ME-262 Sturmvogel

"I am the first, but I shall not be the last, for I am a herald of a new age".

The Messerschmitt ME-262, also known as the Schwalbe, was the first fully operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and features as a unit in Flames of War in it's fighter-bomber form as the ME-262A-2, the Sturmvogel. Equipped with twin 30mm cannons, as well as a pair of 500kg bombs.

Flames of War

Late War

Die Statisken

IRL

While revolutionary in the field of aeronautics, the Me-262 was not without its problems. For starters, because this was late in the war, Germany was running out of critical materials, and this impacted the performance for the fighter. The engines had to be refitted after 10 hours of use, and replaced entirely after 35 due to the lack of heat-resistant materials. Still, the Me-262 was the most advanced fighter on the battlefield and was more than a match for any allied fighter it came across - it’s just that so few of them could be made that they hardly made an impact for the Axis. And the Allie’s just found it easier to simply destroy the Me-262 while they were still on the ground, which wasn’t difficult since the rest of the Luftwaffe lacked the means to hit the Allies’ high-altitude bombers. Still, the Me-262 marks an important development in the field of aviation, as after the war, jet power became the standard for nearly all aircraft.