In the article “on August 21, 1941, the Germans were reported to be developing a jet plane, but then reports died down.
I wonder what stage of development the 262 was at that point?
No reference yet to English and American development yet so was still pretty much a secret?
oops, didn’t read the whole article before posting.
“I wonder what stage of development the 262 was at that point?”
From Wiki:
“Plans were first drawn up in April 1939, and the original design was very similar to the aircraft that eventually entered service. The progression of the original design was delayed greatly by technical issues involving the new jet engine. Funding for the jet engine program was also initially lacking as many high-ranking officials thought the war could easily be won with conventional aircraft.[11] Among those were Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe, who cut the engine development program to just 35 engineers in February 1940; Willy Messerschmitt, who desired to maintain mass production of the piston-powered Bf 109 and the projected Me 209; and Major General Adolf Galland, who supported Messerschmitt through the early development years, flying the Me 262 himself on 22 April 1943. By that time, problems with engine development had slowed production of the aircraft considerably. One particularly acute problem arose with the lack of an alloy with a melting point high enough to endure the high temperatures involved, a problem that by the end of the war had not been adequately resolved.[11]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_262