商品簡介
An illustrated study of WWII duels between the Messerschmitt 262 and North American P-51 Mustang, the two planes that represented the state-of-the-art in terms of design and technology.
Arguably two of the finest fighters built during the course of World War II, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang heralded new dawns in aircraft performance. Making its operational debut in the summer of 1944, the Me 262 outclassed anything the Allies had in terms of speed and firepower ratio. Eventually, the Luftwaffe would also introduce the 55 mm R4M air-to-air rocket, batteries of which would be slung under the jet's wing to be used against formations of B-17s and B-24s. But the problem the Luftwaffe faced was one of numbers—to the end of the war, availability of machines and trained pilots were to prove an insurmountable problem.
In the P-51, the USAAF finally had a fighter that had the “legs” to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace. This effectively eliminated the range challenge that had resulted in unescorted bombers suffering such heavy losses in 1942–43. The P-51 was more than capable of taking on the feared Me 262 on an equal footing, despite the differences in powerplant and top speed. Indeed, the Mustang proved to be the Luftwaffe fighter arm's Nemesis. When the P-51D sortied over Germany in numbers later P-51D came in numbers from the summer of 1944, it literally shredded through the ill-trained and depleted Gruppen of the Luftwaffe's defense wings in northwest Europe and in the Mediterranean. This book will include detailed descriptions of the combats between the P-51 Mustang and the Me 262 in 1944–45.
