Me-262 RATO, operational use?

[MeneMene]

Currently doing a 1/48 Me-262, "Black X" from very late in the war, bomber version carrying two SC500 bombs. The kit comes with the RI-502 take-off assist rockets; does anyone know if these were frequently used operationally? I can only find pictures from testing/development.

[Sturmovik]

I've never seen a photo of a regular 262 use RATOs. These two blogs in Portuguese show two Me 262s with RATOs, one is PC+UE and the other is testing a flying bomb. So I believe you shouldn't add the RATOs to your model.

 

http://www.luftwaffe39-45.historia.nom.br/aero/me262.htm

http://blogdomigueljunior.blogspot.com/2011/04/messerschmitt-me-262-1s-cacas-foguete-e.html?m=1

[dogsbody]

You could try asking here: https://luftwaffe-research-group.org/

 

 

Chris

[fernandocouto]

According to Osprey "Me262 bomber and recon units" (such a title?), Me262 in KG51 usually carried 2 250kg bombs(SC,SD,AB), or one AB500.

 

It's uncommon to see a Me262 with 2 SC500 cause it would be overload. Also never found RATO in service.

 

I've built Hobbyboss 1/48 Me262 twice, but I did not attach RATOs, filled location holes instead.

[Transall vaillant]

Hello,

First, i apologise for mistakes, but i'm not speaking nor writing correctly in English.

First, as said Fernandocouto, don't build a Me 262 with two SC 500 or any 1000 kg payload : it was forbidden because lose of control occured and caused aircraft destruction and pilot's death. EKdo 262 only performed such trials under strict control but it never occured in operationnal units.

Second, it is mentionned most of time, also in Classic monographie, that PC+UE was the only aircraft to use those RATO devices : for trials, yes, but Classic gives a picture of V10 with such devices when it performed maximum bomb load trials. You can read in "Me 262 bomber and reconnaissance units" from Osprey Combat Aircraft n°83 several very interesting things like the use of RATO in operationnal use, i.e. page 29 and 81. The funny point is that this book is from Robert Forsyth with Eddy J. Creek, authors of the exceptionnal Classic monographie... Accidents occured for several reasons, but it also worked and it was the only mean to take off an aircraft heavily loaded from an airstrip shortened by bomb hits from place to place... a simple matter of aircraft performance calculation.

Of course, you may find in any book some minor mistakes that you can correct if you are combat pilot, aeronautical technician or ingenieur, or any combination of such qualifications... We can easily forgive those minor mistakes as those men bring us major informations in spite of small mistakes due mostly to lack of post redaction reading.

I hope i made it clear for everybody reading.

@+

 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Transall vaillant