gray eagle
SOH-CM-2025
Me 262 Project: Initiated in the 1990s by the Texas Airplane Factory and Classic Fighter Industries, based at Paine Field, Washington. Four flyable replicas were completed by 2012, using General Electric CJ610 engines (derived from J85) instead of the original Jumo 004B due to reliability issues.
One of the strangest variants was the Me 262A-1a/U4 "Pulkzerstörer" which carried an awesome 50mm cannon.... This was intended to be the ultimate bomber-killer...
Initially, two Me 262`s were modified to carry this new weapon, being flown and tested from Lager-Lechfeld during March and April of 1945....
Only 2 prototypes seem to have been flown...
The Mauser Mk214 cannon was easily one of the most usual weapons fitted to the Me 262. This large 50mm weapon took up the entire nose section with the barrel sticking out some 10 feet! So extreme was the installation that the nosegear was modified to rotate 90° during retraction, enabling the wheel to lie flat as opposed to the usual configuration. A revised wheel well door arrangement was also created to deal with the new layout. Incredibly, the colossal weight and shape of the "phone pole" sticking out of the nose didn't have much effect on the flight characteristics of the jet.
The fitting of the Mk214 to the Me 262 was an effort to create an effective bomber-killer that could attack enemy formations from long range without being subjected to the bomber's defensive fire. It was estimated that a single hit from a 50mm cannon would be sufficient to cripple an Allied bomber. The development, by Mauser, of a 50mm nose mounted cannon was thought to be the answer. The resulting variant was designated the Me262A-1/U4 and was known as the Pulkzerstörer.
The ammunition cartridges were supplied to the weapon via a belt, from the left of the weapon. The cartridge was released by the ejector, which opened a wedge catch. This catch locked into place whilst the loading platform ran back into its resting position, ready to load the next shell. At this point, the firing sequence for the first shell could take place. Two electrical contacts closed in preparation for shell ejection, and these were activated by the interlocking of the wedge, and also by the loading platform being in its stationary default position. These switches operated the electric ignition of the cartridge, which in turn fired the weapon. At this stage, the ejector opened, and moved the wedge catch, allowing the ejection of the used cartridge. The 2400kg recoil of the weapon was alleviated by a hydraulic damper. The renewed introduction of the loading procedure took place pneumatically.
During testing, firing at ground targets, the cannon operated fine but during 2 operational test flights on the 16 April, the cannon jammed. Pilot was Maj. Wilhem Herget
Wilma Jeanne was originally named by S/Sgt Eugene Freiberger of the 54th ADS after his 3rd wife to the capured a/c, WNr 170083, and later flown by Watson's Wizzers. The a/c crashed on the transfer flight to Cherbourg, June 1945, with German test pilot Ludwig Hoffmann who escaped unhurt. The name Wilma Jeanne was changed to Happy Hunter II after Watson's son, Hunter.
It was noted at the Oshkosh 2025 airshow that the original ME262 was not towed by the nose gear, as a consequence one ME262 that was captured
after the war was towed by nose gear and torn off (there was a warning in German not to tow at nose gear). They were were towed at the main landing wheels.
One of the strangest variants was the Me 262A-1a/U4 "Pulkzerstörer" which carried an awesome 50mm cannon.... This was intended to be the ultimate bomber-killer...
Initially, two Me 262`s were modified to carry this new weapon, being flown and tested from Lager-Lechfeld during March and April of 1945....
Only 2 prototypes seem to have been flown...
The Mauser Mk214 cannon was easily one of the most usual weapons fitted to the Me 262. This large 50mm weapon took up the entire nose section with the barrel sticking out some 10 feet! So extreme was the installation that the nosegear was modified to rotate 90° during retraction, enabling the wheel to lie flat as opposed to the usual configuration. A revised wheel well door arrangement was also created to deal with the new layout. Incredibly, the colossal weight and shape of the "phone pole" sticking out of the nose didn't have much effect on the flight characteristics of the jet.
The fitting of the Mk214 to the Me 262 was an effort to create an effective bomber-killer that could attack enemy formations from long range without being subjected to the bomber's defensive fire. It was estimated that a single hit from a 50mm cannon would be sufficient to cripple an Allied bomber. The development, by Mauser, of a 50mm nose mounted cannon was thought to be the answer. The resulting variant was designated the Me262A-1/U4 and was known as the Pulkzerstörer.
The ammunition cartridges were supplied to the weapon via a belt, from the left of the weapon. The cartridge was released by the ejector, which opened a wedge catch. This catch locked into place whilst the loading platform ran back into its resting position, ready to load the next shell. At this point, the firing sequence for the first shell could take place. Two electrical contacts closed in preparation for shell ejection, and these were activated by the interlocking of the wedge, and also by the loading platform being in its stationary default position. These switches operated the electric ignition of the cartridge, which in turn fired the weapon. At this stage, the ejector opened, and moved the wedge catch, allowing the ejection of the used cartridge. The 2400kg recoil of the weapon was alleviated by a hydraulic damper. The renewed introduction of the loading procedure took place pneumatically.
During testing, firing at ground targets, the cannon operated fine but during 2 operational test flights on the 16 April, the cannon jammed. Pilot was Maj. Wilhem Herget
Wilma Jeanne was originally named by S/Sgt Eugene Freiberger of the 54th ADS after his 3rd wife to the capured a/c, WNr 170083, and later flown by Watson's Wizzers. The a/c crashed on the transfer flight to Cherbourg, June 1945, with German test pilot Ludwig Hoffmann who escaped unhurt. The name Wilma Jeanne was changed to Happy Hunter II after Watson's son, Hunter.
It was noted at the Oshkosh 2025 airshow that the original ME262 was not towed by the nose gear, as a consequence one ME262 that was captured
after the war was towed by nose gear and torn off (there was a warning in German not to tow at nose gear). They were were towed at the main landing wheels.
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