| Me 264 | |
|---|---|
 Me 264 V1 prototype withJumo 211 powerplants | |
| General information | |
| Type | Trans-oceanicStrategic bomber Maritime patrol aircraft |
| National origin | Nazi Germany |
| Manufacturer | Messerschmitt |
| Designer | Wolfgang Degel, Paul Konrad and Woldemar Voigt |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 3 |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1941 |
| Introduction date | 1942 |
| First flight | 23 December 1942 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Developed into | Messerschmitt P.1107 |
TheMesserschmitt Me 264 was a long-rangestrategic bomber developed duringWorld War II for theGermanLuftwaffe as its main strategic bomber. The design was later selected asMesserschmitt's competitor in theReichsluftfahrtministerium's (the German Air Ministry)Amerikabomber (America Bomber) programme, for a strategic bomber capable of attackingNew York City from bases inFrance or theAzores.
Threeprototypes were built but production was abandoned to allow Messerschmitt to concentrate on fighter production and theJunkers Ju 390 was selected in its place. Development continued as a maritime reconnaissance aircraft instead.
The origin of the Me 264 design came from Messerschmitt's long-rangereconnaissance aircraft project, theP.1061, of the late 1930s. A variant on the P.1061 was the P.1062 of which three prototypes were built, with only two "engines" to the P.1061's four, but they were the more powerfulDaimler-Benz DB 606 "power systems", each comprising a pair ofDB 601 inverted V-12 engines. These were also used in the long-rangeMesserschmitt Me 261, itself originating as the Messerschmitt P.1064 design of 1937. The DB 606's later use in theHeinkel He 177A's airframe design resulted in derision byReichsmarschallHermann Göring as"welded-together engines" in August 1942, due to badly designed engine installations. In early 1941, six P.1061 prototypes were ordered from Messerschmitt, under the designationMe 264. This was later reduced to three prototypes.
The progress of these projects was slow but afterGermany had declared war on the United States four days after the Pearl Harbor attack by Imperial Japan, theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) started the more seriousAmerikabomber programme in the spring of 1942 for a very long rangebomber, with the result that a larger, six-engine aircraft with a greater bomb load was called for. Proposals were put forward for theJunkers Ju 390, theFocke-Wulf Ta 400, a redesign of theHeinkel He 277 design (itself only receiving itsRLM airframe number by February 1943 to give Heinkel an entry in theAmerikabomber program later in 1943), and a design study for an extended-wingspan six-engine Messerschmitt Me 264B. The need for six engines was prompted by the inability of Germany's aero-engine designers to createreliable powerplants of 2,000 PS (1,470 kW) and greater, thwarting efforts to do the same with four engines instead. As the similarly six-engined Junkers Ju 390 could use components already in use for theJu 290 this design was chosen. The Me 264 was not abandoned as theKriegsmarine (German navy) separately demanded a long-rangemaritime patrol and attack aircraft to replace the convertedFw 200Condor in this role.[1] This was reinforced by an opinion given by then-GeneralmajorEccard Freiherr von Gablenz of theHeer (German Army) in May 1942, who had been recruited byGeneralfeldmarschallErhard Milch to give his opinion on the suitability of the Me 264 for theAmerikabomber mission; Gablenz echoed theKriegsmarine's later opinion.[2] The two pending prototypes were ordered to be completed as development prototypes for the Me 264A ultra long-range reconnaissance aircraft.[3]
The Me 264 was an all-metal, high-wing, four-engineheavy bomber of classic construction. Thefuselage was round in cross-section and had acabin in a glazed nose, comprising a "stepless cockpit" with no separate windscreen section for the pilots, which was common for most later German bomber designs. A strikingly similar design was used for theB-29, of slightly earlier origin. The wing had a slightlysweptleading edge and a straighttrailing edge. Theempennage had doubletail fins. Theundercarriage was a retractabletricycle gear with large-diameter wheels on the wing-mounted main gear.
The planned armament consisted of guns in remotely operatedturrets and in positions on the sides of the fuselage. It carried very little armour and few guns as a means of increasing fuel capacity and range. The Me 264's first prototype was originally fitted with fourJunkers Jumo 211 inverted V12 engines using the newKraftei (or "power-egg") engine installation as standardized for the earlierJu 88ASchnellbomber, but inadequate power from the Jumo 211 engines led to their replacement on the Me 264 V1 first prototype with four 1,700 PS (1,250 kW) BMW 801G engines. To provide comfort on the proposed long-range missions, the Me 264 featuredbunk beds and a smallgalley complete withhot plates.
The first prototype, Me 264 V1, bearing aStammkennzeichen (factory code) of RE+EN, was flown on 23 December 1942. It was powered at first by four Jumo 211Jinline engines of 1,340 PS (986 kW) each. In late 1943, these were changed to theBMW 801Gradials which delivered 1,750 PS (1,287 kW). Trials showed numerous minor faults and handling was found to be difficult. One of the drawbacks was the very highwing loading of the Me 264 in fully loaded conditions at some 356 kg/m2 (73 lb/sq ft). Comparable contemporary aircraft had lower wing loadings: the B-29 had 337 kg/m2 (69 lb/sq ft), the redesigned He 277 334.6 kg/m2 (68.5 lb/sq ft) and the Ju 390 a much lower 209 kg/m2 (43 lb/sq ft). The relatively high wing loading caused poor climb performance, loss of manoeuvrability, stability and high take-off and landing speeds. In addition, the first prototype was not fitted with weapons orarmour, the weight of which would have caused worse performance.
The second prototype, Me 264 V2, was completed with armour around the engines, crew and gun positions, but defensive weapons and other vital operational equipment were never fitted. The never-completed Me 264 V3 was to have been fully armed and armoured.
In 1943, theKriegsmarine withdrew their interest in the Me 264, in favour of the Ju 290 and the planned Ju 390. TheLuftwaffe indicated a preference for the unbuilt Ta 400 and the Heinkel He 277 asAmerikabomber candidates in May 1943, based on their performance estimates.[4] In October 1943, Milch officially cancelled development work on the Me 264, so that Messerschmitt could concentrate on other projects, including development and production of theMe 262 jetfighter-bomber. No further payments for development work on the Me 264 were made toMesserschmitt AG.
Late in 1943, the second prototype, Me 264 V2, was destroyed in a bombing attack.[3][5] On 18 July 1944, the first prototype, which had entered service withTransportstaffel 5, was damaged during anAllied bombing raid and was not repaired. The third prototype, which was unfinished, was destroyed during the same raid.
In April 1944, the competing Junkers project was cancelled. Consequently, on 23 September 1944, work on the Me 264 project was officially cancelled. Messerschmitt proposed a six-engine version, known as theMe 264/6m orMe 364, which also remained unbuilt.
Data fromThe warplanes of the Third Reich[6]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
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