All countries that took an active part in the Second World War had a certain background in the development of jet aircraft before it began. During the war, efforts to create jet combat aircraft did not stop. But their achievements pale in comparison to the scale on which the Wehrmacht produced World War II weapons.

Pre-war groundwork

Jet propulsion has always attracted the attention of gunsmiths. The use of gunpowder rockets dates back to ancient times. The advent of aircraft capable of controlled flight immediately led to the desire to combine this innovation with the capabilities of jet propulsion. The desire to provide military capabilities at an advanced technological level was most clearly reflected in the scientific and technological policy of the Reich. The restrictions imposed deprived Germany of fifteen years of evolutionary improvement of military equipment and forced it to search for revolutionary solutions. Therefore, immediately after the Reich's abandonment of military restrictions and the creation of the Luftwaffe, the head of scientific programs Richthofen in 1934 was tasked with creating a German jet aircraft of the Second World War. By the time it began, only the British managed to make a technological breakthrough by creating a prototype of a turbojet engine. But they owe this not to technical foresight, but to the perseverance of the inventor F. Whittle, who invested his own money in it.

Prototypes and samples

The outbreak of war had different effects on jet aviation development programs. The British, realizing their vulnerability to the air threat, took the development of a new type of combat aircraft quite seriously. Based on the Whittle engine, they tested the prototype in April 1941, which began the British jet aircraft of the Second World War. having a weak technological base, having lost and evacuated part of its industry, it conducted rather sluggish experiments with rockets and low-power ones that were rather of educational interest. The Americans and Japanese, despite their great capabilities, have not advanced much from the same level. Their World War II jets were based on foreign designs. Already at the very beginning of the war, Germany began creating flying prototypes of production vehicles and testing the operation of real combat aircraft. In the spring of 1941, the Henkel He-178 jet took off, equipped with two HeS-8A turbojet engines that developed a thrust of up to six hundred kilograms. In the summer of 1942, the first German jet aircraft of World War II, the twin-engine Messerschmitt Me-262, flew, showing excellent controllability and reliability.

First episodes

The first production jet aircraft of the Second World War to enter service were the English Gloster Meteor. There is a legend that the delay in the release of the Messerschmitt jet is due to the whims of Hitler, who wanted to see it as a fighter-bomber. Having started production of this machine, the Germans produced more than 450 aircraft in 1944. In 1945, production amounted to about 500 aircraft. The Germans also put into series and began mass production of the He-162, which the command considered as a mobilization fighter for the Volkssturm. The third type of jet fighter that took part in the war was the Arado Ar-234. Before the end of the war, 200 units were produced. The scope of the British was noticeably weaker. The entire military series of Gloucesters was limited to 210 vehicles. Jet aircraft of the Second World War of the USA and Japan were developed on transferred technologies from England and Germany and were limited to experimental series.

Combat use

Only the Germans managed to gain combat experience in using jet aircraft. Their planes tried to solve the problem of defending the country from an enemy with overwhelming air superiority. Although English jets were used over German territory and in the defense of England against German cruise missiles, they had only a few combat episodes. They were mainly used as training ones. did not have time to create jet aircraft of the Second World War. The USSR actively developed captured reserves based on its own rich military experience.

Recently, interest in the jet aircraft of the Third Reich has been especially great. After all, it can be considered the progenitor of modern aircraft.

Soviet pilots, as well as the pilots of their allies, were very lucky that the leadership of Nazi Germany, who hoped for a blitzkrieg, realized somewhat late the logical conclusion from the “Battle of Britain” - the war was dragging on, and the Luftwaffe needed aircraft with higher flight characteristics to achieve in quality what could not be achieved in numbers. When this fact was finally realized, the German aircraft industry had already taken an impressive step in the field of research and development of fundamentally new aircraft, but these efforts were nullified by the lack of coordination of work and hesitations of senior management and could no longer influence the outcome of the war.

This was most clearly manifested in the creation of turbojet fighters - a sad story marked by political struggle, petty envy and back and forth. Until his suicide, Colonel General Ernst Udet stubbornly held the view that jet fighters did not meet the requirements of the Luftwaffe. These views were shared by General Field Marshal Erhard Milch, who raised the question of stopping work altogether. As a result, although the first He-280 jet fighter successfully flew on April 2, 1941 and demonstrated its complete advantage in a number of aspects over conventional fighters, there was complete apathy senior officials and personal hostility towards Ernst Heinkel among some of the ranks of the Technical Department of the RLM negated the success of creating the most advanced combat aircraft of that time. Real support for jet aviation was provided only in 1944.

Your interest in gas turbine, suitable for installation on an aircraft, Ernst Heinkel showed in the spring of 1936, when former assistant professor of the University of Göttingen Pohl - Hans-Joachim Pabst von Ohain began creating gas turbines of his design. Its first engine, the HeS-2A, was successfully demonstrated in September 1937. His deadlift was 80 kg. It was followed by the HeS-2B with a thrust of 130 kg and work began on the HeS-3A. At the same time, a suitable aircraft was selected for its testing. "HeS-ZA" developed a thrust of 450 kg and was tested in the spring of 1939 in flight under the fuselage of the He-118 V2. The second HeS-3B engine developed a thrust of 500 kg. It was installed on the experimental He-178 V1. The first flight of the vehicle took place on August 24, 1939, and the circling flight took place on August 27 in Marien under the control of Erich Warsitz. This was the first flight of an airplane powered by a turbojet engine.

When designing the He-178, the designers “squeezed” the car as much as possible. Its length is 7.48 meters, its wingspan is 7.2 meters, its area is 9.1 square meters. meters, while the specific load on the wing was 219 kg/sq.m. Empty weight of the aircraft is 1620 kg, take-off weight is 1998 kg. During testing, a maximum speed of 700 km/h was achieved.

By this time, work was already underway on the turbojet HeS-8A with a centrifugal compressor, which had a smaller diameter and greater thrust, and Heinkel technical director Robert Lusser in the spring of 1939 carried out development work on a twin-engine, single-seat fighter for this engine. All work was then carried out on a proactive basis. The technical department was not even notified. The He-178 V1 was demonstrated to Udet and Milch on November 1, 1939 in Marien, but both were very skeptical about the use of a turbojet engine as the main propulsion system of the aircraft.

Later, work on jet and rocket aircraft will be carried out on a wider scale. Each design bureau will present its developments to experts. The results achieved by the Germans during this period, as will become clear after processing all the captured documents and samples, will allow us to conclude that Germany in the second half of the 1930s and early 1940s was the undoubted leader in this field.

But the leadership of the Third Reich was in no hurry to actively finance the jet project. Germany, which had the most combat-ready army in 1939, developed the theory of "Blitzkrieg", in which there was no place for jet aircraft.

Despite the lack of understanding in Milch's department, work progressed on both the fighter and the engine. In March 1940, Messerschmitt received a contract for 3 prototype aircraft under the “Project 1065”, the development of which was carried out independently of Heinkel. In the end, Ernst Heinkel Flygtsoigwerke also received official support for its fighter, called the He-280.

By September 1940, the airframe of the first He-280 V1 (DL+AS) aircraft was ready. Work was underway on two more aircraft. In addition to the Pabst von Ohain turbojet engines, the He-280 had a number of non-standard, if not revolutionary, ideas. A compressed air ejection seat was installed in the cockpit - the first development of its kind in the world.

The cabin itself had to be sealed. The fighter had a retractable nose wheel, which allowed the aircraft to taxi horizontally on the ground, thereby avoiding the problems encountered on the first Me-262, which had engines pointed directly at the ground. The design was all-metal with working skin, with a monocoque fuselage of oval cross-section and a two-tail tail. The engines were mounted under the main wing spar, immediately behind the landing gear hinge, which was retracted to the line of symmetry using hydraulics. There were flaps on both sides of the engine nacelle.

To evaluate the aerodynamic qualities of the He-280 V1 before the first motor flight, fairings with ballast were installed instead of engine nacelles to simulate the weight of the engine and fuel. On September 11, 1940, the aircraft was lifted into the air in tow behind the He-111H. The glider tests were carried out by Bader, a pilot from Rechlin. A total of 41 glider flights were made until March 17, 1941, after which the He-280 V1 was returned to the hangar for the installation of two HeS-8A turbojet engines with a thrust of 585 kg each.

The fuselage tank could be filled with up to 1000 liters of fuel, but on the first flight on April 2, 1941, the tank was only half filled - quite enough for takeoff and one pass over the airfield at moderate speed. Fritz Schafer lifted the He-280 V1 into the air. Turning around over the mouth of Varnov, he circled to the airfield and began landing when the fuel was almost running out. During the first flight, the engines were without cowlings, as tests on the ground showed that fuel had accumulated at the bottom of the engine nacelles, threatening a fire. The landing gear was not retractable, and the flight altitude did not exceed 300 meters.

Three days later, on April 5, the plane was lifted into the air with the engines cowled up by Bader - the He-280 V1 was demonstrated in front of Udet, the head of the Luftwaffe engineering department Lucht and the head of L.C.3 (propulsion systems department) Eissenlohr. They showed some interest in the aircraft, although it was short-lived. Udet doubted the need for such an unusual fighter until the end of his tenure, an opinion shared by Milch, who replaced him.

With a total weight of 4285 kg, the He-280 V1 reached a speed of 775 km/h at an altitude of 6000 meters, however, it was expected that the HeS-8A engines would produce up to 720 kg of thrust and the speed would be up to 925 km/h - very optimistic estimates. The second experimental He-280 V2 (GJ+CA) was ready in May 1941. In July we completed the He-280 V3 (GJ+CB). 6 more cars were ordered.

Meanwhile, serious difficulties were encountered in fine-tuning the HeS-8A engine, also known as Heinkel-Hirt 001 (Heinkel acquired the former Hirth plant in Zuffenhausen on April 9, 1941). The engines mounted on the He-280 V1 produced 600 kg of thrust, which made it possible to reach a speed of 800 km/h, but in one of the first flights of this aircraft, under the control of Fritz Schafer, one of the turbine blades came off. The engine shook and flames burst out of it. The best man successfully landed the plane on its belly, the damage was minor and the plane flew after repairs within 3 days.

In January 1942, the He-280 V1 was transferred to the test center in Rechlin, where the HeS-8A were replaced by 4 Argus As 014 pulse engines - they were tested under the Fi-103 program. With these engines, the He-280 V1 could not even get off the ground.

Despite the problems with the HeS-8A, by the spring of 1942 Ernst Heinkel already believed that the He-280 was ready for adoption, at a time when its competitor Me-262 had not even flown on jet propulsion. But the Ministry of Aviation ignored his proposal. To force the decision, Heinkel organized a training battle between the FW-190A, which took off from the Arado airfield near Warnemünden, and the He-280. The fighter jet easily won the battle against its opponent.

After several major defeats, in 1942 Germany finally stepped up its rocket program. As a result, RLM agreed to produce 13 pre-production He-280A-0.

At the beginning of the summer of 1942, tests of the He-280 aircraft were transferred from Mariene to Schwechat. By this time, the Technical Department agreed that the Jumo 004 turbojet engine had noticeable advantages over the Heinkel-Hirt 001, which never produced the planned thrust. As a result, in June 1942, the He-280 V2 was re-equipped with the "Jumo 004A" with a thrust of 840 kg.

The take-off weight of the vehicle increased to 5200 kg, and the speed reached 785 km/h. Flight testing resumed in July. At the same time, armament of three 20-mm MG 151 cannons was installed for the first time in the forward fuselage.

In the meantime, the He-280 V4 (GJ+CC) and V5 (CJ+CD) were completed. The latter retained the Heinkel-Hirt 001 engines, while the former had a BMW 003A-0 with a thrust of 750 kg. The He-280 V5 was proposed by Heinkel as a prototype of the serial He-280A-1, which had an empty weight of 3060 kg and a takeoff weight of 4300 kg. It was stated that the maximum speed reached 815 km/h (however, this is doubtful), the flight range at this speed and an altitude of 6000 meters was 650 km, and at an altitude of 10,000 meters - 950 km, rate of climb - 19 m/s, ceiling - 11,500 meters . The landing speed was 140 km/h.

The Non-280 V6 (NU+EA) aircraft received weapons and “Jumo 004” engines from the very beginning. It was tested in Rechlin at the beginning of 1943. Heinkel offered the Technical Department a fighter-bomber He-280B-1 with two “Jumo 004B” 900 kg thrust. The maximum speed was estimated at 875 km/h. It was planned to double the armament of the Non-280A by installing up to 6 x 20-mm MG 151 cannons, and replace the two-fin empennage with a single-fin one. RLM and the Milch department, only 3 months ago, having concluded that preparations for mass production of the Me-262 were premature and that, given the heavy workload of Heinkel with other work, the production of the He-280 was not realistic, they suddenly made a “turn around”, ordering 300 vehicles Non-280V-1. Since Heinkel did not have the necessary capacity, it was decided to transfer the contract to Siebel.

However, by that time, tests of the Me-262 V2 showed that the Messerschmitt fighter had superior performance characteristics over the He-280 with the same propulsion system, especially in terms of flight range - the main disadvantage of the Heinkel fighter. As a result, on March 27, 1943, the Technical Department ordered Ernst Heinkel to stop all work on the He-280. Only 9 prototype aircraft were allowed to be completed...

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In 1944, they formed training centers training pilots for jet aviation and the first combat units. Jet aircraft took an active part in combat operations almost until the very end of the war.

The main target of the Luftwaffe's jets was Allied bombers, which constantly attacked cities and industrial sites in Germany. Soviet Air Force aircraft encountered the latest German developments only at the very end of the war, when the front was already on German territory.

And the war was coming to an end, the “raw” and unfinished Luftwaffe jets could not compete with the perfect ones: La-7, Yak-9 and so on. And the training of German pilots left much to be desired... Lack of permanently operating jet aircraft in Eastern Front explained by the fact that all the jet aces were in the western direction and protected the skies of Germany from the constant bomb attacks inflicted by the Allies.

The first to meet jet aircraft on the Eastern Front were the pilots of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

This meeting took place on February 14, 1945. A. S. Kumanichkin, together with regiment commander P. F. Chupikov, met an unusual aircraft in the air. The guardsmen tried to attack the enemy, but the German plane unexpectedly quickly broke away from their pursuers. After developing the film from the photo-machine gun, it became clear that the pilots of the 176th GIAP met with the latest Me-262 jet fighter. This was the first, but not the last meeting of the pilots of the 176th GIAP with German jet technology.

The first jet was credited to the famous ace Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub.

Kozhedub Ivan Nikitovich. Born on June 8, 1920 in the village of Obrazhievka, now Shostkinsky district, Sumy region, in a peasant family. Graduated from the Chemical and Technological College. Since 1940 in the Red Army. In 1941 he graduated from the Chuguev Military Aviation Pilot School. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since March 1943. Squadron commander of the 240th Fighter Aviation Regiment (302nd Fighter Aviation Division, 5th Air Army, Steppe Front), Senior Lieutenant I.N. Kozhedub, by October 1943, had flown 146 combat missions and shot down 20 enemy aircraft. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 4, 1944. By mid-1944, the deputy commander of the 176th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (302nd Fighter Aviation Division, 16th Air Army, 1st Belorussian Front) of the Guard, Captain I.N. Kozhedub, brought the number of combat sorties to 256 and downed enemy aircraft to 48. On August 19, 1944, he was awarded the second Gold Star medal. By the end of the Guard War, Major I.N. Kozhedub brought his tally of combat missions to 330 and 62 aircraft shot down. For high military skill, personal courage and bravery, on August 18, 1945, he was awarded the third Gold Star medal. In 1949 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, in 1956 - from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1971 in Central office Air Force, since 1978 - in the General Inspection Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense. Air Marshal. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 2nd - 5th convocations. Member of the Presidium of the DOSAAF Central Committee. Awarded the Order of Lenin (twice), the Red Banner (seven), Alexander Nevsky, the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Red Star (twice), "For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces" 3rd degree, medals, as well as foreign orders and medals . Honorary citizen of the cities of Balti, Chuguev, Kaluga, Kupyansk, Sumy and others. A bronze bust was installed in the village of Obrazhievka.

This event occurred on February 19, 1945 in the sky over the Oder and, according to the description of I. Kozhedub himself, it happened like this:

“It was like this. We were conducting an aerial hunt not far from the front line. I carefully monitor the air. From the south, from the direction of Frankfurt, at an altitude of 3500 meters, a plane suddenly appears. It flies along the Oder at a speed limiting for our Lavochkins. Yes, this it's a jet plane! I quickly turn around. I give the engine full throttle, pursuing the enemy. The pilot, obviously, did not look back, relying on high speed. I “squeeze” the maximum speed out of the car, try to reduce the distance and approach with a slight decrease under the “belly” of the enemy aircraft. I would like to examine it in detail; if I manage to open fire and shoot it down. I approach from the tail at a distance of 500 meters. A successful maneuver, quick action, speed allowed me to get closer to the jet plane. But what is it? Routes are flying towards it: clearly - my partner Still, I was in a hurry! I silently scold the “Old Man” mercilessly, I am sure that my plan of action is irreparably violated. But his routes unexpectedly - unexpectedly helped me: the German plane began to turn to the left, in my direction. The distance decreased sharply, and I got closer to the enemy. With involuntary excitement I open fire. And the jet plane, falling apart, falls."

In this air battle, I.N. Kozhedub shot down an Me-262. German sources confirm the loss, even identifying the aircraft number as WNr.900284.

Let's try to look at that meeting with a Luftwaffe jet fighter, which ended in one of the mysteries of aviation history.

Many, and often everyone, believe that I.N. Kozhedub shot down non-commissioned officer Kurt Lange from I./KG(j)54. But this is unlikely, since I/KG(j)54 at that time (02/22/1945 - 03/28/1945) was based at the airfield in Giebelstatt near Wurzburg. And Ivan Nikitovich’s battle with a jet plane took place north of Frankfurt-on-Oder. If any of the readers do not have the opportunity to look at the map of Germany, then I will allow myself to remind you that Wurzburg is Bavaria, which means the southern part of Germany. Frankfurt an der Oder - northern. And the distance between them is quite decent. About 600 km (the practical flight range of the Me-262 is 1040 km). One wonders why KG(j)54 would send a plane across Germany on a “hunt” when the more experienced (in terms of pilots) JV44 periodically operates there (the fact is that near the Oder there was a so-called “training zone” for this unit, there did young pilots undergo flight training)? But wait, JV44 was officially formed on February 24, 1945, and the jet fighter battle took place on February 19, 1945. Well, JV44 is not suitable. Let's look at the following parts.

Maybe JG7. Let's consider this option. In February, this unit was engaged in repelling attacks from Allied aircraft from the western direction, but there were frequent cases of JG7 flying near the Eastern Front. Fortunately, the location allowed: Bradenburg - Brist.

This means that the plane from JG7 most likely met with Ivan Nikitovich. It is known that the camouflage of this fighter consisted of random spots and with a number behind the cockpit: the number “9” in red. Let's remember the designations in the Luftwaffe. The red number denotes membership in the 2nd Squadron in each group. This means that Ivan Nikitich most likely shot down the Me-262 from the 2nd squadron of JG7. But skeptics also have reason to doubt, for example: why Ivan Nikitich did not declare victory immediately upon landing at the airfield. Or, where is the FKP film that captured the Me-262? Why is there not a word about a jet aircraft in the regiment’s documents, at least in the monthly report. And one more argument: in the typewritten list of victories, the victory over Me-262 is written in pen in the margins, which raises doubts about the authenticity of this document.

Well, this issue is very complex and requires separate consideration. And I just tried to slightly lift the veil of this secret.

But other pilots also had encounters with the Me-262; some shot down this “miracle weapon of retribution,” and others died at its “hands.”

Merkviladze Garry Alexandrovich. Born on February 17, 1923 in the city of Batumi (Adjara Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). Graduated from 9th grade. Since 1941 in the Red Army. In the same year he graduated from Tbilisi, and in 1942 from Armavir Military Aviation Pilot School. Since March 1943 on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Deputy squadron commander of the 152nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (12th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 1st Guards Attack Aviation Corps, 2nd Air Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) Guard Senior Lieutenant G. A. Merkviladze by May 1945 made 386 combat missions, in 87 air battles he personally shot down 13 and 2 enemy aircraft in a group. Title of Hero of the Owls. The Union was assigned on June 27, 1945. In 1952 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, in 1961 - from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1970, General - Aviation Major G. A. Merkviladze has been in reserve. Lived in the city of Tbilisi. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (three times), Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Red Star (three times), and medals. Died on April 2, 1971.

Pilot of the 152nd GvIAP Garry Aleksandrovich Merkviladze also has a downed Me-262 to his credit. The battle took place as follows: Harry Alexandrovich, while flying, noticed a new enemy aircraft, according to the description, matching the Me-262. The German pilot also noticed the Soviet fighter and prepared to attack. Merkviladze realized that without cunning this plane could not be brought down “from heaven to earth.”

The enemy fighter came on the tail of Merkviladze's fighter and prepared to shoot, the Soviet pilot took advantage of the maneuverability of his fighter, and when the Me-262 rushed towards high speed into the tail of Harry Alexandrovich's plane, he used the same trick, making a sharp jerk to the side.

Merkviladze changed the flight path of his plane, and the enemy fighter rushed past at breakneck speed and went ahead. The Soviet pilot could only take aim at the enemy fighter and fire a burst of machine-gun and cannon fire at the enemy, which Harry Aleksandrovich did, chalking up the “miracle of German engineering.”

German twin-engine jet aircraft Messershmitt Me-262.

On February 27, 1945, a conference was held in the 16th Air Army on the topic: “The fight of piston fighters of the Red Army Air Force against the enemy’s new jet technology.” The conference was attended by pilots who had already met the Me-262 in the sky, everyone shared their impressions of the new creation of the Luftwaffe. By the way, Ivan Nikitich Kozhedub also spoke there, but did not say anything about the downed Me-262, he only described how it was possible to shoot it down.

The conference was opened by the commander of the 16th Air Army, General - Aviation Commander S.I. Rudenko with the following words:

“We have gathered to talk about some of the features of the fight against high-speed German aircraft, including Messerschmitt-262, which have jet engines. Some of the comrades present here have already met such aircraft in the air. I would like these pilots "shared their impressions of air battles, told us what new enemy aircraft looked like in flight, what tactics were needed to better hit and shoot them down. This is required by the interests of the final victory over Nazi Germany."

Novikov Alexey Ivanovich. Born on November 7, 1916 in Moscow in a working-class family. He graduated from 7 classes, the FZU school, the flying club, and in 1936 - the Ulyanovsk School of Pilot Instructors. Since 1939 in the Red Army, in the same year he graduated from the Borisoglebsk Military Aviation Pilot School. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War from the first day. By August 1942, the squadron commander of the 17th Fighter Aviation Regiment (205th Fighter Aviation Division, 2nd Air Army, Voronezh Front), Captain A.I. Novikov, flew 242 combat missions and shot down 11 enemy aircraft in 34 air battles. On February 4, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, during the war he made about 500 combat missions, shot down 22 enemy aircraft personally and 5 in a group. After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1960 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1970, General - Aviation Major A.I. Novikov - retired. Lived and worked in Moscow. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (three times), the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (twice), the Red Star (four times), and medals. Died on October 23, 1986.

The first to speak was the assistant commander of the 3rd Fighter Air Corps, Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Novikov. He spoke about his encounter with the jet plane:

“The plane had a long, thin tail and an elongated nose with a low suspension of two gondola installations under the wings. The meeting took place on intersecting courses. The enemy quickly slipped past me and disappeared from view. During the search, I met him again and approached him. German pilot, probably noticed me and broke away again, left. For the third time I met the enemy on the same course as the first time.

Turning around, I picked up a speed of 570 km per hour and began to approach. However, the jet plane got away from me again. General E. Ya. Savitsky tried to attack him. But this attempt remained equally ineffective: the speed of the German car reached 800 km per hour. Traces of the operation of its jet engines were not visible due to the heavy haze."

Summing up his speech, Alexey Ivanovich gave some advice on techniques for combating new aircraft. Firstly, attack only using the method of surprise, preferably from the direction of the sun. Secondly, when conducting a battle it is necessary to use the maneuver of your aircraft so as not to allow targeted fire from the enemy. During an attack by the enemy, it is necessary to make a turn, and when the attacker rushes forward, only then open cannon fire.

Alexey Ivanovich also noted the rather poor maneuverability of this aircraft due to its very high speed. Oddly enough, one of the weak features of this fighter was its speed. According to Novikov, the sight installed on Soviet aircraft was suitable for firing at new enemy aircraft only from short distances. There was no point in firing at long distances. But still, there is no point in modifying the sight specifically for a new enemy aircraft. The scope of the confrontation between the Me-262 and the Soviet Air Force was so small and ineffective that the Messer jet could no longer influence the course of the war.

Makarov Valentin Nikolaevich. Born on August 30, 1919 in Sevastopol in a working-class family. He graduated from 7 classes and the Simferopol flying club. Since 1937 in the Red Army. In 1938 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation Pilot School. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Squadron commander of the 511th Fighter Aviation Regiment (220th Fighter Aviation Division, 16th Air Army, Don Front) Captain V.N. Makarov by January 1943 had flown 462 combat missions, in 118 air battles he shot down 15 personally and in a group 7 enemy aircraft. On January 28, 1943, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In total, he performed 635 combat missions, conducted 150 air battles, shot down 30 aircraft personally and 9 in a group. In 1947 he graduated from the Higher Officer Flight Tactical Courses, and in 1956 from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1975, General - Aviation Major V.N. Makarov has been in reserve. He was awarded the Order of Lenin (twice), the Red Banner (three times), Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, the Red Star (twice), “For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces,” 3rd degree, and medals. Died on May 20, 1978.

“While covering ground troops on the northern bridgehead of the Oder River, I also met an unfamiliar plane. At first I recognized it as a Rama, but when I turned around and went on the attack, I was convinced that it was not a Focke-Wulf. Gondolas were suspended under the planes of the aircraft. installations. They probably contained jet engines, since white smoke was streaming from the gondolas. The unknown plane quickly moved away from me, and I lost sight of it."

Valentin Nikolaevich agreed with Novikov: in order to shoot down such a plane it is necessary to use the factor of surprise using the sun and clouds. According to Makarov, one of the weak features of the new car was poor visibility of the pilot, and especially the lower hemisphere. The opinions of the speakers also agreed that there is no need to change the sight, but to fire only from small angles.

Also, Makarov made a proposal that pairs or fours should be sent on missions to destroy the Me-262, since they are easier to control than large groups. And that the battle formation when escorting attack aircraft and bombers must be built in such a way as to prevent the enemy from launching a surprise attack. The groups should be strengthened and pulled back.

Kobyletsky Ivan Ivanovich. Born on August 10, 1916 in the city of Birzula (now Kotovsk, Odessa region) in a working-class family. Graduated from 7th grade, FZU school. He worked as an assistant driver. Since 1936 in the Red Army. In 1938 he graduated from the Orenburg Military Aviation Pilot School. Participated in the national liberation war of the Chinese people against the Japanese invaders. Participant of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941. Deputy squadron commander of the 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (220th Fighter Aviation Division, 8th Air Army, South-Eastern Front) Senior Lieutenant I. I. Kobyletsky in an air battle on 08/16/1942 over his airfield near Stalingrad on a Yak plane -1 rammed an enemy fighter. Landed at the airport. He fought on the Southwestern, Don, Central, and Belorussian fronts. Deputy commander of the 53rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (1st Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 16th Air Army, 1st Belorussian Front) of the Guard, Major I. I. Kobyletsky, by February 1945, had carried out 451 combat missions, in 94 air battles personally shot down 15 and as part of a group 9 enemy aircraft. On May 15, 1946 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Since September 1948, Lieutenant Colonel I.I. Kobyletsky has been retired due to illness. Lived in Kyiv. He worked as a fitter-patterner, senior inspection foreman, and engineer. Awarded the Order of Lenin (twice), the Red Banner (twice), Alexander Nevsky, Patriotic War 1st degree, Red Star, and medals. Died July 25, 1986.

From the 53rd Guards IAP, Major Ivan Ivanovich Kobyletsky and Captain Gennady Sergeevich Dubenok took part in the conference.

I. I. Kobyletsky filed interesting idea. He proposed setting up something like an “ambush”, or rather, studying the enemy’s routes and organizing an ambush, thereby taking the enemy by surprise and, taking the initiative in the air battle into his own hands, shooting down or forcing the enemy’s plane to land.

Captain G.S. Dubenok, on the contrary, developed the idea of ​​Lieutenant Colonel V.N. Makarov that in order to successfully fight the enemy it is necessary to use all the advantages of building a formation of attack aircraft and fighters.

In addition, one or two pairs of fighters should follow in front of the main group and destroy enemy fighters that will rush at high speed through the formation of bombers or attack aircraft. Head-on attacks by inexperienced pilots are unsuccessful because the duration of these attacks is so short that an inexperienced pilot will not be able to aim and hit the target.

Summing up the results of the conference, the commander of the 16th Air Army, General - Colonel of Aviation S.I. Rudenko, recommended that the command of the units continue the process of training in tactics to combat Luftwaffe jet aircraft. He also expressed the hope that battles with jet aircraft will be fought at short distances (from 20 to 600 meters).

At the conclusion of his speech, the General called on everyone to preserve their proud name - the falcons of the country of the Soviets.

The conference ended and the victorious spring of 1945 was dawning. But the resistance of Hitler’s army continued, and there were frequent clashes in the sky with enemy aircraft. New encounters with Luftwaffe jet technology were no exception.

Dubenok Gennady Sergeevich. Born on January 1, 1920 in the village of Kraskovo, Pustoshkinsky district, Tver region. After graduating from the Chuguev Military Aviation School in 1939, he was sent to the position of fighter pilot on the Southwestern Front. Participant in the Battle of Stalingrad. He was an aviation flight commander and then deputy squadron commander of the 512th Fighter Aviation Regiment, deputy squadron commander of the 55th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 16th Air Army. He fought on the Don, Central and 1st Belorussian fronts. In total he made 372 combat missions. Having conducted more than 100 air battles, he shot down 12 enemy aircraft personally and 11 in a group. On August 24, 1943 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, he completed his postgraduate studies at the Red Banner Air Force Academy. He served as a teacher and senior lecturer at the academy. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (twice), the Order of the Patriotic War 1st and 2nd degree, the Red Star, "For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces" 3rd degree, the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" and many others.

So on March 22, 1945, in a battle with a pair of Me-262s, pilot Lev Ivanovich Sivko (photo provided by A.V. Stankov) shot down a “jet”. I would like to dwell on this episode a little.

The battle took place in the evening at 18:20 near the city of Tsekhin. Four Yak-9s from the 812th IAP, providing cover for ground troops, were at an altitude of 2000 meters, and the flight speed was 550 km/h. At the head of this four was Captain V.I. Melnikov. Suddenly, Lieutenant L.I. Sivko, flying in the group on the left, saw fire bursting out from under his “Yak” towards the leader. The next moment, an unknown plane without propellers flew past them at high speed, while gaining altitude.

When the enemy plane began to turn around, Lev Ivanovich, with a burst from 100 meters, damaged the right plane of the Me-262 wing, between the engine and the console. The enemy fighter overturned and crashed to the ground 5 km west of Tsekhin.

According to some sources, L. I. Sivko himself soon died:

“But L. Sivko’s car was also damaged, the pilot could not leave it and died a hero’s death. Now the fighting friends in the skies of Berlin avenged the death of the brave Komsomol member.”

On March 22, the US Air Force raided targets in Germany. On this day, the Germans announced 3 German fighters shot down. Perhaps these were planes from JG7 from the Bradenbug - Brist airfield.

So, on this day, 3 aircraft of the Luftwaffe jet fleet were lost. The first aircraft from 11./JG7 was lost during a bomber attack (pilot August Lübking, WNr. 111541), the second between Cottbus and Bautzen in the Alt-Döbern area (pilot Heinz Eichner, WNr. 500462). What about the third one, you ask? I will answer, there is very little data on this loss, only the serial number of the Me-262 is known. WNr. 900192. And the fact that this plane was lost in the Tsekhin area on March 22, 1945. Coincidence? It’s unlikely, considering that this is the territory where Soviet pilots “hunted.” So Lev Sivko most likely shot down this particular Me-262. Another argument for the truth of this victory is confirmation of the battle from the ground.

And where did the second Me-262 from the pair of attackers go? If he returned to the airfield, then why didn’t he report that his partner had been shot down by a Soviet fighter? Although he may have notified him, it is already March 1945, less than 2 months before the end of the war. Perhaps the message from the pilot of the second fighter was simply lost in the shuffle of German military documents. It's the end of the war after all...

There was less than a month left before the end of the war, but the resistance of the Luftwaffe pilots did not cease to weaken (we must pay tribute to the German pilots, they continued to resist the enemy, as they say, until the last “drop of blood”).

In the spring of 1945, Soviet pilots were lucky enough to shoot down several more Me-262s. One of these lucky ones turned out to be Egorovich Vladimir Alekseevich. In April 1945, in the sky of Berlin, he took down a Me-262 with a burst from his Yak-9T.

Born on May 19, 1919 in the village of Sutiski, now a village in the Tyvrovsky district of the Vinnitsa region, in a peasant family. Studied at a construction technical school. Since 1939 in the Red Army. In 1940 he graduated from the Odessa Military Aviation School. Since April 1943 on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Squadron commander of the 402nd Fighter Aviation Regiment (265th Fighter Aviation Division, 3rd Fighter Aviation Corps, 16th Air Army, 1st Belorussian Front) Captain V. A. Egorovich completed 248 combat missions by February 1945, in 71 air battles he shot down 22 enemy aircraft. On May 15, 1946 he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. Since 1949, he was the head of the flight unit of the DOSAAF flying club in the Zaporozhye region. He was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (three times), Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, and medals. Tragically died on April 27, 1953.

Another "April lucky guy" Kuznetsov Ivan Aleksandrovich.

The battle took place as follows: the Me-262 group wanted to attack the Il-2 attack aircraft when the covering fighters took off into the air. The Messers began to try to get out of the battle. And then the regiment commander gave the order: “Shot down the jet plane!” I. A. Kuznetsov aimed his Yak across the jet and fired a long burst at the German plane. Messer's right engine began to smoke. But the Messer jet was still trying to get out of the battle, picking up speed. But 3 more fighters took off to help their commander. They simultaneously opened fire on the Me-262. The German pilot could not escape such an attack; his plane tilted and crashed to the ground.

This victory was chalked up to Ivan Kuznetsov’s personal account, although it was a group victory. This event took place on April 30, 1945 near Berlin.

And here is how this battle is described by the pilot - attack aircraft Hero of the Soviet Union, the only full holder of the Order of Glory of all 3 degrees (among pilots), Ivan Grigorievich Drachenko, who himself shot down 5 enemy aircraft in air battles (including 1 with a ram) in his book "On the Wings of Courage":

Born on January 5, 1917 in the village of Repnoye, now the Uvarovsky district of the Tambov region, in a peasant family. Graduated from 2 years of agricultural technical school. In 1936 - 1938 and since 1942 in the Red Army. In 1938 he graduated from the Kachin Military Aviation School. He worked as a pilot instructor at the Donetsk flying club. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since December 1942. The squadron commander of the 107th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (11th Guards Fighter Aviation Division, 2nd Air Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) of the Guard, Senior Lieutenant I. A. Kuznetsov, by May 1945, had completed 219 combat missions. In 59 air battles he shot down 10 enemy aircraft and destroyed a lot of enemy manpower and military equipment with assault strikes. On June 27, 1945 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war he continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1953 he graduated from the Higher Officer Flight and Tactical Courses, served in the country's Air Defense Forces, and commanded a formation. Since 1972, General - Aviation Major I. A. Kuznetsov has been in reserve. Living in Astrakhan, he was chairman of the regional DOSAAF committee. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner (four times), Alexander Nevsky, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st and 2nd degree, the Red Star (twice), Soviet and foreign medals.

“It was much more difficult for us attack aircraft to fight the Me-262. Jet planes rushed over our formation, lying in wait for the Ilyas on turns when approaching a target or when exiting an attack. They also attacked damaged vehicles landing.

One pair got used to intercepting the Ilyushins in such a way that at least they didn’t return from the mission alone. The corps commander ordered to stop these brazen attacks by hunters. We came up with a simple plan: I and my partner decided to use me as bait, to deceive the enemy with the appearance of easy prey.

One morning, at about 8 o'clock, I lifted my Il into the air. Full ammunition, but no bombs. Three pairs of "Yaks" climbed to 5000 meters. I began to walk at speed over the airfield. Suddenly, 2 silvery dots began to grow from the front line. The leading Me-262 went on the attack. Maneuvering, I fired a cannon burst at him. Then our fighters arrived from above.

The Messer that attacked me quickly went up, but our guys still covered the second one. The fascist had no choice but to eject.

Drachenko Ivan Grigorievich. Born on November 15, 1922 in the village of Velyka Sevastyanovka, now Khristinovsky district, Cherkasy region, in a peasant family. He graduated from high school and the Leningrad Aero Club. Since April 1942 in the Red Army. In 1943 he graduated from the Tambov Military Aviation Pilot School and was sent to the front. Senior pilot of the 140th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment (8th Guards Assault Aviation Division, 1st Guards Assault Aviation Corps, 2nd Air Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) Guard junior lieutenant I. G. Drachenko by August 1944 made 100 combat missions for reconnaissance and destruction of enemy manpower and equipment. Participated in 14 air battles. On August 14, 1944, while performing a combat mission, he was seriously wounded and captured. Managed to escape. After recovery he returned to the front. On October 26, 1944 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. After the war, Senior Lieutenant I.G. Drachenko retired. In 1953 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Kyiv University, worked as the director of an evening high school, and as deputy director of the Palace of Culture "Ukraine" in Kyiv. Awarded the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Red Star, Glory (all three degrees), and medals. Author of the books: “For the sake of life on earth”, “On the wings of courage”.

But why didn't his parachute open? When we arrived at the place where the Nesetsky pilot fell, we immediately noticed that the parachute was locked. This means that the pilot was doomed to death in advance..."

But perhaps the most interesting clash occurred with Major A.V. Vorozheikin.

Arseniy Vasilievich is the only Soviet Air Force pilot who shot down a German Arado Ar-234 jet bomber. In addition, Vorozheikin is also a wonderful writer: from his pen came such wonderful works as: “Soldiers of the Sky”, “Private Aviation”, “Berlin Below Us”. It is in his book “Soldiers of the Sky” that Arseniy Vasilyevich describes how he shot down the Arada jet. I bring to the reader's attention the same passage:

“Below us, some kind of plane is gliding unusually quickly. My eyes cling tightly to it. Under the wings I see 4 twin engines. Jet. I’ve heard of such a plane. “Arada”, a fighter-bomber. It has 4 30-mm cannons and can be rockets.

The speed of this car is about 900 km/h. This is the latest innovation in German military equipment. Although we flew on the best Yaks - the Yak-3, they are piston-powered and are 200 kilometers slower than the new German jets. You won’t be able to defeat this fascist with old techniques. Experience suggested how best to attack him.

Vorozheikin Arseniy Vasilievich Born on October 28, 1912 in the village of Prokofievo, now Gorodets district of the Gorky region, in a peasant family. Since 1931 in the Red Army. In 1937 he graduated from the Kharkov Military Aviation Pilot School. Participated in the battles on the Khalkhin-Gol River in 1939. Conducted 30 air battles, shot down 6 Japanese aircraft personally and 12 in a group. During the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 he was a military commissar aviation squadron. In 1942 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War since 1942. Squadron commander of the 728th Fighter Aviation Regiment (256th Fighter Aviation Division, 5th Fighter Aviation Corps, 2nd Air Army, 1st Ukrainian Front) for 78 combat missions and participation in 32 air battles, in which he personally destroyed 19 enemy aircraft, 02/04/1944 awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The second Gold Star medal was awarded to Captain A.V. Vorozheikin on August 19, 1944 for 28 combat missions, 14 air battles and 11 downed aircraft. Since 1944, senior instructor - pilot of the combat training department of front-line aviation. After the war, he commanded an aviation regiment and division, and was the first deputy commander of the air defense of the Black Sea Fleet. In 1952 he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. Since 1957, General - Aviation Major A.V. Vorozheikin has been in reserve. He was awarded the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner (four times), Suvorov 3rd degree, Alexander Nevsky, the Patriotic War 1st degree, the Red Star (twice), and foreign orders.

"Arada" rushes towards. My altitude is 6000 meters. When the enemy jet is in front of me at an angle of 45 degrees, I will go vertically down and intercept him there.

As always, the “Yak” easily, like a toy, turned over and went vertically towards the ground, quickly picking up speed. The enemy was behind. Why doesn’t he get creative and hit me with 4 cannons, and maybe also with rockets? He just has to raise his nose, and he, having great speed, will immediately overtake me. And I sharply spin the car into a dive to see how the Arada reacts to me.

The plane is still flying low and will soon overtake me. This is where I have to catch him. And I turn the car again. The “Yak” obeys with difficulty, as if complaining: “Stop testing me,” and is eager to get out of the dive. I hold it tightly as I continue to lose altitude. The speed gauge needle is already vibrating at the round and dangerous number “700”. And my “Yak”, as if having renounced life, has lost its agility and no longer rushes upward into the sky, but with cold doom goes towards the ground.

The car is not designed for such high speed: it may fall apart. And if you have enough strength, it won’t come out of the dive: it will get sucked in.

With full muscle tension I begin to withdraw. It's hard to hear, but it's easy to hear. True, my eyes get dark from overload, but I know from experience that this will pass if you just ease the pressure on the handle. Just a little more effort. If only the Yak could withstand it! Must! That's how I want it. And I'm pulling. Although it’s night in my eyes, I feel everything is fine.

Well done "Yak", he survived! My eyes become clearer, I see the horizon, the sky, the earth. There must be an "Arada" here somewhere. Here she is! Near. I calculated it well. And then something happened that I no longer feared. There was an explosion and a blow to the head. I choked on something thick and cold. My vision darkened again. Consciousness clearly noted: this is the last attack. A shell exploded in the cabin... But why did it feel cold and not hot and I don’t feel any pain or scorching fire? Did the plane fall apart?.. However, in front of me again was the sky, the earth, the horizon and the Arada. My Yak is intact. And the explosion, the impact?.. That's it - the canopy was torn off the cabin, and the cold air whipped into the face. I'm taking aim at the Arada!

That's bad luck. It’s already far away, I might not get there. I'm shooting. Fabulous! Cords of tracer shells and bullets caught up with the enemy and dug into his body. Sparks and fire sprayed out from the Arada, thick smoke poured out, and the plane disappeared into the Berlin fire..."

It is very difficult to trace this loss from German sources. But in fact it is impossible, because it is not even known whether this plane was shot down, since its remains were not found. And there are no witnesses to be found either. One can only guess what happened to that Arada jet. Of course, the probability that the Ar-234 landed is almost zero, since landing in a city is not very convenient, especially on a bomber. But, if no plane wreckage was found and there are no witnesses to the victory, then the victory will not be counted. They did the same with Arseny Vasilyevich. This victory was simply not counted.

The Soviet pilots undoubtedly had experience in fighting enemy jet technology (which came in handy a little later in the war with the United States on the territory North Korea), but what about the Germans themselves? Do they have any mention of similar incidents in the history of front-line jet aviation? Let's try to figure it out.

Of course, it is hardly possible to find out who shot down the first Soviet fighter. We will try to consider all the episodes of encounters with Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front.

So let's start, and we'll start with such an eminent pilot as Johannes Steinhof.

In his memoirs, “At the Last Hour,” Oberst Steinhof describes encounters with Soviet pilots in the skies over the Oder in February 1945:

“We are flying an eastern course in the direction of the highway that led to Frankfurt an der Oder. Suddenly a Russian fighter appears in front of me, and I did not have time to coordinate the position of the Me-262 and fix the target in the sight in a few seconds. Only a few meters separated me from the Russian fighter as I passed by and went up. Looking back, I saw the flashes of his weapon. He continuously pulled his fighter up.

There were many fighters maneuvering around me, it was tempting to take out one of their cannons, but as soon as I approached them, they began to maneuver even more vigorously, which made the attack extremely difficult. And I was forced to hide from their sight."

“Flying west at an altitude of 1000 meters, I crossed the Oder. Now I must gain altitude again to be among the Russian fighters. When I put the Me-262 on the wing and moved the throttle levers to turn around, I saw a group of Il- 2, there were 7 or 8 of them, despite the camouflage coloring, their silhouettes were clearly visible. They fired from cannons and dropped bombs on the highway, trucks walking along this highway turned to the side of the road, and the soldiers scattered in different directions. I caught one of the attack aircraft in my sights , pressed the cannon button, the burst was short, and immediately pulled the control stick towards himself so as not to hit the treetops.

A few hundred meters before the edge of the forest, he touched the snow with his propeller, a huge snow cloud rose, completely hiding the Il-2, and when a gust of wind blew the snow to the side, I saw a distinct silhouette of an attack aircraft in the snow, and at that moment a small black figure of a pilot climbed out of the plane , which first jumped onto the wing, and then ran through the deep snow towards the forest."

30-mm cannon mounted on the Me-262.

This meeting took place on February 25, 1945. Steinhof took off from the Bradenburg-Brist airfield. In March he also mentions meetings with pilots of the Red Army Air Force. Here is another quote from his memoirs:

“One of the March days, I wanted to teach one of the newcomers how to fly in pairs. After takeoff, we headed for the “training zone” near the Oder. We flew over the river and on the other side we saw a group of Russian fighters. I wanted to attack, but the lead angle when firing let me down again, the fact is that the jet Me-262 has a different design than the Me-109. I unsuccessfully flew through the formation several times. Then something appeared in front of me, which turned out to be a Russian fighter. Instinctively, I fired from four 30- mm guns. Like lightning, the remains of a Russian fighter flew around my cabin. It literally disintegrated in the air!

Looking back, I saw the rest of the Russian fighters going home at full throttle. I turn around, descend and see below me a lone fighter with red stars flying to the west. I catch him in my sights and shoot. Its pilot twitched, tried to get away at low level, but crashed into the top of the hill."

As we can see from the above quotes, Steinhof claims two Russian planes were shot down.

However, Steinhof was not the only one who claimed to have shot down Soviet fighters; there were other Luftwaffe pilots flying the Me-262 who also laid claim to victories won on the Eastern Front.

So, in the last days of April, Lieutenant Herbert Schlüter shot down one Yak-9 near the city of Breslau, and Chief Fenrich Gunther Wittbold destroyed 2 Soviet Il-2 attack aircraft in the vicinity of Baerwalde. He later recalled:

“Everything happened very quickly and at low altitude. I was very surprised to meet the Russians there. The gunner of the first Il-2 didn’t even have time to open fire. I started a 360-degree turn when the second Il-2 was in my way. I didn’t "I saw him until the tracer bullets from his guns flew past my ears. Having received several hits, the IL-2 fell apart into many small parts."

During the last weeks of the war, JG7 pilots destroyed about 20 Soviet aircraft.

But the most interesting thing is that the last victory in World War II, which was won by Luftwaffe pilots, was on a jet plane, and besides, a Soviet fighter was shot down. Presumably, this is a pilot from the 129th GvIAP G. G. Stepanov. This victory was won on May 8 at 15:20.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Luftwaffe jet aircraft did not bring the desired result to Hitler. Too late, he gave the go-ahead for mass production of aircraft with jet and rocket engines. Nothing could save Germany.

Pilots died not so much because they were shot down by enemy planes, but because they became victims of man-made disasters.

On the Eastern Front, jet aircraft did not bring any success and their use there was comparable to the death convulsions of a dying person. In this case, the dying role was the Third Reich and its war machine.

Nevertheless, experience, courage and loyalty to the Motherland did not even psychologically break the pilots of the Red Army Air Force in front of the “jet monster” of the Luftwaffe; the Russian pilots drove this beast away and put an end to the ambitions of the Luftwaffe.

The Me-262 aircraft was not the only Luftwaffe serial jet fighter to take part in the battles of World War II. And although another aircraft of the same company, we are talking about the missile Me-163 “Kometa”, was not encountered in air battles with Soviet pilots, it is worth telling a little about it.

This aircraft is known in the history of world aviation as the Messerschmitt-163. However, its creator was not Willy Messerschmitt, whose name he began to bear, but Alexander Lippisch, a very talented scientist in the field of aviation. This machine was conceived and designed by Lippisch, but built at the Messerschmitt factories. Lippisch's idea, embodied in metal, began to bear the designation Me-163. There are countless children in this world who bear the names not of their parents, but of those who took care of them. The main thing in this matter is the essence, not the name.

Everyone who flew on this jet miracle felt “heat in the chest and cold in the back.” This plane could lift a person to great heights or throw him into the underworld in a short time. It was for this spirit that people loved him. This is what test pilot Mano Ziegler writes in his memoirs:

“Almost not a single flight day passed without the loss of one of us. But strangely enough, we all loved this rocket monster, like a flighty woman who could deceive you and abandon you at any moment, but nevertheless we remained faithful to him ".

The German interceptor fighter Me-163, which entered service with the German Air Force in May 1944, was one of the most unusual, but at the same time the most promising fighters in the world. In the subsequent decades of aviation development, not a single production aircraft was created that could be directly compared with this fighter.

The prototype aircraft was designated DFS-194. More precisely, it was the DFS-33 glider, developed by the German scientific - research institute glider technology equipped with a rocket engine. At the same time, the design of the aircraft had to be thoroughly redesigned, after which it received the designation DFS-194. While it was being built in Darmstadt, Alexander Lippisch and several of his employees were supposed to move to Ausburg to the Willy Messerschmitt company (since the institute was mainly a research institution, it was decided to launch serial production of the aircraft on the basis of the Messerschmitt company - the leading developer and manufacturer of German fighters). The aircraft was given the corporate designation Me-163. Work on this aircraft began on January 2, 1939. A team of 6 people began working on it. Heini Dittmar agreed to become a test pilot.

Meanwhile, the Darmstadt-built DFS-194 began to undergo towing tests. Then a rocket engine was installed on it, running on “T-fuel” (hydrogen peroxide) and “Z-fuel” (potassium permanganate). Test flights with such a power plant were carried out at the Peenemünde missile base. Despite the great difficulties that accompanied the tests, encouraging results were obtained. Using the DFS-194 rocket glider, Heini Dittmar reached a speed of 550 km/h.

Tests of the first experimental Me-163 V1 aircraft in gliding flight began in the spring of 1941. Flight tests of the aircraft were initially carried out in tow. A twin-engine Me-110 aircraft was chosen as a towing vehicle. The first towing flights showed that the Me-163's glide angle was too small. There was not enough landing strip on the first landing, and Dittmar was forced to slip between two hangars located at the end of the airfield. Everyone who saw this landing had their hair stand on end. A number of modifications to the aircraft design followed, and again towing tests for gliding.

Until that time, no aircraft that did not have a tail had flown at speeds above 350 km/h. At speeds exceeding this, dangerous flutter occurred on the rudder. When this was dealt with, it turned out that at a speed exceeding 520 km/h, he appeared on the elevator. It took more than 15 towing flights until these problems were corrected. In general, in terms of aerodynamic properties, the Me-163 aircraft turned out to be unusually good and reliable. In gentle flight, it easily reached speeds of about 900 km/h.

One day, Ernst Udet, who was responsible for new equipment at the Ministry of Aviation, came to test the aircraft. At this time, Dittmar, at an altitude of 5000 meters, was carrying out another program on the Me-163, which had been towed there. Lippisch, seeing Udet arrive, pointed his finger up at him.

What's that there, Lippisch? - asked Udet.

Our experienced Me-163...

At that moment, Dittmar directed the car down and at enormous speed, approximately 800 km/h, leveling it, flew over the airfield, and then went up like a candle.

What engine is on this car? - asked Udet.

“This plane doesn’t have an engine yet,” Lippisch answered.

No engine? - Udet asked. - Do you, Lippisch, take me for a fool?

During this test flight, Dittmar made several dive flights and climbed upward.

This cannot be,” Udet said every time the plane ascended, “You are lying to me, Lippisch!”

When Dittmar landed, Udet approached the plane and began to carefully examine it. Finally, making sure that he was not being deceived, he said:

Indeed, there is no engine...

The motorless flight Udet saw made a strong impression on him. From that time on, he began to vigorously promote further work on it and did not lose sight of it until his death.

The rocket engine Walter created for the Me-163 had a thrust of 750 kg. The first flights with such an engine were carried out at the Peenemünde rocket base. The machine showed an unprecedented rate of climb. But, since the jettisonable takeoff aircraft did not have shock-absorbing devices, the pilot was subjected to large vibration overloads during takeoff. The same thing happened during landing. There was an urgent need to create a seat for the pilot that could withstand such overloads. Test flights were temporarily stopped.

Despite the fact that a sufficiently reliable pilot seat was not made, test flights were resumed. Already on the 4th flight, Dittmar managed to reach a speed of 800 km/h. But this was not the limit yet. When the plane reached a speed of 920 km/h, as a result of flutter, the rudder flew off. Landing the plane was out of the question. Dittmar had to leave him and bail out.

On the next experimental aircraft, the Me-163 V4, Heini Dittmar made a record flight and reached a speed of over 1000 km/h. If the flights had not been carried out in the greatest secrecy, they could have become a world achievement. Dittmar himself spoke about these flights as follows:

"It was not easy to achieve record speeds. The engine turned off every time, it was barely possible to reach a speed of about 500 km/h. When I managed to figure out its whim, I decided to conduct high-speed flights at an altitude of 4000 meters. A special measuring distance was made. Flying above it, I carefully I kept an eye on the speed indicator. The pressure gauge indicated normal pressure. At this altitude the engine did not let me down. In one of the flights over the measured distance, I began to increase the speed. The needle began to creep up: 950 - 960 - 970... I looked at the pressure gauge, the engine was fine . As soon as I turned my eyes to the speed indicator, the needle was already beyond the 1000 km/h mark. The plane began to vibrate strongly. I felt that it stopped obeying the control stick. I immediately turned off the engine and waited for the plane to crash. Some time passed. Suddenly I "I felt that the plane began to obey the controls. Then I finally realized that I had entered the sound barrier zone. Upon landing, I learned that on the measuring line the plane showed a speed of 1004 km/h."

Thus, already in 1941, an aircraft with a person on board exceeded the 1000 km mark. After achieving this success, Heini Dittmar was awarded the Lilienthal Prize for research in the field of aviation. This was a well-deserved reward for his flight tests, during which he was on the verge of death more than once.

This aircraft was also the first aircraft in the history of aviation to encounter problems with the compressibility of air flow at high speeds in horizontal flight. Therefore, when developing the car, a number of new aerodynamic problems had to be solved. The design chosen for the Comet - a tailless design with a swept wing - made their decision easier. Since that time, the use of swept wings has become one of the traditional solutions to the problems of high-speed flight.

The modification of the Me-163 aircraft, designated "B", had a jet thrust almost 2 times greater than the first. The speed has increased, and with it the danger. Knowing full well that every flight could end in death, Dittmar turned to Udet with a request to give him a partner whom he could teach to pilot a rocket plane. Goes ensured that Dittmar's friend, Rudolf Opitz, was transferred from the front to the Messerschmitt company as a test pilot.

The designers still faced the problem of cushioning the pilot's seat. At the end of the rocket plane tests, Heini Dittmar had an accident that confined him to a hospital bed for 2 years. During landing, the shock absorber on the landing ski failed. The plane remained unharmed, but Dittmar broke his spine. Opitz continued testing the aircraft. Soon he was joined by the famous pilot ace Wolfgang Spate, recalled from the front. When the tests were completed, “Test Detachment No. 16” was formed in the summer of 1943 in Bad Zwischenahn for training in flying a rocket aircraft.

We can say that the participants in the anti-Hitler coalition were lucky in that the technical difficulties that arose during the development of the aircraft (associated mainly with the creation of a liquid-fuel rocket engine), as well as the political difficulties of that time, made it difficult for the Comet to enter service with the Nazi Air Force .

According to its design, the Me-163 was a rather conservative “tailless” aircraft with a swept wing, which was designed by Alexander Lippisch, who had gained considerable experience by this time. Single-section elevons were installed on the wing (wooden structure), and a vertical tail with a rudder was installed on the tail of the short all-metal (aluminum alloy) fuselage. The designers solved the problem of the retractable landing gear by abandoning it altogether. The plane took off from a detachable two-wheeled trolley, and landing was carried out on a single ski, similar to the landing devices of gliders. The plane did not have ski- or wheel-type wing supports, so almost every landing ended with the plane turning around, and often in a coup.

All available volumes of the fuselage were given over to tanks that housed liquid-propellant rocket engine fuel. The fuel components of the Me-163 fighter were a mixture of methyl alcohol, hydrazine and water (fuel) and hydrogen peroxide (oxidizer). Several Me-163 accidents occurred due to components coming into contact rocket fuel outside the combustion chamber of the engine (Walter HW 509 S-1, thrust 20 kN). Sometimes the engine exploded even just from a rough landing.

Despite the significant fuel reserve (2000 kg), the engine's efficiency was very low, so that it could only operate for 12 minutes; this means that the interceptor had to be based directly under the air corridors along which the enemy bombers followed. By the time the Me-163 reached an altitude of 9,760 meters, it only had fuel left for 6.5 minutes of flight. In some cases, fully fueled Comets were towed to a height behind heavy German aircraft, after which the engine was started in the air and the interceptor fighter began attacking the bomber.

The aircraft's armament consisted of 2 20 mm cannons mounted in the wing. The Me-163 was one of the smallest fighters of World War II. The aircraft's wing span was 9.81 m, the aircraft's wing area was 20.37 sq.m, the take-off weight was 5299.8 kg, and the load per unit wing area was 260.9 kg/sq.m. The maximum speed of the production Me-163C was 858 km/h, the aircraft was capable of gaining an altitude of 12,100 meters in 3 minutes 20 seconds; the rate of climb at the ground was 60 m/sec.

364 aircraft were produced in serial production. Subsequently, a number of aircraft with liquid propellant engines were created, but none of them ever became a serial Air Force combat aircraft.

The Me-163 aircraft was in service with only one fighter squadron - JG400 [commander - famous German pilot ace Wolfrang Spate; He finished the war flying the Me-262 and had 99 aerial victories to his credit] and was used exclusively to combat enemy heavy bombers on the Western Front. By the end of 1944, the combat activity of JG400 sharply decreased due to the constant bombing of airfields, poor pilot training, and the critical situation with fuel delivery. In reality, only the 1st group was in combat, which managed to achieve 9 victories with the loss of 14 aircraft. The 2nd group, due to lack of fuel, ended the war without flying a single combat mission...

The Me-163 rocket plane was not covered in the glory of victories. Many cars were lost due to engine failure. Quite a few of them died in air battles. The remaining ones were captured by the Allies and tested for some time in the research institutes of the air forces of the victorious countries. This indicated that his flight technical data was of interest.

In our country, test flights of a two-seat training version of the machine, the Me-163S, were carried out.

In the years when a speed of 700 - 750 km/h was considered very good for serial fighters, in Germany the designers already knew what would happen to the aircraft when it reached twice the speed, four times the speed, how the car would behave in the speed of sound zone and far away. for her. All the years of the war, the Germans, it turns out, persistently carried out relevant research, and not only theoretical, but already in laboratories and testing grounds, “blowing” in the wind tunnels of Göttingen, Hamburg, Folkenrode, Detmold, Travemünde, Pienemünde, in the giant Otzale tube in the Alps, they shot detailed films about the flights of cruise missiles, about the fall of experimental bombs from a great height (so that, while falling, they had time to accelerate to the required speed). We learned to reliably, with an error of no more than 1%, determine the parameters of a supersonic air flow at any point of the profile flowing around it, take into account the influence of various physical and geometric factors on such a flow, and much more - and as a result, in 1944, at least 8 prototype jet aircraft, at least 7 were in the design stage.

In 1944 - 1945, our Western allies discovered in Germany a ready-made purge aerodynamic model of the Yeger R-13 fighter ( chief designer Alexander Lippisch) and the experimental glider DM-1 - a simplified “analogue” of this fighter, a narrow tailless triangle.

The Americans have already flown the DM-1. The speed of the R-13 would be, according to some sources, 1650, according to others - 1955, according to others - 2410 km/h. In the powerful wind tunnel of Göttingen, the Germans blew the R-13 model in a flow more than 2.5 times the speed of sound.

The DM-1 airframe designed by Alexander Lippisch had a wing sweep of 60° along the leading edge and 15° at the rear. The glider was created at the end of the Second World War as a full-scale gliding model of a designed fighter aircraft with a ramjet engine. DM-1 was developed with the aim of testing the possibility of ensuring acceptable flight characteristics of an aircraft of this design at low flight speeds. In the absence of a prototype aircraft equipped with a sufficiently powerful power plant, it was planned to obtain high-speed aerodynamic data in a wind tunnel. Aerodynamic data in the intermediate speed range were obtained from flight tests in which the DM-1 was towed to a high altitude (approximately 7600 meters or more), after which the aircraft separated and flew freely. The DM-1 was supposed to accelerate to the speed required by the test program during a prolonged dive. The relatively low mass of this glider did not allow it to develop a very high speed in a dive. The maximum dive speed was approximately 558.7 km/h.

When creating the DM-1 glider, Lippisch was helped by two groups of engineers - aviation enthusiasts from Darmstadt and Munich universities (the glider got its name from the initial letters of these cities).

If you do not take into account the lack of an engine, the DM-1 was a fully completed aircraft, equipped, among other things, with a three-wheel retractable landing gear. To ensure a minimum weight of the structure, the aircraft was made of wood, and thin aircraft plywood was used as skin. In addition to the innovative wing shape, a unique design feature was that the cabin was the root part of the leading edge of the vertical tail of a large relative thickness.

The DM-1 fell into the hands of American occupation forces and was then used in the United States for testing in 1945. The results obtained were so encouraging that the Convair company received a contract to develop and build a jet modification of this airframe. The DM-1 is currently housed at the US Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio.

Immediately after the war, the United States brought 86 German military designers and scientists from Germany. An incomplete list of them (only the “leading ones” are listed) was given in December 1946 by the Aviation News magazine. Named among them was Wernher von Braun, the chief designer of the V-2 rocket, later the head of the development of the American Saturn launch vehicles and Apollo spacecraft, and the first was Dr. Alexander Lippisch...

In conclusion of our story, I would like to return again to the developments in the field of jet technology by designer Ernst Heinkel, or more precisely, to the Heinkel He-162 “Salamander” aircraft.

The history of this car is very interesting. In the last year of the war, when the inevitability of Germany’s defeat was already obvious, Hitler was possessed by two “great ideas” - the creation of a total weapon of retaliation and the total mobilization of the entire country. During this period, one after another, “extremely simple” and at the same time, seemingly very effective means of combating the enemy were born. One of them was the “total” fighter He-162. One of the leaders of the Ministry of Armaments had the idea to create a small jet fighter, later called “people’s”, intended for “defense of the fatherland.” It needed to be easy to operate. After a short training, it was supposed to be flown mainly by boys from the Hitler Youth gliding schools.

Development and tactical task - technical requirements for a similar aircraft were issued simultaneously to five companies: Blom and Voss, Heinkel, Junkers, Arado and Focke-Wulf. According to the requirements, the aircraft's speed had to be 750 km/h, armament - 2 guns, flight time 20 minutes, weight 2000 kg, power plant - one BMW 003 turbojet engine with a thrust of 810 kg.

Heinkel employees received the order to design the aircraft on September 8, 1944. Even before starting to assemble it, they already knew that it would not be advisable to place a single engine in the fuselage. Having experience in building a single-engine He-178 aircraft, they understood how many different connections would be required with such an engine placement. It was easier to install the engine above the fuselage, as was already done by the designers of the Fisler company on the Fi-103 projectile aircraft. For ease of production, it was decided to make the wing and tail surfaces wooden. Even the fuel tank was made of veneer. It was decided to make the landing gear with a nose wheel, which was supposed to ensure good takeoff and landing qualities of the vehicle.

Design work on the Non-162 aircraft began on September 24, 1944, and already on December 6, that is, just 2 months later, the first prototype of the aircraft was flown into the air by pilot Peters, who had an engineering education. During its testing, a maximum flight speed of 840 km/h was obtained at an altitude of 6000 meters. Unfortunately, this talented pilot later died during testing of the second experimental He-162 aircraft due to destruction of the wing in flight. However, Hitler hurried Heinkel and therefore, after slightly strengthening the wing structure, even without additional flight tests, the aircraft was put into production simultaneously at several Heinkel and Junkers factories.

On July 17, 1945, an aviation parade took place at the English airfield in Farnborough, in which captured German-made aircraft also took part. Among others, 8 Non-162 aircraft were shown. According to the report of an English pilot who tested the serial He-162, the speed of the vehicle did not exceed 750 km/h, which was explained by the haste to launch the aircraft into mass production. He expressed himself in just two words about the flight and aerobatic properties of this fighter: “The best in the world!”

The original article by Andrey Lyubushkin is located on the website "Aviators of World War II". I allowed myself to insert into her Additional information about the aircraft He-178, He-280, He-162, Me-163, experimental developments A. Lippisha, supplement it with some interesting drawings and photographs.

For those who are interested in the history of the creation of jet aircraft in the design bureau of Ernst Heinkel, I suggest reading one of the chapters of his book “In my fast-paced life...” -

Introduction

The first jet aircraft appeared before the start of World War II. In 1939, experimental aircraft He 176 (June 20) and He 178 (August 27), created in Germany at the Heinkel company, took off into the air. Then, with a slight difference in time, aircraft from other countries made their first flights - RP-318-1 (USSR) in the spring of 1940, SS.2 (Italy) in August 1940, E.28/39 (England) in May 1941 d. By the end of the war, jet aircraft were already in service with the military air force four countries - Germany (Ar 234, He 162, Me 163, Me 262), England (G.41A Meteor), USA (P-59A Airacomet, P-80A Shooting Star) and Japan (Oka projectiles).

Such a rapid development of aviation technology is impressive - after all, in just a little more than three and a half decades that have passed since the flight of the world's first airplane by the Wright brothers (USA) in 1903, powerful jet engines have appeared, and the maximum speed of aircraft has increased from 80–90 up to almost 1000 km/h. However, upon careful examination, it turns out that there is nothing supernatural in this, since the preparatory stage of creating jet aviation began, in fact, long before the appearance of the first aircraft of the Wright brothers, A. Santos-Dumont, L. Bleriot, G. Voisin, A. Farman etc. Humanity came to the idea of ​​​​using jet propulsion to carry out the flight of an aircraft in the first half of the 19th century.

For example, the German F. Matthies in 1835 pointed out the possibility of using a powder engine to fly a kite, and also mentioned the possibility of creating a manned aircraft on this principle. Two years later, also in Germany, W. von Siemens published a design for a jet aircraft that used the reactive action of jets of water vapor or compressed carbon dioxide. However, both of these projects had a significant drawback - they were not suitable for practical purposes, since the operating time of the engine was very short, and the engines themselves did not exist at that time.

In the mid-60s. XIX century Frenchman C. de Louvrier proposed a design for an aircraft equipped with two jet engines - the predecessors of pulsating air-breathing engines. The Spaniard P. Maffiotti developed a design for a device with an engine, which was the prototype of a ramjet engine. In Russia N.M. Sokovnin worked on a project for a controlled balloon driven by a jet engine, and N.A. Teleshov is working on a project for an aircraft with an air-breathing engine, a prototype of a pulsating engine. In England, D. Butler and E. Edwards patented the design of a jet aircraft with a steam engine.

In the 80s XIX century The problem of using a jet engine for aircraft was dealt with by the Russian inventor S.S. Nezhdanovsky. Among his developments were devices with jet engines running on compressed gas, water vapor, a mixture of nitroglycerin with alcohol or glycerin and air. In 1881 N.I. Kibalchich developed a project for a manned gunpowder rocket aircraft, in 1886 A.V. Ewald conducted experiments with a model aircraft equipped with a powder rocket engine. In 1887, Kyiv engineer F.R. Geschwend published a brochure “The general basis for the design of an aeronautical steamship (passenger)”, in which he described an airplane with a steam jet plant. According to F.R. Geshvend, a “password” flight with one pilot and three passengers on board along the route Kyiv - St. Petersburg could be carried out in six hours with five to six stops for refueling (kerosene).

In 1903, the Russian scientist K.E. Tsiolkovsky published his work “Exploration of World Spaces with Jet Instruments,” in which, in particular, he proposed a manned rocket with a liquid fuel engine (oxygen-hydrocarbon and oxygen-hydrogen). Major General M.M. Pomortsev conducted in 1902–1907. experiments with cruise missiles of our own design. In addition to this, M.M. In 1905, Pomortsev proposed a project for a “pneumatic” rocket, using compressed air as an oxidizer in its engine, and gasoline or ether as fuel; this engine, in fact, became the prototype of a liquid rocket engine. In 1907 N.V. Gerasimov applied and in 1912 received a privilege (patent) for the design of a powder rocket with gyroscopic stabilization.

In 1908, the Frenchman Rene Laurens proposed using an aircraft as power plant the prototype of a motor-compressor air-breathing engine, or, as it is often called, VRDK. The idea of ​​creating a VRDK was developed almost simultaneously and independently of each other by Rene Laurens, Henri Coanda and Alexander Gorokhov. During the First World War, R. Lauren, together with the French company Leblanc, developed a project for an aircraft-projectile with a VRDK.

Practical work on the creation of jet engines and jet aircraft began in the 1920s, mainly thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts. In 1921, the American R. Goddard tested the first experimental liquid-propellant rocket engine. On March 16, 1926, he carried out the first launch of an experimental rocket with an engine running on liquid oxygen and gasoline. In Germany, in 1928, experimental gliders with powder rockets as engines flew for the first time - Opel RK 22 in May, and Ente (Duck) in June. In 1929, G. Oberth began bench testing of his liquid-propellant rocket engines.

Italy became the first country in which jet aircraft began to be officially developed for military purposes. The Caproni-Campini CC.2 aircraft, which first took off in August 1940, was financed under a contract that the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Aviation) issued back in 1934. However, despite the “Program R” adopted at the state level in 1938 ", the goal of which was the quantitative and qualitative improvement of Italian aviation, the government did not have enough money to implement the "R Program", so until Italy left the war in September 1943, the SS.2 aircraft remained at the stage of testing two prototypes.

In Germany, immediately after the creation of the Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium - RLM) in 1934, headed by G. Goering, the development of military jet technology became one of the top priorities. Already in February 1935, Major W. von Richthofen, head research department technical department of the RLM, put forward the idea of ​​​​creating a missile interceptor fighter. In the fall of 1938, RLM representative H. Schelp visited various engine manufacturing companies in the country to hasten them to begin work on various types of jet engines, including turbojet engines. Firms willing to work in this area, such as BMW, Bramo and Junkers, were awarded the first research and development contracts during 1939. All information about jet engines was strictly classified; it was processed and distributed to aircraft companies by a special commission on jet engines, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Strahltriebwerke, created under the RLM in December 1942.

The first German company to begin work on jet aircraft was Heinkel, then Fieseler, Messerschmitt, and then Arado, Bachem, Blom and Voss, BMW, Dornier, Focke-Wulf, Gotha, Henschel, Junkers, Skoda, Sombold, Zeppelin, that is, almost all the leading aircraft manufacturing companies in Germany. From the second half of 1942, when the initiative gradually began to pass to the allies, the number of programs to create new types of German aircraft increased sharply, most of them related to the development of jet aircraft and cruise missiles. Within the framework of these programs, for example, such jet aircraft were developed as:

– heavy fighter;

– medium bomber;

– long-range bomber capable of reaching the Atlantic coast of the United States (Amerika-Bomber program);

– high-speed attack aircraft (program “1000–1000–1000”);

– light fighter (Volksjager program);

– “baby” fighter (Miniaturjager program);

– man-portable fighters and bombers;

– object fighter-interceptor;

– composite aircraft of the “Mistelle” scheme (Beethoven program);

- manned projectile aircraft, etc.

As a result, since 1944, the Luftwaffe has successively adopted the Me 163 missile interceptor, Me 262 heavy fighter, Ar 234 reconnaissance aircraft, and the latest to enter service was the He 162 light fighter.

In January 1930, the Englishman F. Whittle filed an application with the patent office for the design of the world's first turbojet engine with a centrifugal compressor. However, he was able to realize his invention only in 1937 due to own funds, and only after that received a contract from the British Air Force for the production of its engine. In addition, the Ministry of Aviation brought in Rolls-Royce, Rover, De Haviland and others to help F. Whittle, as a result of which in May 1941 the Gloucester G experimental aircraft took off for the first time. 40 Pioneer, and the first batch of G.41 Meteor F.Mk I fighters entered service with the British Air Force in mid-1944, which were used in the country's air defense system until the end of the war.

In France, work in the field of jet aviation began in the mid-1930s. with the creation of aircraft with a ramjet engine, but were interrupted in 1940 due to the occupation of France by German troops.

In the Soviet Union, work on the use of jet engines in aviation began in the late 1920s and early 30s. in GDL and GIRD, and after the merger GIRD and GDL continued in the RNII NKTP. In 1936, the famous Soviet aircraft designer K.A. Kalinin began designing the world's first tailless fighter, the K-15, with a rocket engine and a delta-shaped wing. However, soon K.A. Kalinin was repressed on false charges, and work on the fighter was stopped. In the summer of 1938, flight tests of the first Soviet rocket plane RP-318-1 S.P. were planned. Queen, but due to the wave of repressions that took place across the country, the plane could only be prepared and lifted into the air at the end of February 1940. By this time, the experimental aircraft He 176 had already become the world’s first rocket plane.

In the USSR since 1931 under the leadership of A.V. Kvasnikov conducted research in the field of complex power plants of various circuits. In particular, he studied the processes in VRDK prototypes, and also obtained a formula for determining the effective power on the shaft of the VRDK propeller depending on the parameters of the operating modes of each of its component units. In 1934, under the leadership of V.V. Uvarov, the first high-temperature gas turbine unit GTU-1 was created and successfully tested, which became the prototype of future turboprop and turbojet engines. In 1936, the world's first aircraft design with a turbojet engine designed by A.M. was developed. Cradles. Based on research conducted since 1937, A.M. Lyulka filed an application for the invention of a bypass turbojet engine in 1938, and he was issued an author's certificate for this invention on April 22, 1941.

However, in the pre-war period, the Soviet leadership was wary of jet aviation, considering it exotic. And there were serious reasons for this. The fact is that in the pre-war years the main brake on the development of our aircraft industry was the low quality of piston engines. In order to speed up the way out of this situation, a number of licensed engines were purchased abroad in 1935 for their production at newly built aircraft engine factories. In Rybinsk, plant No. 26, based on the French Hispano-Suiza engine, produced domestic analogs of the M-100, M-100A, and then M-103, M-104, M-105. In Perm, at plant No. 19, based on the American Wright engine, an analogue of the M-25 was produced, and later M-62, M-63, M-82. In Zaporozhye, at plant No. 29, production of the French Gnome-Ron engine was launched under the designation M-85, and then M-86, M-87, M-88A, M-88. In Moscow, plant No. 24 produced the M-34 (AM-34R, AM-34RN, AM-34FRN), AM-35, AM-35A engines.

Nevertheless, the measures taken could not fundamentally solve the issue of serial production of powerful and reliable power plants. Our aircraft designers, for the most part, developed their aircraft for engines that were either under development or in pilot production, and at best these were pilot series engines, but not yet brought to the required level of reliability. Therefore, only with the advent of last years During the war, the Germans had serial jet aircraft. The State Defense Committee decided to intensify work on the construction of jet engines and jet aircraft. Despite the fact that several jet aircraft projects were developed in the Soviet Union before the end of the war, such aircraft did not enter service with the Soviet Air Force.

The USA, later than England, the USSR and Germany, became involved in the process of creating jet aviation. Since the American industry did not produce jet engines at that time, this issue was resolved in a different way - in the spring of 1941, an agreement was reached between the United States and England to help the American side establish production of the F. Whittle turbojet engine. And just four years later, in May 1945, the first P-59 and P-80 aircraft equipped with American engines entered service with the US Air Force, but they did not participate in combat operations.

Japan, like the United States, did not have its own jet engines either in the pre-war years or in the first half of the war. The progress of the war began to cause concern to the Japanese command in 1942–1943, when the Allied armed forces were getting closer and closer to the Japanese Islands. It was then that the question of the need to use jet aircraft in combat operations began to be discussed. The Japanese resolved this issue by turning to Germany, their political partner in the Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis Pact, for technical assistance. By the end of the war, several jet aircraft projects were developed in Japan (Oka models 33, 43 and 53, Ki-162, J9Y, K-200, etc.), but only Oka projectile aircraft managed to take part in combat operations. , piloted by kamikaze pilots.

This book provides information about aircraft projects with various types of jet engines developed both in the pre-war years and during the Second World War in England, Germany, Italy, the USSR, the USA, France and Japan. Some of these projects have reached the stage serial production or a prototype, some were not completed due to the end of the war, some were discontinued at the design stage due to the changed situation on the fronts, and some remained at the level of technical proposals.

Brief information is given on the history of the development of jet engines (solid propellant rocket engine, liquid propellant rocket engine, ramjet engine, PUVRD engine, VRDK, turbojet engine, etc.), the characteristics of aircraft equipped with the corresponding engines are given, as well as information about combat operations in which these aircrafts participated. A large volume of illustrative materials will help the reader get a more complete understanding of the stage of the emergence of jet aviation. The book is intended for a wide audience.