Messerschmitt Me 261
| Messerschmitt Me 261 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| | |
| Type | Cargo and surveillace |
| Manufacturer | Messerschmitt |
| Maiden flight | November 25, 1940 (test flight) |
| Introduced | Never introduced |
| Retired | July 1943 |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 3 |
The Messerschmitt Me 261 was an airplane designed in the early 1940s by the company Messerschmitt as a surveillance and transport aircraft, which was however never mass manufactured and put into use.The first idea was a plane which should be able to transport the Olympic Flame from Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936 Winter Olympics)to Tokyo (1940 Summer Olympics). The Plane wasn't finished during the olympic games in germany. With thebegining of World War II, the plans were completely changed. The german air force now needed a long range surveillanceplane. The Messerschmitt engineers tried to create a such plane from the base of the Messerschmitt Me 261, but after the destructionof the only working plane during a test flight in july 1943, the project was cancelled without any usable results.
The Me 261 prototyps were all propelled by the Daimler Benz engine DB 606 with about 2720 horsepowers. Target was an airplane with a topspeed of 600 km/h and an operating range of 11,000 kilometers. The decision for the DB 606 engine was a major problem of this project becauseonly a few of this engines were available for developing projects during the war. Most of the DB 606 engines ever build were used for military planes whichwere already in use.
series
Me 261 V1
A first prototype was called Me 261 V1. The first flight was on 23. decembre 1940. It wasn't yet completed when it was brought to the test facility in Rechlin. Especally engine mountings and the tanks needed still much work and so it wasn't ready to fly.
Me 261 V2
First flight of the Me 261 V2 was on 25. november 1942. During the war were hardly any engines for testing flights available, because 1942 it was not a project of interest for german military leaders. 1945 american troops captured the plane in Lerchfeld, germany.
Me 261 V3
The third plane was modified with bigger wings. A test flight took place on 15. octobre 1942 and the Me 261 V3 was the plane with the longest testing flights at all. The DB 606 engines were tested about durability on this plane. In july 1943 the V3 turned upside down on the rollway because of an accident during the landing. The plane gets never repaired.
References
- This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of August 2, 2006.
Categories
German military transport aircraft 1940-1949 | German patrol aircraft 1940-1949 | World War II German experimental aircraft