Gonna try to add a few pics each day. Maybe we could build a set of pics for each nations aircraft used in the war??? First up B&V 155 The TA-152... The ME262... ME410 Hornisse... and the ME163 Komet... More to follow!
Can't resist 'doing an Erich' here... In case anyone's confused by the photo of the 'tail-dragger' Me262, this is a photo of Me262 V3 prototype WNr 2620000003. Fritz Wendel made the first flight in this aircraft on 18th July 1942 - the first to be made by a 262 without piston-engined assistance. ( If you look closely, you can see that the nose of the aircraft is painted to represent a spinner ). PC+UC was destroyed in an Allied air raid on Lechfeld, 12/9/44 .
Talking about ME262's: white 1, one of the 5 ME262's they are (re)building in the NW US, and which was damaged in an earlier test flight, took to the skies again on June 29!!! http://www.stormbirds.com/project/general/updates.htm
Yes! You're correct! The original Me-262's were tail draggers. But pilots began to complain because there was basicly no visability during take off. So they converted it to use tricycle landing gear. But this lead to problems in the feild. Given the poor resources Germany had at this point in the war the nose gear was poorly constructed. It would often break on landing or even if it was tuged too hard while being taxied out. Also the originals used gravity to retract their gear but this to lead to gear malfunction so they converted it to powerd gear. Sorry! I'm a 262 fanatic so give me a break.