Messerschmitt Me 264 (Amerika Bomber)

History of the Messerschmitt Me 264 (American bomber)

The Messerschmitt Me 264 was intended to be used as a long-range aircraft and reconnaissance platform, providing the Luftwaffe with bombers capable of striking targets within the United States and supporting the German Navy's submarine operations in the Atlantic. However, underperforming prototypes and subsequent construction delays quickly pushed the Me 264 into the background as German authorities shifted their attention to more promising projects.

Development of the Me 264 took about eight years, and only three prototypes were eventually produced, only one of which was able to fly (this was the Me 264 V1). The design of this interesting aircraft is credited to Wolfgang Degel, Paul Konrad and Waldemar Voigt von Messerschmitt.

Background

During WWII, it was difficult for the Luftwaffe to acquire successful long-range multi-engine bombers with ideal payloads. Much of their productive energy has been devoted to their fronts, which has become increasingly important as the war develops into a defensive struggle for the homeland. As such, developing heavy bombers to deploy with the Allies in its Avro Lancasters and Consolidated B-24 Liberators has been rather elusive for the world's most powerful military. The most competent of the German crop is the multi-purpose Focke-Wulf Fw 200 "Condor" - a large four-engine design that first flew in 1937, with only 275 aircraft produced.

Another notable leader was the Heinkel He 111, but this was a twin-engine medium bomber of the 1930s with limited range and equally limited ammo carrying capacity. In contrast, He 111 was produced in more than 6,500 examples.

Fw 200 Condor was assigned to work with the German Navy and became active as German territory expanded into the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The Fw 200 proved to be a key component in disrupting Allied routes during the "Battle of the Atlantic", so much so that Winston Churchill himself dubbed the German aircraft "the scourge of the Atlantic." However, as the war progressed in favor of the Allies, the limited numbers of vultures soon limited their direct combat activities. By the end of 1943, the aircraft was almost completely relegated to a transport role. The Allied invasion of France further removed the Condor from any form of naval action.

During reconnaissance missions, the Fw 200 was eventually replaced by the updated Junkers Ju 290, which appeared later in the war.

Development

Development of a long-range reconnaissance platform began in 1937. Germany's declaration of war against the United States advanced the project. Hitler envisioned hitting U.S. targets from areas controlled by Germany (and Japan). In fact, Hitler wanted a "harassment" action against the country to disrupt production and instill fear in the American people.

At the same time, the German Navy was also looking for a long-range aircraft for maritime reconnaissance and bombing. Messerschmitt developed their P. 1061 model, which by 1941 was ordered in six prototype forms (later reduced to three), the Me 264.

Prototypes are dedicated to this work in three development forms, Me 264 V1, Me 264 V2 and Me 264 V3.

After a lengthy construction period, the Me 264 V1 first flew on December 23, 1942, powered by four Jumo 211J series liquid-cooled inline piston engines, each producing 1,340 hp, without armor or weapons. By the end of 1943, the engine had been replaced by 4 BMW 801G radial piston engines, each producing 1,750 hp. One would hope that the V1 would be ready for flight testing as early as October 10, 1942, but that's optimistic to say the least.

Flight tests revealed some inherent flaws in the design, the main factor being the high wing loading - which itself caused various handling and performance issues. Wing loading is essentially the loaded weight of an aircraft divided by its wing area. It was soon discovered that the fully loaded Me 264 had a poor rate of climb, as well as reduced maneuverability - this was before the addition of armor and weapons. Power from the BMW 801 series (G or H) radial engine allows the Me 264 to reach a top speed of 350 mph and a range of 9,500 miles.

Service is capped at 26,000 feet with a climb rate of 390 feet per minute.

The Me 264 V2 was built using existing armor without a defensive gun, but is not fully completed. The Me 264 V3 received its gun and full armor (again this was never fully completed), but by this time German interest in the project had waned. Despite claims by Messerschmitt employees, the Me 264 faced numerous material delays and performed poorly in tests. The German Navy (and the RLM) decided to turn their attention to fielding the Junkers Ju 290 in the preferred role and wait for their long-range, six-engine cousin - the Ju 390 - to reach operational status.

The official cancellation of the unsuccessful Me 264 program ended with the Technical Order No. 2 of the Reich Marshal. The Me 264 program was officially discontinued on September 23, 1944.

Proposed Development

The Me 264 V4 will be equipped with the BMW 801 E turbo engine and GM-1 supercharging system. Other visions see the Me 264 in an armed transport role with a remote-controlled turret.

There are other developments that might be powered by jet and turboprop engines, or feature drop tanks or a set of reconnaissance cameras. The armed long-range reconnaissance platform is designated Me 264A, while the long-range bomber variant will take the designation Me 264B.

Tour

The appearance of the Me 264 is not dissimilar to that of the upcoming US-made Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The aircraft has a torpedo-shaped all-metal tubular fuselage with a streamlined front and heavy glass to accommodate the cockpit. The fuselage tapers rapidly towards the tail, topped by a T-tail with a pair of circular vertical tails (similar to the B-24 Liberator). The long-span main wing is an elevated assembly mounted aft of the cockpit and forward of the mid-fuselage.

Each wing houses two radial piston engines, and the streamlined nacelles radiate outward from the leading edge of the wing. The leading edge of the wing itself is swept, while the trailing edge is straight.

The landing gear is fully retractable and consists of a single wheel main landing gear leg ("doughnut" style) and a single wheel nose landing gear leg. The main landing gear is hidden in wells under the wings, while the nose gear is hidden under the cockpit floor.

The nose gear is made more complicated by rotating it 90 degrees to lie flat under the cockpit floor.

Defensive armament consists of 4 x 13mm MG 131 machine guns, supplemented by a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine guns mounted in remote-controlled turrets (similar to B-29 Superfortress). Offensive internal bomb load is limited to 6,614 pounds.

The end of the flagpole

Junkers won in the long run with their large Ju 390 - a design that could use existing Ju 290 parts already in circulation and production. A total of only three Me 264 airframes were produced, with the V1 only making it to flight and ultimately limited use in the Transportstaffel 5. Following the German order, Messerschmitt then focused on developing their Me 262 twin-engine jet fighter.

Hitler's dreams of harassing the East Coast of the United States were dashed.

While the V2 and V3 prototypes were destroyed in subsequent Allied bombing, the V1 struggled until it was directly hit in another Allied air raid. However, the V1 was not repaired and was therefore retired during the war.

Other

According to the interrogation of a German prisoner of war in Lechfeld in 1943, some reports indicate that a Sonderkommando Nebel Me 264 was regularly flown from somewhere in Finland to Japan. This is especially notable as it demonstrates the inherent range of the Me 264 design, as well as Germany's potential future plans to use the Me 264 in the Pacific Rim against mainland Australia and regionally US and British forces.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes