| This aircraft is a Messerschmitt Me262A-1a Schwalbe (W.Nr.111711) and was surrendered at Frankfurt/Rhine-Main by defecting Messerschmitt test pilot Hans Fay (1888-1959) on March 31, 1945. Fay, a civilian, extended his undercarriage to indicate he was surrendering. United States Army Air Force (USAAF) General Henry “Hap“ Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) met with Fay on April 4, 1945, and recommended that Fay be brought to the United States to fly 111711 in flight testing. It was shipped to Wright Field where it was referred to as “711“ or “T2-711“ and test flown a total of twelve times before suffering an engine fire and crashed on August 20, 1946 at Xenia, Ohio. Tests revealed that the Me-262 was superior in most respects to the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the premiere American jet fighter. The results of the tests were suppressed by the United States Army Air Force. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0101.jpg |
| Image Size | 573.55 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1800 x 1172 |
| Photographer | Unknown |
| Photographer Title | United States Air Force |
| Caption Author | Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | December 01, 1945 |
| Location | Wright Field |
| City | Dayton |
| State or Province | Ohio |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | United States Air Force |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2007, ©2024 MFA Productions LLC Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database