[MikeNoun]

My favorite quote of WWII was from a top turret gunner on a B-17G the first time any Allied bombers encountered a small group of Me-262 fighters. The gunners and pilots of these massive formations were watching for Me109's and Fw190's. Suddenly, in came these swept wing planes, fuselages shaped like sharks, with no propellers, blazing through the bomber stacks at 500+ mph, at least 100 mph faster than anything the Americans had ever seen in the sky. The top turret gunner radioed, "What the HELL was THAT?"

The bomber crews stated they were terrified of the Me-262, partly because of its speed, but also because the Germans were using air-to-air rockets. One hit, and a 4-engined B-24 or B-17 would explode, with little chance of any survivors. The Allied commanders wisely tried to keep this information from creating widespread panic in the bomber groups, but stories from returning bomber groups fanned the flames. As scared as the Allied crews were of the Me-262, they were even more terrified of the little Me163 Komet rocket-powered fighter, which blew through formations at nearly 600 mph, while helpless P-51 Mustangs watched in disbelief. The bomber's electrically powered turrets couldn't track fast enough to get their sights on an Me163.

The only thing the P-51 and P-47 pilots could do was follow the jet and rocket fighters down to treetop level and get them while they landed or took off. Very few Me262's were shot down in combat, and those that were were usually due to an engine failure, or pilot error. Pretty amazing considering the Me262's flew at a time when the Allied-to-Axis air power balance was about 50 to 1 in favor of the Allies.