Review of MMP (Mushroom Model Publications)
Scale Plans No. 7
Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe
Illustrations by Dariusz Kamas
ISBN: 978-83-63678-43-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $11.99
ISBN: 978-83-63678-43-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $11.99
HISTORY: The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (English: "Swallow") of Nazi Germany was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft.[5] Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Heavily armed, it was faster than any other Allied fighters, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor.[6] One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II,[7] the Me 262 was used in a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance, and even experimental night fighter versions.
Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied kills,[8] although higher claims are sometimes made.[Notes 1] The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by attacking the aircraft on the ground and during takeoff and landing. Engine reliability problems, from the pioneering nature of its Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow turbojet engines—the first ones ever placed in mass production—and attacks by Allied forces on fuel supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation also reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war as a result of its late introduction and the consequently small numbers put in operational service.
While German use of the aircraft ended with the close of the Second World War, a small number were operated by the Czechoslovak Air Force until 1951. Captured Me 262 were studied and flight tested by the major powers, and ultimately influenced the designs of a number of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet. A number of aircraft have survived on static display in museums, and there have also been several privately built flying reproductions.
Messerschmitt Me 262A
Role
Fighter aircraft
Manufacturer
Messerschmitt
First flight
18 April 1941 with piston engine
18 July 1942 with jet engines[1]
Introduction
April 1944[2][3]
Retired
1945, Germany
1951, Czechoslovakia[4]
Primary users
Luftwaffe
Czechoslovak Air Force (S-92)
Number built
1,430
MMP (Mushroom Model Publications) is based in the UK. All their books and the scale plans are printed in Sandomierz, Poland by Stratus in English. Stratus also publishes books in the Polish language.
This scale plan set comes in a soft cover portfolio sleeve that is 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” format. The background of it is dark green with line drawings of a Yak 3 fighter. The box art of MMP’s book on the Messerschmitt Me 263 Schwalbe is on the cover.
The portfolio contains line drawings of the Me 262 in 1/48th and 1/32nd scale.
Inside the portfolio are large 16 ½” by 11 ¾” pages folded in the center to fit the sleeve. These pages can be removed to set on a workbench and use.
Page 1 has 4 views of the Me 262A-1a. One side profile of it with the gear extended. Profiles of the left and right side with gear up and a front view with gear down, all in 1/48th.
Page 2 has another side view and a rear view of the Me 262A-1a and some illustrations of the inner bulkheads in the fuselage in 1/48th.
Page 3 has a top and bottom view of the Me 262A-1a in 1/48th.
Page 4 has a top and side view of a Me 262A-1a/Jabo with bombs under it’s nose and a profile of a Me 262A-1b in 1/48th.
Page 5 has two views of a Me 262B-1a/U1 two-seater, showing profile and top. Also a side view of the Czech built CS-92.7 with the BMW 003 engine (also a two seater)in 1/48th.
Page 6 has a side view of a Me 262A-1a/U4 with the large gun barrel in the nose, a side profile of the Me 262A-1/U3 and the Me 262A-5 in 1/48th.
Page 7 has a side view of a Me 262A-2/U1 with 2 cannon barrels pertruding from it’s nose and a second illustration of the nose shown from above. There is a side view of a Me 262A-1/U3 and one of the Me 262A-2/U2 in 1/48th.
Page 8 has 3 side views of a Me 262A-1a. Both side shown wheels up and one side view showing gear down in 1/32nd.
Page 9 has a top view of the Me 262A-1a and a view of just the top of its left wing in 1/32nd.
Page 10 has a bottom view of the Me 262A-1a in 1/32nd.
Page 11 gives the Me 262A-1a again as a front and rear view in 1/32nd.
Page 12 has a side view of the Me 262A-1a/Jabo with a small illustration of it’s bomb rack shown from head on, a side view of the Me 262B-1aU1 two seat trainer and a side view of the Czech built CS-92.7 with the BMW-003 engine (also a two seater) in 1/32nd.
I want to thank Dr. Roger Wallsgrove, Editor-in-Chief of MMP and the folks at Casemate for this review sample.
Information about all MMP publications can be found on their web site at:
http:/www.mmpboohs.biz
The US distributor for MMP is Casemate Publications
The Australian distributor is Platypus Publications