The first production model was the Me 262A-la Schwalbc interceptor, with a nose armament of four 30-mm (1.18-in) MK 108 cannon. The poor performance of these weapons led to a number of alternative armament schemes being tested, including the use of cannon up to 55-mm (2.17-in) calibre. The use of wire-guided X-4 missiles was also proposed, but under wing racks for 12 spinstablized R4M rockets on each side, introduced on the A-lb proved the most immediately effective solution.

Other production variants in the A series included small numbers of the A-2a Sturmvogel fighter-bomber, which carried two 250-kg (551-lb) or one 500-kg (1 102-Ib) bombs, one example being modified to accommodate a bomb-aimer in the nose, and the photo-reconnaissance A-5a, with only two MK 108s.

By the end of 1944 the Me 262B-la two-seat trainer had appeared, but only 15 were completed as such, a few more being given Neptune V radar to become B-la/Ill night-fighters, and only one example of the definitive B-2a night-fighter, which was to have had Berlin radar, was flown during the war. Also, shortly before Germany's capitulation, two A-l's were fitted with rocket boosters to become the fast-climbing C-la and C-2a.

Shortages of time and resources prevented the Me 262s achieving service in sufficient numbers to have a significant effect on the course of the war. After 1945 some Me 262s were rebuilt in Czechoslovakia and entered Czech air force service as S-92s.

Design of the Me 262 jet fighter, which had the Messerschmitt Projekt number 1065, began about a year before the outbreak of World War II . But, due to delays in the development and delivery of satisfactory engines, the depredations caused by Allied air attacks, a troublesome development program, and Hitler's refusal to be advised regarding its most appropriate role, it was six years before the aircraft entered Luftwaffe squadron service.

A mockup of the aircraft was completed during the latter half of 1939, examination of which prompted the RLM to order three flying prototypes in the spring of 1940. These were all completed by early 1941, long before the arrival of their engines; so, to test the basic attributes of the airframe, the Me 262 VI (PC + UA) made its first flight on 18 April 1941 with dummy jet-engine nacelles under the wings and a single 700hp Jumo 21 OG piston engine mounted In the nose. On 25 March 1942 it made a barely successful attempt to fly with two under wing BMW 003 jet engines, but still with the nose-mounted Jumo 210G. The first all-jet flight was made on 18 July 1942, when the Me 262 V3 (PC + TIC) took off under the power of two 840kg (l,8521b) st Jumo 004A turbojets. Many more prototypes were completed and used for trials with various armament and equipment installations, and from the VS onward (first flight 26 June 1943) a tricycle landing gear was substituted for the original tail wheel type.

Several Fiddlers Green models have the orange-peel type of rounded nose shown above...To shape is not only easy, but lots of gooey, messy fun... A) After rolling the nose over a sharpened pencil , glue together at the tab. B) Dab the nose with a generous amount of white paper glue (Tacky or Elmers) C) After about a minute, the glue will soften the paper and you can then... D) Slowly and creatively swirl and twist the yucky nose cone into the palm of your hand one way, then the other as the glue sets and starts to harden. E) Presto !!!! Nose cone F) Go wash hand... Note: Some like to pack glue saturated tissue into the nose cone for added support.. Keep in mind too, that this is exactly where the penny or pebble goes to keep model nose-down on it's landing gear. Ideal also, for tiny radar

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Plans for priority mass-production were seriously affected by Allied air attacks upon Messerschmitt's Regensburg factory, and there were numerous development problems involving engine fires and failures, landing gear collapses, guns jamming, and in-flight break-ups. Engine deliveries began in earnest in June 1944, permitting deliveries of production Me 262As to begin, and 513 had been accepted by the Luftwaffe by the end of the year-less than 40 per cent of the planned number. The Me 262's flying qualities were excellent, and a pre-series batch of 23 A-Os was accepted in the spring of 1944.

These were allocated to the Erprobungsstelle at Rechlin and the conversion unit EKdo 262, the latter unit becoming, on 25 July 1944, the first to fire the Me 262's guns in anger. The two principal basic production versions to become operational were the Me 262A-la Schwalbe (swallow) interceptor and the Me 262A-2a SturmVogel (stormbird) fighter-bomber. The former was built in numerous sub-types with four 30mm MX 108 cannon in the nose, or alternative armament installations; the latter, produced as a result of Hitler's insistence upon developing the aircraft as a bomber, had external racks for one 1,000kg or two 500kg bombs.

Other variants included the A-la/V 083, with a single 50mm BK 5 cannon in the nose; the A-lb, with twelve 55mm R4M unguided rocket projectiles under each wing: the one-off A-2a/U2 with a gla2ed nose-cap over a prone bomb-aiming position; the ground attack Me 262A-3a; and the photo-reconnaissance Me 262A-la/U3 and Me 262A-Sa. A tandem two-seat trainer version was designated Me 262B-la, and one prototype was completed of a proposed two-seat night fighter, the Me 262B-2a. This incorporated a longer fuselage, containing more fuel, and a SchrAge Musik installation of two MK 108 cannon aft of the cockpit, firing upward.

The B-2a did not enter production, but several B-las were convened for night fighting (without the extended fuselage) and redesignated Me 262B-1a/Ul. These were employed quite successfully by the Kommando Welter, or 10./NIG II as it was later known. The few Me 262C models completed before VE-day were fitted with various rocket motors in the fuselage to boost the fighter's climb rate. Although little more than 500 Me 262s had been produced by December 1944, by the end of the war the total had risen to about 1.430.

Probably less than a quarter of these saw frontline service, and losses among them were quite heavy, even though relatively few losses were realized in combat. Despite this, their destruction of Allied bombers and fighters was greater than one for one, and JV 44, the top-scoring Me 262 interceptor unit, achieved some 50 kills' in little more than a month's operations in 1945. In air-to-air combat the Me 262 never engaged its British counterpart, the twin-jet Gloster Meteor (which was slower and less well armed); conversely, many Me 262s were destroyed by Allied Mustang, Spitfire, Tempest and Thunderbolt piston-engine fighters.

Good Friend Doc Rowland spotted the ME-262 and Blue Oyster Cult connection

Picture thanks to the fine folk over at Kozmik JellyFish