any information on wich variant were considered for the X4 beside the A1a (hobby boss put 4 X4 under their A1a/U4 but I'm not really sure it would work well)
Also wondering if the X7 Rötkapchen was considered for the 262
http://modelarchives.free.fr/photoscopes/X4_P/index.html (french article on the X4 and X7)
The X-4 would likely have been most effective against bombers while they were locked into their bombing runs. I suspect they would also been useful against aircraft taking off and landing from airfields.
any information on wich variant were considered for the X4 beside the A1a (hobby boss put 4 X4 under their A1a/U4 but I'm not really sure it would work well)
Also wondering if the X7 Rötkapchen was considered for the 262
http://modelarchives.free.fr/photoscopes/X4_P/index.html (french article on the X4 and X7)
I've often wondered how well a wire-guided, optically tracked missile like the X-4 would have worked on a jet fighter. First generation, post-war, wire-guided anti-tank missiles were hard enough to use from helicopters and piston-engined light aircraft even when targeting stationary bunkers and slow-moving tanks. On these platforms, the missile operator and pilot were separate people. In an Me262 (or Ta183, Me P.1103, etc.), I suspect that X-4 would have imposed a very heavy workload on the pilot, especially given the high closing rate of the jet when attacking bombers and the need to keep an eye out for fighter escort. Unguided barrage rockets like R4M seem like a better match for jets.
The X-4 would likely have been most effective against bombers while they were locked into their bombing runs. I suspect they would also been useful against aircraft taking off and landing from airfields.
I was assuming that the X-4 was intended for use against bombers, probably in a rear pursuit attack, which would reduce the relative closing speed by 100-200 mph. Attacking aircraft on the ground seems to me like it presents very nearly equal problems for a fast jet. So that doesn't change my analysis. I might be missing something, of course. But given the operator workload implied by the missile guidance approach and the performance of the aircraft in comparison to the targets, I cannot see the X-4/Me-262 combination being successful, especially in a single-seat version of the aircraft.
The pilot has to keep his eye on both the target and the missile tracking flare while flying both the missile and the aircraft to different destinations by simultaneously manipulating two separate joy sticks and a rudder bar. Even if his target is stationary (on the ground) or relatively stationary (like a bomber on a bomb run) the pilot himself is moving fast in three dimensions at once. He has no good range indications to indicate how quickly he is closing, so colliding with the target, other aircraft, or the ground while watching the missile is a problem. At the same time, he also has to watch out for fighters and keep some kind of eye on aircraft health (temperatures, fuel level, rpm, etc.). All that sounds like a tall order, particularly given Allied air superiority. He could reduce some of the problems by throttling back and making a slow approach. But I doubt anyone would want to do that with Mustangs and Thunderbolts all over the place. Salvoing R4M rockets and following through with perfunctory cannon fire as you flash by seems both much more practical and much more survivable.
I suspect that the problems with workload explain why the post-war, first-generation, wire-guided ATGMs that evolved from German wire-guidance technology were deployed from the ground, from relatively slow, multiseat light piston types like the Dassault Flamant, or from hovering two-seat helicopters. Even then, the gunner's workload was high enough that later generation wire-guided weapons used SACLOS, semi-automatic command to line of sight, where a sophisticated sight matched the missile course to the aimpoint defined by the gunner.
Notably, radio-command guidance also proved unsuccessful when it relied on the pilot flying the missile. The much faster, radio-command guided US Bullpups were allegedly completely ineffective, because manually flying a missile by watching a tracking flare while flying a high-performance aircraft like the F-105 was simply not a practical proposition.
I think my that original analysis still stands. I am not aware of any manually command-guided air-to-air missile that achieved enough success to be adopted. The more sophisticated Bullpup proved unable to hit large bridge abutments reliably.any information on wich variant were considered for the X4 beside the A1a (hobby boss put 4 X4 under their A1a/U4 but I'm not really sure it would work well)
Also wondering if the X7 Rötkapchen was considered for the 262
http://modelarchives.free.fr/photoscopes/X4_P/index.html (french article on the X4 and X7)
I've often wondered how well a wire-guided, optically tracked missile like the X-4 would have worked on a jet fighter. First generation, post-war, wire-guided anti-tank missiles were hard enough to use from helicopters and piston-engined light aircraft even when targeting stationary bunkers and slow-moving tanks. On these platforms, the missile operator and pilot were separate people. In an Me262 (or Ta183, Me P.1103, etc.), I suspect that X-4 would have imposed a very heavy workload on the pilot, especially given the high closing rate of the jet when attacking bombers and the need to keep an eye out for fighter escort. Unguided barrage rockets like R4M seem like a better match for jets.The X-4 would likely have been most effective against bombers while they were locked into their bombing runs. I suspect they would also been useful against aircraft taking off and landing from airfields.
I was assuming that the X-4 was intended for use against bombers, probably in a rear pursuit attack, which would reduce the relative closing speed by 100-200 mph. Attacking aircraft on the ground seems to me like it presents very nearly equal problems for a fast jet. So that doesn't change my analysis. I might be missing something, of course. But given the operator workload implied by the missile guidance approach and the performance of the aircraft in comparison to the targets, I cannot see the X-4/Me-262 combination being successful, especially in a single-seat version of the aircraft.
The pilot has to keep his eye on both the target and the missile tracking flare while flying both the missile and the aircraft to different destinations by simultaneously manipulating two separate joy sticks and a rudder bar. Even if his target is stationary (on the ground) or relatively stationary (like a bomber on a bomb run) the pilot himself is moving fast in three dimensions at once. He has no good range indications to indicate how quickly he is closing, so colliding with the target, other aircraft, or the ground while watching the missile is a problem. At the same time, he also has to watch out for fighters and keep some kind of eye on aircraft health (temperatures, fuel level, rpm, etc.). All that sounds like a tall order, particularly given Allied air superiority. He could reduce some of the problems by throttling back and making a slow approach. But I doubt anyone would want to do that with Mustangs and Thunderbolts all over the place. Salvoing R4M rockets and following through with perfunctory cannon fire as you flash by seems both much more practical and much more survivable.
I suspect that the problems with workload explain why the post-war, first-generation, wire-guided ATGMs that evolved from German wire-guidance technology were deployed from the ground, from relatively slow, multiseat light piston types like the Dassault Flamant, or from hovering two-seat helicopters. Even then, the gunner's workload was high enough that later generation wire-guided weapons used SACLOS, semi-automatic command to line of sight, where a sophisticated sight matched the missile course to the aimpoint defined by the gunner.
Notably, radio-command guidance also proved unsuccessful when it relied on the pilot flying the missile. The much faster, radio-command guided US Bullpups were allegedly completely ineffective, because manually flying a missile by watching a tracking flare while flying a high-performance aircraft like the F-105 was simply not a practical proposition.
A couple of comments on this.
(1) There were attempts to develop MCLOS air-to-air missiles in the early post-war period. If some of the trials data has been declassified then one might get information about tests against drones.
(2) American bombers in this period few in incredibly tight formations. A box formation of 36 B-17 were actually tight enough that a bomber on the far side of the formation could effectively fire across the entire formation with its 0.50 cal (in theory anyway, firing past that many allied aircraft would probably be more of a threat of fratricide than anything else). The point is that individual bombers were in no position to really maneuver evasively due to risk of collision (even prior to locking into the bombing run). Of course entire formations might maneuver to make flak calculations harder, but those maneuvers were relatively gentle and consistent when viewed from a fighter. Note also that heavy bombers are much larger targets than tanks.
(3) The X-4 could be launched from directly ahead or astern of the bomber formation, and from the same altitude. It could also be launched on a trajectory towards the bombers. This means that the corrections need only be small and in two-dimensions. The missile is already headed into the formation at launch and the pilot just has to correct for wind and altitude drop... and this involves two-axis control to bring the flare over the target. This is a cognitively pretty simple task.
Compare this situation to the Hs-293. The target is larger, but is further away. It is at a different altitude. The missile is losing altitude (the Hs-293 becomes a glider after the booster burns out) and the operator is basically correcting the glide slope - which means that any change in distance also changes velocity. After launch the aircraft re-orients to orbit the target. This means that the entire problem is viewed from a platform which is much higher up and is moving sideways (in comparison the X-4 can remain in-line between the launch platform and the target... making it a simple two axis problem rather than one solving trajectories). All of this suggests to me that the X-4 should have a much higher hit-rate compared to the Hs-293 or Fritz-X.
Compare it also to the WGr.21/BR21 210cm rocket it was replacing. The WGr.21 was launched on a low velocity ballistic trajectory and used a timed fuse rather than a proximity fuse. It could still disrupt formations, but it would be much less accurate and effective. So the X-4 would be a clear improvement. Other weapons for firing outside of the range of defensive gunners had also failed to be effective (e.g. BK-5 50mm cannon).
I do think there is a question as to whether the R4m was the better solution. In practice it would require getting closer to the bombers, but it would also be less likely to leave the attacking aircraft vulnerable to being jumped (as the fighter could maneuver immediately after firing, rather than requiring >10 second of level flight while focusing on guiding the X-4). However, given the context I think the MCLOS system was relatively feasible.
P.S. The modelling of the X-4's aerodynamics probably leaves a lot to be desired in "Il-2 1946". However that sim is very affordable now and allows one to try using all of the weapons discussed (including the Hs-293) and the basic realities of the firing solutions required are represented in the sim (i.e. the simplicity of firing from astern at the same altitude and trajectory on a bomber, compared to the orbiting glide-slope and heading solutions required of a Hs-293 operator).
Dan, as someone who has researched original German documents like no one else, have you ever found any references to a planned turboprop powered Me 262? Some authors write about the contemplated installation of the Heinkel / Daimler Benz 021 propeller turbine for a night fighter version of the Me 262 for improved endurance performance. Are there any references to this in original sources?
That's a long fuselage..... you "researchers" "historians" need to do your hobbies better and stop being armchair generals like 99% of those who go "americuh".. you can clearly see the plug which is a 4 rib section right under the very very rear tip of the canopy as right after that the next rib has the contoured "plug" filling in the location where the canopy ends
To me, this image shows the short fuselage. The long fuselage 262 appears to have its cockpit over the wing's leading edge, instead of the short fuselage's cockpit which sits in the middle of the centre section.
Also note the position of the under-fuselage tanks. The top image shows the tanks' tails reach as far back as the wing root, where the long fuselage drawing shows the same tanks well clear of the wing root.
(Edit) I recovered Jozef's painting from this thread: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/me-262-projects-pre-projects-and-variants.6994/post-256830That's a long fuselage..... you "researchers" "historians" need to do your hobbies better and stop being armchair generals like 99% of those who go "americuh".. you can clearly see the plug which is a 4 rib section right under the very very rear tip of the canopy as right after that the next rib has the contoured "plug" filling in the location where the canopy ends
If The National Redoubt/Alpine Redoubt were real, a Me-262 with folding wings would make perfect sense operating from a mountain tunnel or cave.This displaying is not to confirm anything,
but to ask,is this Messerschmitt Me.262T shipboard variant real or fake ?.
Flugzeug Classic 6/2002
I attach an original drawing of Me 262 with auxilliary ramjets, extracted from a report written by Eugen Sänger.Here is some great history on the Lorin Athodyd engine for the Messerschmitt Me.262 Lorin Luft '46 Jet Fighter Concept (1945). Interestingly enough Eugene Sanger and Irene Bredt (responsible for the creation of the Silbervogel) built a 2,400-lb thrust ramjet using Rene Lorin's patent and tested it on a Dornier Do17Z, then a 20,000-lb thrust class on a Do217. The Soviets tried to one-up everybody and put ramjets on Sanger's Silbervogel and call it the Keldysh Bomber. Interestingly enough the Sanger/Bredt engine was apparently conceptualized for a fighter - and the Me.262 was a perfect candidate.
The history on that can be found here:
Lorin Ramjet
www.enginehistory.org
The Me.262 Lorin can be seen here as a model:
Messerschmitt Me.262 Lorin Luft '46 Jet Fighter by Tamiya
A 1:48 scale model kit of the Messerschmitt Me.262 Lorin Luft '46 Jet Fighter by Tamiyafantastic-plastic.com