Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika Bomber (X-Planes, 2)

A very good book on the technical and development aspects of the Me 264 bomber. In fact, I would say that the book offers the best discussion of that part of the story of the Me 264 that I have ever read.Unfortunately, the discussions on the strategic role of the bomber, and other long-range bomber projects envisioned at the time, leave much to be desired. I have read several of Robert Forsyth’s other air warfare books and was impressed by them, which is one of the main reasons why I bought this book. Some subjects covered in this book are not at the same level as in the other books.For example, on page 4 he states “The record breaking flight [of the Fw 200 Condor] prompted alarm bells to ring within the highest echelons of the US Army Air Corps, where it was realized that the Condor could be easily converted into a long-range bomber.” The author offers no citation or reference to support this statement, and I doubt that the incident ever occurred. At the time the Fw 200 landed in New York (1939), the USAAC already had test-flown the B-17 four-engined bomber and was in the process of developing the Douglas B-19 and Boeing B-15 experimental long-range test projects. Furthermore, the USAAC initiated a contract with Boeing in January 1939 to develop what ultimately became the B-29 very long-range bomber (VLR). The USAAC leadership would not have needed to see the Fw 200 to appreciate the potential of such an airplane.Furthermore, the statement that “…the Condor could be easily converted into a long-range bomber…” proved to quite wrong. The original long-range airliner design was converted into the militarized Fw 200C simply because no other design was readily available. As a passenger airplane, the Fw 200 had a relatively light structure that was totally unsuited for the maneuvers and stresses that would occur in a military combat aircraft and the Luftwaffe technical department knew this at the time. There are numerous photos in books concerning the Luftwaffe showing Fw 200s lying with broken backs on airfields after landing from combat missions. Furthermore, the pilots were restricted in the attack angles they could employ when bombing enemy ships and could only approach at fairly shallow angles because of the light structure. It has always been due to these engineering issues that converting any civilian airliner design into a bomber has always been problematic in air forces all over the world.A minor but irritating error occurs on page 8. The author states that the Me 261 experimental high-speed transport was intended to carry the Olympic torch from Berlin to Tokyo for the planned Winter Olympic games to be held in Tokyo in 1940. This is not correct. The Summer Olympic games were planned to be held in Tokyo in 1940. The 1940 Winter Olympic games were scheduled to be held in Cortina, Italy.On page 17, the author states that the mother of Erhard Milch (the Luftwaffe Secretary of State for Air) mother was Jewish. Although there were rumors even in the Germany of the 1930s that Milch was partly Jewish, it was not because of any allegations that his mother was Jewish -- she was a Christian, or at best an agnostic. The rumors were always based on his father allegedly being Jewish, which was not true. In the Jewish faith, if your mother is Jewish then you are Jewish and there is nothing you can do to get out of it.A couple of other books that offer additional information on the subject of German long-range bomber plans (or fantasies) are: “Target America – Hitler’s Plan to Attack the United States” by Duffy (2004) – the book describes the many German bomber, missile, and rocket projects undertaken; and “Secret Aircraft Designs of the Third Reich” by Myhra (1998) – the book describes many aircraft projects that can only be described as fantasies considering the military and industrial position of Germany by the early to mid-1940s.This all leads to the assessment of complete disorganization and managerial ineptitude at the top of the Luftwaffe command and German war effort leadership in general. Around 1942 / 1943 there were at least six competing long-range bomber or reconnaissance projects being developed in Germany: Ju 290, Ju 390, Me 264, He 177, Ta 300, and Ta 400. This doesn’t even include projects such as the BV 238 and Do 214 and Do 216 giant flying boat projects, or stop-gap projects such as the Ju 488. Perhaps if the leadership had focused on one of them, then something could have been accomplished.

One of the biggest mysteries of World War Two was Nazi Germany’s failure to develop a strategic four-engine heavy bomber similar to the Boeing B-17 or the British Lancaster. This concise illustrated book by Robert Forsyth, the second in Osprey’s X-Plane series, provides much of the answer. Hitler pictured the Amerika bomber as a revenge weapon capable of dropping bombs on New York City (an artistic color spread in the book depicts just such a scenario) or even further inland. Other military planners proposed to use the bomber to provide aerial support for U-boat operations off the East Coast of the U.S. Ironically, much of the failure to develop such a behemoth owned to the growing scarcity of resources, much of which were devoted by the Third Reich to Hitler’s vengeance weapons (cruise missiles and rockets) against England and the twin-engine Me262 jet fighter-bomber. The other factor was indecisiveness among the high command, particularly Erhard Milch’s grudge against Willy Messerschmidt, who never gave up on the project. Only one prototype was ever built and test-flown. The bomber’s glazed nose and circular cross-section resembled that of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, but the Me264 sported a twin tail assembly and sat much lower to the ground. There were also significant problems with the powerplants, the original Junkers Jumos eventually replaced with BMWs. The most pronounced feature of the Ameika bomber was its 141-foot wingspan, twice its length, which gave the 50-ton aircraft an unlikely graceful look in the air. Karl Baur was the main test pilot, flying the Me264 on 30 occasions and rescuing the airframe on several occasions. He was a very talented flyer. By 1939, Baur had flown 54,000 miles in 2,855 flights in more than 60 different aircraft! After the war, he worked briefly for Chance Vought Aircraft in Dallas, Texas. By the time the multitude of problems with the Me264 were being tackled during test flights, the vastly superior B-29 Superfortresses were beginning bomb runs against Japan from bases in India. The B-29 would eventually deliver the atomic bomb to the Japanese homeland. Just as Germany’s project to develop an atomic bomb faltered for lack of time and resources, so did the fate of the Me264 heavy bomber. This book is a fascinating look at a historical curiosity.

One of the great failures of German force planning for the Second World War was the lack of a four engine heavy bomber. The emphasis was on tactical bombers; designs for longer range aircraft languished until too late in the conflict. One such might-have-been was the Messerschmitt Me 264, a four engine bomber specifically designed to reach the American homeland..."Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika Bomber" is an Osprey X Planes Series book, authored by Robert Forsyth, with illustrations by Jim Laurier and Gareth Hector. The book traces the contentious development of the plane through prototype stage in late 1944. The "might have been" theme is strongly emphasized in the narrative, which suggests the Me 264 was a viable design that might have accomplished its purpose with more time. The book features an interesting collection of period photographs and technical diagrams, along with one haunting notional picture of two Me 264's on a bombing run over New York City. This reviewer found the story quite interesting, but not substantial enough to justify an 80-page book just on the Me 264. Cautiously recommended to aviation enthusiasts and fans of alternative history.

Excellent treatise on a rather obscure subject. Good technical detail and interesting photos.

If you like Osprey you will like this. More of the same, decently done.

As described, quick delivery

Excellent

Excellent monograph