Me 261 "Adolfine"

Discussions on all (non-biographical) aspects of the Luftwaffe air units and general discussions on the Luftwaffe.
Post Reply
martyn powell
Member
Posts: 90
Joined: 18 Jul 2003, 13:15
Location: england

Me 261 "Adolfine"

#1

Post by martyn powell » 20 Feb 2004, 18:49

Hi All
Found this in a news paper today is it true.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics were the first to utilise the torch relay.
Hitler was especially impressed with it and, following the Berlin Olympics,work began on the Messerschmitt Me261 "Adolfine" aircraft project,designed to carry the torch on a record-breaking flight from Berlin to Japan for the 1940 Tokyo Games.
Those games never took place of course,but it is believed the Me261 was used for a handful of ultra long-range reconnaissance missions during the war.

Is this true.
Martyn

User avatar
redcoat
Member
Posts: 1361
Joined: 03 Mar 2003, 22:54
Location: Stockport, England

Re: Me 261 "Adolfine"

#2

Post by redcoat » 21 Feb 2004, 02:45

Yes, the first Me 261 which flew in Dec 40, was designed as a record breaking aircraft and as such had a low priority after the war started.
Looking like a large Me 110, this twin engined aircraft had a crew of 5 in the V1, and a 7 man crew in the V3( first flight 1943).
The V3 had a top speed of 385mph and a range of 6,835miles (at a speed of 248mph),all marks were unarmed and the V3 undertook a small number of long range reconnaissance missions with Auf./Ob.d.L
Only 3 Me 261 (V1, V2 and V3) were built. :)
Attachments
me261.jpg
me261.jpg (15.39 KiB) Viewed 3571 times


martyn powell
Member
Posts: 90
Joined: 18 Jul 2003, 13:15
Location: england

#3

Post by martyn powell » 21 Feb 2004, 03:24

Hi redcoat
Great, thank you :D Only 3 built no wonder i never heard of it.
Do you no why a 7 man crew for a unarmed aircraft.

Thanks
Martyn

User avatar
Sauron
Member
Posts: 27
Joined: 26 Mar 2005, 19:21
Location: Barcelona (Spain)

#4

Post by Sauron » 05 Sep 2005, 19:05

the V3 undertook a small number of long range reconnaissance missions with Auf./Ob.d.L
It is interesting, anyone knows where these long range recon missions were flown? Perhaps to targets deep inside the Soviet Union?

MadderCat
Member
Posts: 428
Joined: 10 May 2003, 13:52
Location: Germany

#5

Post by MadderCat » 05 Sep 2005, 19:29

Srry to interupt but the Me 261 had only a normal crew of 3 persons, (1 radioman, 1 pilot, 1 copilot/navigator). The V1 & V2 were used for Leistungsmessflüge (flights to determine aircraft data), V2 was destroyed in 1944 during bombing raids.
The V3 was used for a long endurance fligth of 10h piloted by Baur with 6 technicians on April 16 1943 (perhaps to record flight data and supervise some instruments) during the landing after this flight the aircraft was slightly damaged after repairing the aircraft it was used under the command of Oberst Rowehl as long range recce plane

MadderCat

User avatar
Ome_Joop
Member
Posts: 783
Joined: 10 May 2004, 16:56
Location: Noordwijk(erhout)

#6

Post by Ome_Joop » 23 Sep 2005, 11:48

MadderCat wrote: the V3 was used for a long endurance fligth of 10h piloted by Baur with 6 technicians on April 16 1943 (perhaps to record flight data and supervise some instruments)
...if you can put in all those guys in it ,i'm pretty sure you can put in a decent bombload as well...look there is space to put it 7 people (with their gear)...and it's a very fast aircraft 620 km/h or 348 mph...maybe a german Mossie without knowing?

User avatar
Ome_Joop
Member
Posts: 783
Joined: 10 May 2004, 16:56
Location: Noordwijk(erhout)

#7

Post by Ome_Joop » 23 Sep 2005, 11:58

BTW what is the relation to this Me 261 and the Bf 110/161/162 models?
Cozz It really looks like an enlarged Bf 110 (beautiful!)!!
altough i must admit the Bf-161 is a really ugly B*sst*rd!

You can find pics of all of them probable on
http://www.luftarchiv.de

brustcan
Member
Posts: 276
Joined: 30 Mar 2004, 05:38
Location: canada

#8

Post by brustcan » 03 Nov 2005, 08:06

Ome_Joop wrote:BTW what is the relation to this Me 261 and the Bf 110/161/162 models?
Hello!
The Luftwaffe on March 1, 1935 issued specifications to German aircraft manufactureres for a fast twin engine bomber. Three different companies came up with the Hs 127, Ju 88 and the Bf 162. The Bf 162 used the wings, twin tail from the Bf 110. The main difference was the new wider forward fuselage, with a new canopy, and glazed nose. Carrying a crew of three, the plane could carry two 550lb bombs on external wing racks, or the same weight ten 110lb bombs in a small internal bomb bay. The V1 flew in spring of 1937, the V2 in September, and the final prototype August 20, 1938. The Junkers 88 was chosen for production. The BF 161 was built in parallel with the Bf 162. It was to be a high speed reconnaissance plane. Messerschmitt built this aircraft on his own, the Luftwaffe had not ordered it. It was also based on the BF 110, and differed only in a longer deeper forward fuselage with a fully glazed nose to accommodate an observer(crew of 2). First flight spring 1938 V1 and the V2 flew in fall of 1938. The V2 was later used to test the remote controlled guns, used in the Me 210.
cheers brustcan

brustcan
Member
Posts: 276
Joined: 30 Mar 2004, 05:38
Location: canada

Re: Me 261 "Adolfine"

#9

Post by brustcan » 03 Nov 2005, 08:23

redcoat wrote:Yes, the first Me 261 which flew in Dec 40, was designed as a record breaking aircraft and as such had a low priority after the war started.
Looking like a large Me 110, this twin engined aircraft had a crew of 5 in the V1, and a 7 man crew in the V3( first flight 1943).
The V3 had a top speed of 385mph and a range of 6,835miles (at a speed of 248mph),all marks were unarmed and the V3 undertook a small number of long range reconnaissance missions with Auf./Ob.d.L
Only 3 Me 261 (V1, V2 and V3) were built. :)
Hello!
You are correct. The Me 261 V1 flew on Dec 23, 1940, and the V2 spring 1941. Both aircraft were powered by two 2,660 HP DB 606A/B engines( each engine was a coupled two DB 601 engines, like the He-177)
Each plane carried a crew of five: Two pilots, a navigator, radio operator, and a flight engineer. The V3 joined the test programme in spring of 1943. It differed in having provision for a crew of seven and used two 2,950hp DB 610A/B coupled engines. On April 16, 1943, Karl Baur flew a distance of 2,796 miles staying in the air for 10 hours. On landing the port landing gear collapsed!! After repair Aufkl.Gr.Ob.d.l. under Rowehl at Oranienburg undertook many long range missions. The V1 and V2 were damaged summer of 1944 by an allied attack on Lechfield, and both wre scrapped.
Cheers brustcan

User avatar
kfbr392
Member
Posts: 540
Joined: 24 Jun 2004, 17:05
Location: Germany

Re: Me 261 "Adolfine"

#10

Post by kfbr392 » 16 Feb 2017, 00:04

does anyone have the weights (empty, MTOW) of this bird? it is not in wiki, nor in the book Heinz Novarra, "Die Deutsche Luftrüstung". Or any other encyclopedias I have.

Paul Lakowski
Member
Posts: 1441
Joined: 30 Apr 2003, 06:16
Location: Canada

Re: Me 261 "Adolfine"

#11

Post by Paul Lakowski » 06 Mar 2017, 08:24

All I can do is approximate from know German bombers...

a = AVG fuel tonnage
b= bomb tonnage
w= wing tonnage
f= fuselage tonnage
aa= armor & armament
e= engine tonnage

He 177 = 10a + 7b + 5w + 4f + 2aa + 3e ..... 32m wing span [100m^2] & 22m length
He 274 = 12a + 4b + 6w + 5f + 1aa + 4e ..... 44m wing span [ 170m^2] & 24m length
Me 264 = 19a + 5b + 5.8w + 5f + 1aa + 4e ...... 43m wing span [ 127m^2 ] & 21m length
Me 261 = 14a + 2b +3.8w + 3f + 0.5aa + 3e ..... 27m wing span [76m^2] & 17m length

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_261
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_274
http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/bombers.html
http://www.airpages.ru/eng/lw/me264.shtml


10t empty & 24t loaded / 26t with 2t bomb load @ 8000km

Post Reply

Return to “Luftwaffe air units and Luftwaffe in general”