Visitor From The Past

[C. Betz]

This restored ME-262 was flown to the former McClellan Air F orce Base at Sacramento, CA this past weekend by the Collings Foundation; along with a B-17, B-24 and a 2 seat P-51 Mustang. My other pictures didn't turn out very well, but these did.

Enjoy.

Charles Betz

[C. Betz]

Side View

Another look.

[C. Betz]

3

3

[C. Betz]

4

4

[nd164th]

ME 262 politcal correct I see

Looks like even the real WWII German planes (model kits have had the swazis taken off) have been PC'ed and no swastika so no one will run away in terror or get offended

[paddywhack]

id prefer to see a german plane restored without the swastikas any time then to have an un-restored one rotting away with one!!

[Chet Sowersby]

Charles,
I was able to view this two weeks ago when it was down here at Moffett. We arrived an hour early as we had booked the first B-17 flight that morning. At the time they were servicing the 262. I was able to talk my way up a scaffold and have a quick peek into the cockpit. Did Wheatcrofts vechilces make it up your way with the Foundations aircraft?

Chet

[steve wilko]

Me-262

Thanks for posting Charles.That plane even today still has a great shape and lines that nothing today can come close to IMO.
Regards Steve.

[C. Betz]

Wheatcroft Vehicles

Hello Chet,
There were two Jeeps that were very well done and their "crews" had WWII flight line overalls/fatigues or flight suits, with some members sporting wool lined flight jackets. I recognized them from pictures of my dad's service as an aircraft mechanic on B-17s and other aircraft during WWII. The 262 was cordoned off but still very close. I'll bet it was a real treat to look inside the cockpit.

Charles

[Chet Sowersby]

Charles,
I did not take a camera with me as I had flown in all the bombers before. Now I wish that I had as there was a M3 halftrack equipped with quad fifties, a kublewagen, a schwimmwagen as well as the jeeps you mentioned. The biggest highlite for me was a Nebelwefer and a couple of rounds for it in a orginal crate. Neat stuff.

Chet

[Biber]

Looks like even the real WWII German planes (model kits have had the swazis taken off) have been PC'ed and no swastika so no one will run away in terror or get offended

A touchy subject to be sure. They should have painted it in the scheme of an end of war trophy sent to the allies for evaluation, that is, in field applied American markings obscuring the German markings. I know I've seen a picture of one somewhere.

[notton]

super! Thank you

[Alan Smith]

This is NOT a "restored" original ME-262; it is a scratch-built replica using modern jet engines. Just do a web search and you can find all about the 4 or 5 of these replicas that were constructed within the past 10 years or so.

IMO to be historically acurate it should have a correct wartime paint job (which would include the dreaded swastika). I don't like Nazi's or swastikas, but I am hard-core when it comes to historical accuracy so in my opinion the paint job on the replica ME-262 shown is not acceptable.

Bottom Line: this aircraft is not my property so I don't get to decide how it is painted; the owner, however, has apparently decided that it does not want a historically correct paint scheme on the aircraft; such is the owner's right.

[Chet Sowersby]

Alan,
Indeed you are correct and the flight line crew I spoke to acknowledged this. They also said that six were constructed by the same firm at the time. The biggest inital problem was that the engines that they used were too heavy for the airframe as opposed to the orginal airframe that was copied. Just the same, a visual treat to see as well as see it fly.

Chet

[Alan Smith]

Chet,

Yes - back when these replicas were under construction there was a website where you could monitor progress of the production; I must have followed that site for 5 or 6 years.

Regardless of any issues with the paint scheme, this is a neat item and I would sure enjoy taking a look at it in person (and seeing/hearing it fly).

Alan