The Messerschmitt Me 261 was a German long-range reconnaissance aircraft. Although it never entered the mass production phase, one of its prototype did undertake several long-range reconnaissance missions over Soviet territory. Indeed, the V3, which was the third prototype to be built, entered service with the Aufklärungsgruppe des Oberbefehlshabers der Luftwaffe, carrying out more than 20 sorties from 1943 to early 1945.
Technical Description
The Messerschmitt Me 261 ¨Adolfine¨ had been designed in 1937 under the project P-1064. Based on this design, they built the first prototype, the V1, in 1939. It was a two-engine, mid-wing monoplane, with a huge wing span. Although it was of conventional construction, the wing was sealed in such a way to form an integral fuel tank, which at the time was a novel feature in aviation. The narrow, all-metal fuselage housed two pilots seated side by side, and a radio operator behind them in the forward compartment, while the flight engineer and navigator sat in the rear compartment.
The prototype of the Me 261 was powered by two Daimler-Benz 606A-1/B-1, 24-cylinder, piston engines, each of which being able to deliver 3,100 horsepower. They had large radiator intakes, which were mounted under the wing outboard of each nacelle. Actually, the DB 606A-1 was a coupled engine, which means it was made up of two Daimler-Benz 601 engines mounted tightly side-by-side into one, driving a four-blade propeller through a common gearbox. The landing gear retracted rearward into the nacelles, rotating through 90° to lie flat.
The construction of three prototypes was authorized in early 1939, the first of which, the V1, made its maiden flight on December 23, 1940. Meanwhile, the V2 flew for the first time in the Spring of 1941. The V2 differed from the first prototype by featuring smoother rear fuselage contour and the stepped glazed portion was replaced by a smaller glazed blister. The first two prototypes would be used for calibration work and they would later be damaged by Allied bombing, while the third one, the V3 was delivered to a Luftwaffe's squadron unit to carry out reconnaissance sorties.
Specifications
Type: ultra-long-range reconnaissance aircraft.
Length: 16.68 m (54 feet, 8 inches)
Wing Span: 26.87 m (88 feet, 2 inches)
Height: 4.72 m (15 feet, 6 inches)
Power Plant: two 3,100-HP, Daimler-Benz 606A-1, 24-cylinder piston engines.
Maximum Speed: 620 km/h (385 mph)
Range: 11,025 km (6,850 miles)
Service Ceiling: 8,260 m (27,100 feet)
Crew: 4
Below, the Messerschmitt Me 261, V2, in the Summer of 1944.
A drawing of the first prototype, the V1.
