Author Topic: First US captured Me 262 (Read 1912 times)

Debonair · « **on:** January 05, 2007, 05:59:37 PM »

Last night I was reading a history of the 89th Infantry & came across some info about a "German jet fighter" captured at a place Friedrichroda (yeah, i never head of it either) that it said was the first one captured by the US & that a bunch of 8th AF guys showed up & were quite excited.
I looked all over the intard nets, but couldn't find more info.
Anyone want to help me out with more detail or point me in the direction of more info (like werk number & where the plane ended up)?
According to what I read, the 262 (I'm assuming, could have been another German jet fighter) was found by the 89th's band (they did a lot of stuff other than playing polkas) & I have relations that was with that group, so you can guess I'd like to know some more...

thanks a ton in advance:aok

Guppy35 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 06, 2007, 01:28:06 AM »

Caption says it all

Mustaine · « **Reply #2 on:** January 06, 2007, 05:27:05 AM »

would that not be the coolest thing to do in WWII.... fly the first jet plane captured

MiloMorai · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2007, 07:38:36 AM »

You can find Friedrichroda using Google Earth. It is WSW of Erfurt.

Debonair · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2007, 06:13:19 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by MiloMorai
You can find Friedrichroda using Google Earth. It is WSW of Erfurt.

lol, duh...u know i punched "Friedrichroda" into google a buncha times, but never the map part

Quote

Originally posted at http://www.89infdivww2.org/memories/band.htm
SPECIAL MOMENTS:

Two Band members served as M.P.’s directing traffic over the Moselle River Bridgehead directing traffic for the 4th Armored Division.

Discovery and capture of the first German Jetfighter (intact) at Friedrichroda, Germany. This is a little known fact to the rest of the Division. However, being present I can remember very clearly the delight and thrilling presence of Eighth Air Force Intelligence Officers.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
thats the jet I'm wondering about
the one in Guppy's photo was probably captured 1st though, cause the band has a guy wounded near Friedrichroda at Tabarz(another place i never hear of) on April 8th

scottydawg · « **Reply #5 on:** January 09, 2007, 12:11:05 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Mustaine
would that not be the coolest thing to do in WWII.... fly the first jet plane captured

I think the pucker factor of flying an enemy plane so close to the end of hostilities would be pretty high... maybe someone didn't get the 'memo'.

Apeking · « **Reply #6 on:** January 09, 2007, 05:04:46 PM »

"would that not be the coolest thing to do in WWII.... fly the first jet plane captured"

This is a very interesting interview with a former Me262 pilot called Jorg Czypionka, and it starts off with a photo of what looks like the same 262 as above. It has a little thing about the Me262s that were captured by the RAF:

"Czypionka also remembers that the hotshot British pilots who arrived to take over the Messerschmitts didn't seem to be too interested in the information the Germans had about operating the airplanes. "I was trying to explain to this one guy how to operate the controls, and he says that he knows how to fly an airplane and just tell him how to start it. When he took the plane back to England, he crashed because he mishandled the fuel-tank switches and the landing gear. I think they lost two or three of our eight that way because they thought they knew everything."

There was apparently also a fatal RAF He-162 crash at Farnborough in 1945, although the only details I can find on the internet are very vague.

Guppy35 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 10, 2007, 12:36:42 AM »

An RAF pilot I got to know while I was researching the Spit XII, was sent to 616 after doing some service test pilot work with Supermarine. He flew Meteors and he and his Squadron CO were sent to collect a couple of 262s from Fassberg towards the end of the war.

After an impromptu session with a captured German 262 pilot, he taught his CO and the two of them took off in the first RAF captured 262s. He was in a former JG7 bird Yellow 17, that later was sent to Canada and depending on who you believe, was either scrapped or buried.

He was kind enough to loan me his photos so I could make copy negatives in those pre-scanner days. Here's one of Yellow 17 at Fassberg before his flight.

Guppy35 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 10, 2007, 12:42:29 AM »

Found a couple more of Yellow 17. Pilot was F/L Clive Gosling of 616 Squadron.

Debonair · « **Reply #9 on:** January 10, 2007, 05:08:12 AM »

im still looking for my plane, but i did find out the 89th liberated a 262 factory, reimahg, on 4/12/45.
it is about 35 miles east of Friedrichroda.
this factory was in the site of an old mine & dub into a larg hill, on top of which was a 3000' strip, too short for 262s, so after they were built & the elevator brought them up to, they did a RAT/O.
iirc cobra commander had an HQ like this once...

MiloMorai · « **Reply #10 on:** January 10, 2007, 08:14:43 AM »

REIMAHG is not a place but the name of the factory.

Flugzeugwerkes Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring

It was near Kahla, just south of Jena.

REIMAHG only managed to produce some twenty-seven Me 262 jet fighters by the end of the war. http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlfile19056/REIMAHG-Me-262-Production-Site-near-Kahla.htm

Also, REIMAHG - From Sandpit to Armament Factory, by Claus Reuter, June 1998

Found these potential WNr on the stormbird site.

110128 - REIMAHG Kahla or 110728
110150 - REIMAHG Kahla
110153 - REIMAHG Kahla
110154 - REIMAHG Kahla
111511 - REIMAHG Kahla
100012 - REIMAHG Kahla
100014 - REIMAHG Kahla
100016 - REIMAHG Kahla
100017 - REIMAHG Kahla
100021 - REIMAHG Kahla
100023 - REIMAHG Kahla
100024 - REIMAHG Kahla

Apeking · « **Reply #11 on:** January 13, 2007, 08:09:25 PM »

"After an impromptu session with a captured German 262 pilot, he taught his CO and the two of them took off in the first RAF captured 262s."

Perhaps these are the pilots that Mr Czypionka remembers, and the rest of his anecdote is just hearsay.

Those Me-262s look odd with RAF roundels, as if they had come from a parallel world - a world where they would probably have been armed with 20mm Hispanos, which would make them dead handy in Aces High.

Scherf · « **Reply #12 on:** January 13, 2007, 08:55:58 PM »

I'm going totally from memory here, but I believe Tony Gaze was also on Meteors at war's end, and at one point landed on an autobahn near a known 262 base.

He ordered the locals to show him the cockpit etc. (In return, he showed them the Meteor's - naughty!) I don't know if it was right then and there, but I believe he also flew a captured 262.

All from memory, so caveat emptor.

Guppy35 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 13, 2007, 11:15:38 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Scherf
I'm going totally from memory here, but I believe Tony Gaze was also on Meteors at war's end, and at one point landed on an autobahn near a known 262 base.

He ordered the locals to show him the cockpit etc. (In return, he showed them the Meteor's - naughty!) I don't know if it was right then and there, but I believe he also flew a captured 262.

All from memory, so caveat emptor.

Thinking Tony Gaze was flying Spit 14s. I know he downed a 262 while flying a 14 with 41 Squadron near the end. Bent up the wings a bit of the 14.

mussie · « **Reply #14 on:** January 13, 2007, 11:42:55 PM »

Man if only we had the RAF skin for the 262....

OK its POST war but it would be cool