Manufacturer: Revell
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: 3D printed parts
Model build: Apr - Jun 2020
Messerschmitt Me262/2M V1
Revell
1/72
1/72
The Phoenix That Never Flew
0:00
Made with Suno
Piston-Wings
Made with Suno
The Franz Josef Factor
June 26th, 1944. Bavaria, Germany
Franz Josef Stein, a grizzled Luftwaffe test pilot with a face etched by years of staring into the sun at 30,000 feet, climbed into the unfamiliar cockpit of the Me 262/2M V1. The "M" stood for "Motor," a sardonic joke amongst the engineers who'd cobbled together this piston-powered Frankenstein from the scraps of the jet program.
Franz missed the raw, jet-fueled scream that usually filled his ears. Here, the twin Daimler-Benz engines rumbled like a pair of angry bears. Still, there was a certain charm to the brute force they promised. Today's mission wasn't about chasing phantoms at the edge of sound. Today, it was about getting this ungainly bird back on the ground in one piece.
The pre-flight checks were a dance of unfamiliar gauges and levers. Franz cursed the engineers under his breath. This airplane was a patchwork quilt of Me 262 and Me 110, and it felt like it. As he taxied down the runway, the nose wheel shimmied, a nervous tremor that telegraphed its Me 110 heritage.
Reaching the end of the runway, Franz unleashed the full fury of the engines. The Me 262/2M lurched forward, a reluctant beast prodded into action. It wasn't the jet's exhilarating leap, but a steady, purposeful climb. The airframe, designed for jet speeds, felt loose around the propellers, a constant reminder of the plane's cobbled-together nature.
Reaching altitude, Franz put the Me 262/2M through its paces. It rolled sluggishly compared to its jet brother, but it responded honestly to the controls. He could feel the weight of the engines in the nose, a constant tug-of-war. Yet, there was a raw power here, a thrilling surge of acceleration when he pushed the throttles forward.
Suddenly, the crackle of the radio pierced his focus. A frantic voice reported a formation of B-17 bombers heading straight for Munich. Franz's heart hammered. This wasn't a test flight anymore. This was baptism by fire.
He didn't have time to consider the risks, the untamed potential of this experimental plane. With a surge of adrenaline, Franz turned the Me 262/2M towards the approaching bombers, the mismatched engines roaring in defiance.
The ensuing dogfight was a ballet of smoke and tracers. The Me 262/2M wasn't the fastest bird in the sky, but it was surprisingly maneuverable. Franz weaved through flak bursts, his cannons spitting fire. He managed to cripple one B-17, sending it trailing black smoke on a desperate turn for home.
As the remaining bombers turned tail, Franz pulled back, the adrenaline slowly draining from his system. He glanced at the fuel gauge, a sliver of red screaming at him. He had to get back before the borrowed engines gave out.
The landing was a tense affair. The nose wanted to dip with every gust, the Me 110's landing gear groaning under the unfamiliar stress. But Franz coaxed the plane down, the wheels finally kissing the tarmac with a shudder.
He climbed out, legs wobbly, a strange mix of exhilaration and trepidation coursing through him. The Me 262/2M might have been a Frankenstein's monster, but in the right hands, it could still bite.
As he surveyed the ungainly plane, a thought flickered across his mind. Maybe, just maybe, this ungainly bird had a future after all. The roar of the engines seemed to echo his thought, a challenge, a promise. The Franz Josef Factor, they'd call it. A testament to the pilot who tamed the mismatched beast and, for a brief moment, made it sing.
The Messerschmitt Me 262/2M — The Forgotten Propeller Schwalbe (1944)
By early 1944, the Messerschmitt Me 262 was on the brink of transforming aerial warfare — but its promise was crippled by the shortage and unreliability of the Jumo 004 jet engines. With dozens of completed airframes waiting for powerplants, desperation led German engineers to explore unorthodox alternatives. Among these was one of the strangest proposals of the late war — a piston-engined variant of the world’s first operational jet fighter.
The concept, officially designated Me 262/2M, emerged from a series of Luftwaffe staff discussions in February 1944. If the Reich could not yet mass-produce reliable jet turbines, perhaps the proven Daimler-Benz DB 605 engines — as used in the Me 110G and Bf 109G — could serve as a stopgap. The result would be slower than the jet-powered “Schwalbe,” but still heavily armed and potentially useful against Allied bomber streams.
At Messerschmitt’s Augsburg works, engineers re-designed the standard Me 262 nacelles to house two DB 605A piston engines. The engine gondolas were slightly enlarged and moved forward to balance the altered weight distribution, while the main landing gear was relocated inside them, much like the arrangement on the Me 110. Due to the tighter spacing beneath the wings, smaller-diameter VDM propellers were installed. Armament remained formidable — four MK 108 30 mm cannons in the nose — and engineers hoped the type could serve as a high-speed bomber interceptor until more jets became available.
The first and only prototype, Me 262/2M V1, took to the air on June 24th 1944, piloted by test flyer Hans Fey. Despite its unusual appearance, the aircraft handled well, though it was slightly nose-heavy and required delicate control at low speeds. The DB 605s provided reliable thrust, pushing the machine to about 650 km/h — far below the jet’s potential, but still comparable to contemporary piston fighters. Fey noted that throttle response was immediate and smooth, unlike the sluggish power changes of the jet-powered Me 262.
Tragically, just two days later, while being refueled for a second test flight at Leipheim airfield, the prototype was caught in a massive explosion after a fuel truck ignited. The resulting fire destroyed the aircraft completely. With resources dwindling and all efforts focused on jet engine production, Messerschmitt abandoned the piston-conversion idea immediately.
No photographs of the Me 262/2M are known to exist, and only a handful of sketches survived the war. Yet this obscure experiment remains a curious footnote in aviation history — a moment when Germany’s revolutionary jet fighter briefly returned to the age of propellers.
The model shows the Messerschmitt Me262/2M V1 after its maiden flight on June 24, 1944.
The model is based on an old Revell Me262 kit in 1/72. The piston engines, propellers and main landing gear was taken form a 3D model of a Me110 and printed with an Anycubic Photon SLA printer. The aircraft was painted with Revell Aqua Color, the color scheme is inspired by the one of the Messerschmitt P.1011 as it was found after the war. Decals are the original ones plus some self-made ones.
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