Messerschmitt Bf 162

Bf 162

Manufacturer: Messerschmitt
First flight: February 1937
Primary user: Luftwaffe
Number built: 3

The Messerschmitt Bf 162 was a light bomber aircraft designed in Germany prior to World War II that only flew in prototype form.

The Bf 162 was designed in response to a 1935 RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Reich Aviation Ministry) specification for a schnellbomber ("fast bomber") for tactical use. Messerschmitt's design was a modified Bf 110 with a glazed nose to accommodate a bombardier. In 1937, three prototypes were flown against rival designs, the Junkers Ju 88 and the Henschel Hs 127, both entirely new aircraft. Eventually, the Ju 88 that was selected for production, and development of the Bf 162 ended. As a disinformation tactic, images of the Bf 162 were widely circulated in the German press captioned as the "Messerschmitt Jaguar", a name never used outside this context.

This aircraft's number of 162 was later re-used for the Heinkel He 162 jet fighter, probably again for disinformation purposes.

Specifications (Bf 162)

Data from Warplanes of the Third Reich

General characteristics

Crew: 3 - pilot, gunner, and bombardier/navigator
Length: 12.75 m (41 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 17.16 m (56 ft 3½ in)
Height: 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)
Loaded weight: 5,810 kg (12,782 lb)
Powerplant: 2x— Daimler-Benz DB 600Aa liquid-cooled inverted V12 piston engines, 736 kW (986 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 480 km/h (259 knots, 298 mph) at 3,400 m (11,155 ft)
Cruise speed: 425 km/h (230 knots, 264 mph) at 3,400 m (11,155 ft)
Range: 782 km (423 nmi, 486 mi)
Rate of climb: 9.0 m/s (1,770 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 1x— 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun in dorsal position
Bombs: 10x— 50 kg (110 lb) bombs internally and 2x— 250 kg (550 lb) bombs externally (overload)

Related development

Bf 110
Bf 161

Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. New York:Doubleday, 1972. ISBN 0-385-05782-2.

Messerschmitt Bf 162 Pictures

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Source: WikiPedia