Me 262, Volume One

Due to demand, this is a revised reprint of the first volume of J. Richard Smith's and Eddie J. Creek's exhaustive study of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational military jet aircraft. This edition contains updated technical drawings, revised and corrected text and photographic amendments. These internationally acclaimed authors have drawn on more than thirty years of detailed research. Here, for the first time, is the full story of the concept, design, troubled development and contested operational deployment of possibly one of the most enigmatic war machines ever built, from its evolution to its eventual appearance with the Luftwaffe's first operational jet trials units. The story is complemented by a portrait of the early life of Willy Messerschmitt as well as a detailed study of the pioneering German work in the field of turbojet engine design and development, together with more than fifty high-precision technical scale drawings of the prototype aircraft by Arthur Bentley. An essential requirement for both students of early jet aircraft development and all those with an interest in the history of military aviation.