Messerschmitt Me 264
Me 264 V1
Description
Role	Bomber/Maritime Patrol Aircraft
Crew	5-6
First Flight	December 1942
Entered Service	Never
Manufacturer	Willy Messerschmitt Flugzeugwerke GmbH
Dimensions (Me 264V3 Prototype)
Length	20.9 m	68 ft 7 in
Wingspan	43.0 m	141 ft
Height	4.3 m	14 ft
Wing area	127.8 m²	1,376 ft²
Weights
Empty	21,150 kg	46,630 lb
Loaded	45,540 kg	100,400 lb
Maximum takeoff	56,000 kg	123,000 lb
Powerplant
Engine	Four BMW 801G/H
Power (each)	1,272 kW	1,730 PS
Performance
Maximum speed	560 km/h	350 mph
Combat range	6,000 (4,000) km	3,704 (2,500) miles
Ferry range	14,900 km (disputed - other sources give 10,000 km)	9,260 mi (6,250 mi)
Service ceiling	8,000 m	26,000 ft
Rate of climb	120 m/min	390 ft/min
Wing loading	356 kg/m²	72.9 lb/ft²
Power/Mass	0.11 kW/kg	0.07 hp/lb
Armament
Guns	Four 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns
	Two 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151 cannon
Bombs	3,000 kg	6,600 lb

The Me 264 Amerika (America) was a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft developed by Messerschmitt during World War II for the Luftwaffe. It was intended to support U-boat operations far into the Atlantic, serving both as a scout to direct the attack, as well as launching attacks of its own. The design was later selected as a competitor in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium's (the German Air Ministry) "Amerika Bomber" programme, which intended to develop a strategic bomber capable of attacking New York City from bases in Germany, although it is highly doubtful that this would have been achieved with a meaningful payload, if at all. One prototype was built, but production was abandoned to allow Messerschmitt to concentrate on fighter production while another design, the Junkers Ju 390, had been selected in its place as a maritime reconnaissance plane. Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... A military aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity, usually carrying no armament. ... Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Amerika Bomber project was an initiative of the German Air Ministry to obtain a long-range bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United States from Germany. ... Boeing B-52 strategic bomber taking off A strategic bomber is a large aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance on a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemys capacity to wage war. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613 Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... The Junkers Ju 390 was a long-range derivative of the Junkers Ju 290 and was intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and bomber. ...

Development history

The origin of the Me 264 design came from Messerschmitt's long range reconnaissance aircraft project, the P.1061, of the late 1930s. A variant on the P.1061 was the P.1062, with only two engines to the P.1061's four, but they were the more powerful DB 606 engines. The progress of these projects was initially slow, but in 1940 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) started a programme for a very long range bomber, and the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) separately demanded a long range patrol and attack aircraft to replace the converted Fw 200 Condor in this role. As a result, in early 1941, six P.1061 prototypes were ordered from Messerschmitt, under the designation Me 264. This was later reduced to three prototypes. A military aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity, usually carrying no armament. ... The 1930s (years from 1930-1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... The Kriegsmarine (or War Navy) was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine. ... Focke-Wulf Fw 200 The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane that entered service as an airliner and later as long range reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe. ...

The first prototype, the Me 264 V1, was flown on December 23, 1942. It was powered at first by four Jumo 211J engines of 1,340 shp (metric hp, 990 kW) each. In late 1943 these were changed to the BMW 801G which delivered 1,750 shp (1,290 kW). Trials showed numerous minor faults, and handling was found to be difficult. One of the drawbacks was the very high wing load of the plane in fully loaded conditions, e.g. comparable planes such as the B29 Superfortress with 337 kg/m² wing loading at three times the payload or the Ju 390 at 209 kg/m² wing loading had a better design. High wing loading leads to performance problems across the whole flight envelope, in particular bad climb performance, loss of maneuverability and in-flight stability, and the need for high take-off and landing speeds. This first prototype was not fitted with weapons. The following two prototypes, Me 264 V2 and Me 264 V3, were armed and had some vital parts armoured. December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1942: Events January January 30 - Canadian Pacific Air Lines formed by the acquisition and merger of Arrow Airways and Canadian Airways, along with all the various subsidiaries of the latter. ... The Junkers Jumo 211 was the aircraft engine used by German company Junkers to propel its Ju 88 twin-engine, multirole airplane which was built for the Luftwaffe and heavily employed in World War II. The engine power generated by the Jumo 211A was 900 kW = 1,200 hp. ... The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine’s cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm, giving... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... The Junkers Ju 390 was a long-range derivative of the Junkers Ju 290 and was intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and bomber. ...

In 1943, the Kriegsmarine withdrew their interest in the Me 264 in favour of the existing Ju 290 and the planned Ju 390. As a consequence, in October 1943, Erhard Milch ordered the cancellation of further Me 264 development and focussing on the Me 262 jet fighter-bomber. On July 18, 1944 the first prototype was damaged during an Allied bombing raid and was not repaired. The other two prototypes, which had not been fully completed, were destroyed during the same raid. Air Marshall Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (March 30, 1892 – January 25, 1972) was a German officer who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I. Milch was born in Wilhelmshaven. ... ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

On September 23, 1944, work on the Me 264 project was officially canceled. September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ...

Design

It was an all-metal high-wing four-engine heavy bomber of classic construction. The fuselage was round in cross-section and had a crew cabin in a glazed nose. The wing had a slightly swept leading edge and a straight rear edge. The tailplane had double tail fins. The undercarriage was a retractable tricycle gear, with quite large diameter wheels. The planned armament consisted of guns in remotely operated turrets and in positions on the sides of the fuselage. Overall it carried very little armour and few guns in order to increase fuel capacity and range. The Me 264 had four 1,700 PS (1,250 kW) BMW 801G engines. In order to provide comfort on the proposed long-range missions, the Me 264 featured bunk beds and a small galley complete with hotplates. A Cessna 152 with a tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear describes a kind of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. ... Turret (highlighted) attached to a tower on a baronial building in Scotland In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects from the wall of a building, such as a medieval castle or baronial house. ... The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German military aircraft of World War II. The engine’s cylinders were in two rows of seven cylinders each, the bore and stroke were both 156 mm, giving... The galley is the compartment of a ship, submarine, train or aircraft where food is cooked and prepared. ...

Related content

Related development:

Comparable aircraft: B-29 Superfortress - B-32 Dominator - Junkers Ju 390 - Heinkel He 177 - Nakajima G10N The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... The Consolidated B-32 Dominator (Consolidated Model 34) was a heavy bomber made for United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, and has the distinction of being the last Allied aircraft to be engaged in combat during WWII. It was developed in parallel with the Boeing B... The Junkers Ju 390 was a long-range derivative of the Junkers Ju 290 and was intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and bomber. ... The Heinkel He 177 Greif {Griffin] was a 4-engined long-range World War 2 bomber of the Luftwaffe. ... The Nakajima G10N Fugaku (Japanese: 富岳 or 富嶽, Mount Fuji), was a planned Japanese ultra-long range heavy bomber plane designed during World War II. The Fugaku had its origins in Project Z, a 1942 specification for an intercontinental bomber which could take off from Japan, bomb the...

Designation sequence: Me 262 - Me 263 - Me 264 Fl 265 - Me 265 The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German Swallow) was the worlds first operational jet-powered fighter. ... This aircraft article has not been updated to WikiProject Aircrafts current standards. ...

Related lists: List of WW2 Luftwaffe aircraft prototype projects - List of bomber aircraft Experimental, Research, Prototype, and Projects Only aircraft of the WW2 German Luftwaffe The list contains both aircraft that were development aircraft of planes that were in the war, and projects during the war. ... // 1914-1918 France Breguet 14 Germany Albatros C.III Rumpler Taube Gotha G AEG G.I AEG G.II AEG G.III AEG G.IV AEG G.V AEG N.I AEG R.I Italy Caproni Ca. ...

References and external links

• Pilotfriend.com
• luft46.com
• Neitzel, Söhnke "Der Einsatz der deutschen Luftwaffe über der Nordsee und dem Atlantik"