Originally posted by waynos
Yes he did Kilcoo, but that played no part in 262 design. It was just a cg fix but so many people hold it up as an example of advanced aerodynamics (though it was certainly more advanced than the Gloster Meteor). In reality the swept wings of the 262 were there for the same reason as the F-4 Phantoms upturned wingtips and downturned tail, ie the original design got it wrong.

Well... yes and no.


They used the swept wing on the Me262 primarily for balance reasons as you indicate, but that was more a question of packing the engines and undercarriage (inc. the move from tail-dragger to tricycle) rather than a flawed aerodynamic design.


The Germans were fully aware that the swept wings would delay the onset of transonic buffeting, although admittedly this was not the primary reason for inclusion of the swept wings, it may* have been a contributory factor in the design decision. They also knew the effects it would have on low speed handling, hence the automatically deploying leading edge slats.


*speculation on my part, but they definitely were very much aware of the benefits with regards buffeting of swept wings.



For anyone doubting whether the Germans knew about the advantages of swept wings, I point them in the direction of the Me 163 Komet.

The Lippisch Li.P13b was a coal fired ramjet fighter capable of Mach 1.6

In December 1944 the P.13b was classified top secret by the US Government to conceal the fact that it had already been test flown at supersonic speeds.

This is an image of a winged A-4b prototype ascending on a test flight in January 1945.



WW2 documents refer to test flights of the winged V-2 from A-4 V1b to A-4 V15b. In this instance the V suffix refers to an abbreviation for prototype. (in other words 15 prototypes) Prototype #16 was renamed the A-4c production model.

There is DDR East German archival evidence of a V-2 test launch from a tunnel near Arnstadt. I have also found reference to Allied photo reconnaissance of Rudisleben in 1945 disclosing a V-2 test stand.

the nasi were so advance when ww2 accured, i think hitler prepared
his army for the war many years before 1939

Before the invasion of Normandy in the vicinity of Abbeville, northern France a huge concret runway with a ski ramp at it's western end was built orientated towards new york. The site was overrun by Patton's forces but even then had been abandoned by the Germans long before D-day. It had been intended to launch some form of sub-orbital rocket plane at New York.

Amerika ski ramp was relocated to Thuringia near Arnstadt where a giant underground factory codenamed Polte II was created to construct V-1, V-2 and V-3 rockets according to US forces who inspected inside the tunnels. Locals and the US investigators talked of several extremely long tunnels extending out like a spoke from beneath Crawwinkel. One of these drove Westwards and rose up like a ski ramp inside a mountain west of Ohrdruf and on the western side of that mountain residents below the hill sometimes witness winged aircraft fly out of the mountain at night.

At least two KZ inmates after the war testified having seen a craft with ten rocket motors, in a booster stage inside one of these tunnels. The rocket described was far larger than a V-2 rocket.

Also late in the war a winged ramjet missile was developed called the Trommsdorf D-6000. Originall this ultra long range ramjet cruise missile was intended for a mistel type launch piggy backed on a large bomber up to 8,000 metres altitude, but this never eventuated.

However the Trommsdorf metamorphosed into another concept to launch it on the front of a standard V-2 rocket. This version of the Trommsdorf seemed closest to realisation of the Amerika bomber concept. It entailed V-2 rockets which were already plentiful and available, launching cruise missiles to an altitude of between 8000 and 11000 metres to commence a long powered glide to USA.