AA35712 Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a, ‘Blitz Bomber’, 1944

Although the Messerschmitt Me 262 was unquestionably the most advanced combat aircraft of the Second World War, and Hitler championed its use as a ‘Blitz Bomber’, it didn’t prove particularly effective in this role, and every available aircraft was desperately needed to combat the Allied bomber streams which were pounding targets across Germany on a daily basis. Following the successful operations to capture the vital bridges over the River Waal in the Netherlands during September 1944, the Germans tried everything in their power to destroy the Waal Bridge at Nijmegen, using artillery, air power and even explosive equipped frogmen. Realising the strategic importance the loss of these bridges meant to German troops in Holland, Hitler ordered these bridges be destroyed at all costs, and even allocated his new Me 262 ‘Blitz Bombers’ to the task, believing that their incredible speed would make this something of a formality. Unfortunately for pilots flying these missions, the Allies knew this onslaught was coming, and established an anti-aircraft ‘ring of steel’ around the bridge area which proved so effective that almost every aircraft sent to attack the bridges was shot out of the sky. This attractively presented ‘Blitz Bomber’ was one of the aircraft sent to attack the Waal bridge during the Autumn of 1944, but was unable to score a decisive strike due to a combination of defensive fire and the general unsuitability of the Me 262 as an accurate and effective strike bomber.