Me 262 V3 Erstflug am 18.07.1942 in Leipheim
Video from the channel Steve MacQueen about Messerschmitt Me 262, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 3:01. Language: German. Video type: Archive footage.
Footage of the first flight of the Me 262 V3, the third prototype and the first powered solely by two Junkers Jumo 004A turbojets. It still had a tailwheel instead of the nosewheel, which was introduced from the fifth prototype onward.
It was filmed on 18 July 1942 in Leipheim. Fritz Wendel took off at 8:40 after a run of about 600 m, at around 180 km/h, tapping the brakes to raise the tail, and landed after 12 minutes. The narration was added later and states that the film ended up at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Series production started slowly in 1944, the order to turn it into a bomber cost time, and 1,433 aircraft were delivered, with a top speed of 870 km/h.