This excerpt is taken from the novel The War in the Air by the English science fiction writer H.G. Wells. It describes how the gigantic German air fleet attacks England and the United States, how huge German airships mercilessly sink squadrons of battleships in the Atlantic, bombard factories and factories with bombs, and turn cities into ruins.

The author of The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds wrote these lines in 1907, when the bombing of London by German airships seemed no more real than the landing of the Martians at Woking (Surrey).

In the same 1907, Ferdinand von Zeppelin was teetering on the brink of despair. The German count had already spent all his considerable fortune, pledged family jewels, but the devices he built stubbornly refused to fly. With great difficulty, they rose into the air, unsuccessfully fought the elements, and then fell, fell apart, burned and drowned in Lake Constance.

It seemed that the idea of ​​creating large controlled aircraft lighter than air, but with a rigid frame would remain a bold fantasy of the “mad count”. However, the 69-year-old fanatic did not want to give up. Having survived another catastrophe, he started all over again with true German tenacity.

And as a result, seven years later, the horror that H.G. Wells foresaw and described became a reality. The First World War began, and the German zeppelins turned into a nightmare of big cities – they bombed Antwerp, Warsaw, Paris, London, Liverpool …

On January 21, 1915, the German Kölnische Zeitung wrote in an editorial: “Our Zeppelins have raised a fiery right hand over Britain. Arrogant England trembles, awaiting with horror more irresistible blows. The most perfect weapon, created by the genius of German engineers – the airship – is capable of striking our enemy in the very heart. An eye for an eye, blood for blood. This is the fastest way to end the war victoriously, and therefore the most humane. “

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The first serial modification was Meteor F.I, its production was established in January 1944. Initially, these “Meteors” were used to combat the German projectile V-1 (“V-1”). In six months, they shot down a dozen V-1s.

In January 1945, a more progressive modification of the Meteor F.Mk III was introduced. Since the beginning of spring, Meteoram has been allowed to fly deep into Germany for “free hunting”. A total of 210 “Meteors” of various modifications were built by the end of the war. These fighters did not show any special success, but the model range was developed until 1955, and they were in service until the early 1980s.

It is noteworthy that after the war the Soviet Union bought several turbojet engines Rolls-Royce Derwent (which were equipped with “Meteors”) and Nene for reverse engineering.

Technical characteristics of the aircraft Meteor F. Mk.III

Weight, kg: 4771
Take-off weight, kg: 6559
Maximum speed, km / h: 837 (at an altitude of 3050 m)
Practical range, km: 2160
Practical ceiling, m: 13400

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Development of the Me-262 began in 1938, by the end of 1941 the glider of the future fighter-interceptor was ready. The first flight with a jet engine took place on July 18, 1942. About a year was spent on refining the model, and in April 1944 Me-262 was launched into series production. A total of 1430 copies of various modifications were released.

The design of Me-262 is all-metal. Two Jumo-004 turbojet engines were installed under the wings, on the outside of the chassis struts. The new aircraft had excellent characteristics at that time: speed up to 900 km / h and lift speed up to 1200 m / min. However, for all its advantages, the Me-262 had serious drawbacks. First, the small engine life of the engines, only 9-10 hours of operation, after which the engine had to be completely disassembled and replace the turbine blades. Second, the large takeoff of the Me-262 made it vulnerable during takeoff and landing.

The first battles of the new machine took place in the fall of 1944. Later, Me-262 jets took part in air battles until the end of April 1945.

Technical characteristics Messerschmitt Me.262

Engine: 2x Junkers Jumo 004 B-1, thrust: 8.8 kN
Wings area, sq. m: 12.6
Weight, empty aircraft, kg: 3795
Take-off weight: 6473
Maximum speed, km / h: 900
Speed ​​of gain of height, m ​​/ min: 1200
Practical ceiling, m: 11450
Practical flight range, km: 1050

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