidabile potenza di fuoco grazie ai quattro cannoni Mk 108 da 30 mm montati sul muso e al motore a reazione Jumo 004.

Il problema che la Luftwaffe dovette affrontare, tuttavia, era di natura numerica. Verso la fine della guerra, la disponibilità di velivoli e piloti addestrati era scarsa, e fu solo grazie alle imprese di una manciata di assi veterani della Jagdwaffe, come Adolf Galland, Walter Krupinski e Johannes Steinhoff, che gli aerei ebbero un impatto significativo sulla guerra aerea e furono fonte di notevole preoccupazione per gli Alleati.

Ricco di illustrazioni realizzate appositamente, tra cui diagrammi di volo dinamici, scene di battaglia, viste dell'armamento e mappe, il libro di Robert Forsyth offre la guida tecnica e storica definitiva al modernissimo Me 262, avvalendosi di fotografie rare e resoconti di prima mano dei piloti.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Robert Forsyth, Gareth Hector, Jim Laurier
Formato:	80 pagine, 24.5 x 18.5 x 0.5 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	riccamente illustrato con foto e disegni
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2023)
Collana:	Dogfight (6)
ISBN:	9781472850515

Messerschmitt Me 262 - Development & Politics

There are many myths surrounding the development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Its unparalleled performance is beyond doubt; easily able to outpace its opponents and possessing the firepower to shred them in seconds. Yet immediately after the Second World War, rumours abounded that official indifference, technical shortcomings and interference from the Führer himself had crippled the Me 262's progress and delayed its appearance on the front line until it was far too late.

Begun as a series of design concepts during 1938, the fighter would not enter mass production until the spring of 1944. Even then it failed to make any notable impact until the closing weeks of the war, when Me 262s began destroying USAAF bombers at an alarming rate. Exactly what happened to cause this apparently late start and who was responsible has until now been largely a matter of conjecture.

Grounded in research involving thousands of wartime documents spread across archival collections in three countries, "Messerschmitt Me 262 Development & Politics" finally sweeps aside the myths and provides a clear understanding of the real history.
Sharp examines the aircraft's technical development in unparalleled detail as well as analysing the ongoing discussions surrounding the Me 262 at the highest levels within the Messerschmitt company, the German Air Ministry and Adolf Hitler's inner circle.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Dan Sharp
Formato:	300 pagine, 29.5 x 21.5 x 2.2 cm, copertina rigida
Illustrazioni:	riccamente illustrato
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Mortons Media Group (GB, 2022)
ISBN:	9781911658276

Me 262 vs P-51 Mustang : Europe 1944-45 (Osprey)

Arguably two of the finest fighters built during the course of World War II, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang heralded new dawns in aircraft performance. Making its operational debut in the summer of 1944, and powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, the Me 262 outclassed Allied planes in terms of speed and firepower ratio, offering a formidable punch with four 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannons.

However, in the P-51, fitted with the Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engine and drop tanks, the USAAF finally had a fighter that had the 'legs' to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace and back.
If flown to its strengths, the P-51 was more than capable of taking on the feared Me 262 on an equal footing, despite the differences in power and top speed.
Indeed, the Mustang proved to be the Luftwaffe fighter arm's nemesis. When the P-51D sortied over Germany from the summer of 1944 onwards, it shredded through the ill-trained and depleted Gruppen of the Luftwaffe's defence wings.

This book examines the two fighters in detail, exploring their history and development and containing accurate descriptions of the combats between the P-51 Mustang and the Me 262 in what were some of the most bitter and large-scale aerial actions fought over Europe in 1944-45.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Robert Forsyth
Formato:	80 pagine, 24.5 x 18.5 x 0.6 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	55 foto in B&N e in colori
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2019)
Collana:	Duel
ISBN:	9781472829559

Messerschmitt Me 262 and Its Variants

Una breve storia del Messerschmitt Me 262, il primo caccia a reazione operativo al mondo durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Questo leggendario aereo della Luftwaffe è illustrato con foto, schemi di costruzione e profili a colori.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Manfred Griehl
Formato:	50 pagine, 27.5 x 21.5 x 0.4 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	illustrato con foto, disegni e profili in colori
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2012)
ISBN:	9780764340482

Sharks in the Air - The Story of Willy Messerschmitt and the Development of History's First Operational Jet Fighter

In July 1944 the Allies were stunned by the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-262, the world's first operational jet warplane. This new German fighter was more than 100mph faster than any other aircraft in the skies. Although always greatly outnumbered, the Me-262 gained scores of victories over Allied fighters and bombers, and by the end of the war, many of the Luftwaffe's greatest aces had clamoured to be in their cockpits. No wonder military leaders believed that if it had been introduced earlier, this jet could have changed the outcome of the war.

"Sharks of the Air" tells the story of Willi Messerschmitt's life, and shows how this aeronautical genius built many revolutionary aeroplanes - not excluding the Luftwaffe's mainstay, the Me-109 - and culminating in the Me-262. It describes how his various warplanes fought in Spain, Poland, France, Britain, the U.S.S.R., and over Germany, and it provides thrilling accounts of air battles drawn from combat reports and interviews with veterans.

This book also shows how Messerschmitt - like other geniuses such as Porsche, von Braun, and Speer - was affected by cut-throat Nazi politics, and describes his intense rivalries with other aircraft designers. It reveals aspects of his life never before made public, including his love affair with the beautiful Baroness Lilly Michel-Rolino, a rich aristocrat who left her husband to live with Willi.
Finally, it shows how in Word War II Messerschmitt believed he was loyally supporting the Fatherland, until he realised too late that Hitler was a madman. Like many of the technical innovations of Nazi Germany in the war, production arrived too late in order to change the final outcome.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	James Neal Harvey
Formato:	320 pagine, 23 x 16 x 3 cm, copertina rigida
Illustrazioni:	16 pagine foto
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Casemate Books (GB, 2010)
ISBN:	9781935149460

The Messerschmitt Me 262 - Arrow to the Future

Tells the dramatic story of the Me 262's combat career as a fascinating chain of events in which planning, luck, and even blind stupidity played important roles. Even by today's engineering standards, magnificent is the only word to describe the effort to bring the plane's jet engines, which eclipsed the performance of all contemporary aircraft, from the laboratory to production in an amazingly short time.

"Arrow to the Futrue" also tells the story of the people who flew the Me 262 in combat. Their complete accounts bring their missions to life and set the plane in the historical context of the war. The German narratives are complemented by the accounts of Americans who flew against the Me 262 - for instance, the team of crack USAAF pilots known as "Watsons's Whizzers," who literally stole a fleet of jet aircraft from German airfields at the end of the war.

Also described are the postwar efforts to test and preserve the Me 262. Included is a description of the efforts to obtain one of these aircraft for display at the National Air and Space Museum, and the painstaking efforts by the team at the Smithsonian's Paul E. Garber Facility for Preservation, Restoration, and Storage to restore the Me 262 to its pristine condition.

This reprint edition is lavishly illustrated with more than 100 photographs, including operational photos from World War II, color views of the cockpit, and interior and exterior shots of the restored Me 262. In addition to the striking photographs, there are expert technical drawings, cutaway illustrations, and equipment and conversion tables.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Walter J. Boyne
Formato:	192 pagine, 25 x 20.5 x 1.4 cm, brossura
Illustrazioni:	più di 100 foto in B&N e in colori
Lingua:	inglese
Editore:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780887406652

Messerschmitt Me 262 - Geheime Produktionsstätten

As the first jet fighter to be mass-produced, the Messerschmitt Me 262 is one of the groundbreaking designs in aircraft construction. The fighter-bomber, developed towards the end of the Second World War, was indispensable for the Luftwaffe. However, due to the massive bombing by the Allies, production had to be relocated to underground tunnels and forests.

Pagine del libro "Messerschmitt Me 262 - Geheime Produktionsstätten"

This volume describes the relocation to the secret production facilities in great detail, with contemporary and partly unpublished photos, sketches and plans. This was only possible through the use of forced laborers - a chapter that the author does not omit.

Dettagli del libro

Autore:	Alexander Kartschall
Formato:	240 pagine, 24 x 17 cm, copertina rigida
Illustrazioni:	150 foto in B&N e in colori
Lingua:	tedesco
Editore:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2020)
ISBN:	9783613042582