Messerschmitt Me 261

The Messerschmitt Me 261 Adolfine was an airplane designed in the late 1930's by Messerschmitt as a transport and reconnaissance aircraft. However, it was not put into production.

Conceived in 1937 with the purpose of carrying the Olympic Flame non-stop from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (1936 Winter Olympics) to Tokyo, Japan (1940 Summer Olympics), the Me 261 captured the imagination of Adolf Hitler at an early stage in its design and was designated Adolfine in his honor. The construction of three prototypes began at Augsburg during the spring of 1939, but progress was slow due to the low priority allocated to the aircraft. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the construction of the prototypes was halted completely. Consideration was then given to the possibility of using the Me 261 for long range reconnaissance flights over the Atlantic ocean and so work was resumed in the summer of 1940. Eventually, only three aircraft were built.

Prototypes

Me 261 V1

Powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 606 engine and with five crew members. The first flight of the Me 261 V1 was on 23 December 1940. The decision to use the DB 606 engine was a problem because only a few were available for development projects, as most were needed for airplanes already in production such as the Heinkel He 177. The Me 261 V1 was badly damaged during an Allied bombing attack on Lechfeld in 1944 and eventually scrapped.

Me 261 V2

Also powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 606 engine and with five crew members. The first flight of the Me 261 V2 was in early 1941. The Me 261 V2 was also badly damaged during an Allied bombing attack and its remains were allegedly captured by American forces at Lechfeld.

Me 261 V3

Powered by the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 610 engine and with increased crew to seven. The first flight of the Me 261 V3 was in early 1943. This aircraft had the longest series of flight tests. On 16 April 1943, the Me 261 V3 was flown over a distance of 4,500 km (2,796 miles) in an elapsed time of ten hours. In July 1943, the Me 261 V3 was damaged during a landing accident and it is unclear if the aircraft was ever repaired.

Specifications (Me 261 V3)

General characteristics

• Crew: 7

Performance Armament
None

References

• Green, William Warplanes of the Third Reich. Galahad Books, 1986.
• Gunston, Bill & Wood, Tony Hitler's Luftwaffe. Salamander Books Ltd., 1977.