Me 262 C-2b
Contents
Description
The Me 262C-2b Heimatschutzer II is a Rank V German jet fighter with a battle rating of 8.0. It was introduced in Update 1.41.
The MK 108 (30 mm) has insane damage potential, with the third greatest in-game burst rate of 14.52 kg/s (32.01 lbs/s) and the great explosive warhead "Minengeschoss" (=mine-shell) this weapon will vaporize aircraft, especially bombers. But every coin has a flip side and the "Sledeghammer" is no exception. The amazing rate of fire is bought with a very short barrel and small propellant charges, resulting in very bad ballistics: The slowest shells with the greatest bullet drop ingame. The Mk108 makes no compromise, only the extremes.
As you might guessed: The MK 108 is a very bad anti-fighter weapon particular in jet to jet combat. Bullet drop and slow velocity result in difficult lead shots in ranges above 300 m (350 yd). In maneuver fights this trait gets even worse, the high speeds of jet battle push the necessary lead for hitting the target high, very high and in front of the enemy. Training with this weapon-system on a custom battle against random enemies is heavily advised.
The Sledgehammer cannons have an ammo indicator in the cockpit. It sits directly beneath the compass (the one with the little plane in the middle). A typical bar ammunition counter of the Luftwaffe. The left white column is for the two top auto-cannons. The right one is for the bottom two cannons, this bar is also taller than the left one as the ammo count is different for the two pairs.
General info
Flight Performance
| Characteristics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| 824 | 797 | 14,900 | 31.6 | 32.5 | 16.5 | 15.6 | 628 |
| Upgraded | |||||||
| Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m) |
Max altitude (meters) | Turn time (seconds) | Rate of climb (meters/second) |
Take-off run (meters) | |||
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | ||
| ? | ? | 14,900 | ??.? | ??.? | ?.? | ?.? | 628 |
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flap | Take-off flap | Landing flap | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing-break speed (km/h) |
Gear limit (km/h) |
Combat flap (km/h) |
Max Static G | |
| + | - | |||
| 1,050 | 450 | 520 | ~15 | ~7 |
| Optimal velocities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons (km/h) |
Rudder (km/h) |
Elevators (km/h) |
Radiator (km/h) |
| < 500 | < 600 | < 680 | > 250 |
| Compressor (RB/SB) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Setting 1 | ||
| Optimal altitude | 100% Engine power | WEP Engine power |
| ?,??? m | ??? hp | ?,??? hp |
Survivability and armour
- 15 mm Steel - plate behind pilot seat
- 15 mm Steel - plate headrest
- 15 mm Steel - Cockpit for plate
- 15 mm Steel - Instrument panel plate
- 16 mm Steel - 2 x plates protecting ammunition
- 90 mm Bulletproof glass
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Me 262 C-2b is armed with:
- 4 x 30 mm MK 108 cannon, nose-mounted (2 x 100 rpg top + 2 x 80 rpg bottom = 360 total)
Usage in the battles
Anti fighter combat strategies include:
Climb: All around usable Self explanatory, rockets are used to boost oneself up to > 7000 m. Henceforth denying enemy fighters absolute altitude advantage. Of course this must be followed through to the extreme, as once altitude advantage is gone, so will be the Me 262. Especially high-altitude prop-aircraft will be dangerous foes as jet-engine's power steadily declines over altitude. Whereas turbochargers and superchargers will keep the piston-engine's power output steady. Watch out for these particular foes: P-47D, P-47M, F8F-1b, Spitfire Mk.24/Mk.22, J7W1 and Ta 152H-1, if this strategy is choosen. Commence in classic Boom and Zoom tactics.
Aggressive climb: Useful against pure enemy jet teams The same principle as merely "Climb", however with the twist of actively engaging towards the hostile airfield to intercept with E-advantage enemy fighters. Air-Domination is established beyond the frontline with the prime directive to hinder enemy aircraft (especially jets) to gain any further altitude. If piston aircraft are present, this may proof to be difficult as these machines will be on or even above the Me 262 C upon contact. Hostile jets though will again not be on a similar energy state, making them on the first two initial passes easy prey. Good energy management is key though!
Rush: Enemy team energy denial This strategy can proof deadly, but will provide a similar aggressive team-mates with a better outset once team vs team combat starts. Start boosters after spawning and use them to reach maximum level flight speed. Reduce engine throttle before loosing a wing! Head straight for the enemy and disturb them in their acceleration & climb. The idea is to either seize targets of opportunity (e.g. AFK climbers, unaware targets), or to confuse the foes to give one's allies the aforementioned better vantage position.
Specific enemies worth noting
Remember to assign a key to Boosters!
Rocket boost should either be saved to compete against post-war jets, or be used immidiately to propel oneself upto 6000m before the hostile forces had the oppertunity to gain any energy advantage.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Not controllable | Separate | Not ontrollable | Not controllable |
Modules
| Tier | Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Fuselage Repair | Offensive 30 mm | |
| II | Compressor | Airframe | |
| III | Wing Repair | New 30 mm Cannons | |
| IV | Engine | Cover |
The biggest issue of the Schwalbe is its bad acceleration across all speeds. Thus "Compressor" and "New Engine" upgrades have the highest priority. The stock belts are decent, but the high explosive content increases with the new ammo, so including belts into the upgrade route is not a bad idea. The same applies for the rockets. Being able to knockout bases or tanks(direct hit) with these warheads, makes the late game much more easy to win, if the last enemies are running or hiding. "New cannons" is an interesting upgrade choice as it increases accuracy above 300 m (350 yd), but the MK 108 will still be unable to hit a yarn-door at 500 m (600 yd). Cool-down and jamming is nothing the "Sledgehammer" has to deal with, considering the damage potential and low ammo count per gun.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great plane for arcade battles, as it climbs quickly with the rocket boosters and you can land to refuel them.
- Boom and zoom is a must with this plane, as it keeps up with all other jets.
- Can use boosters to outrun and out-climb other aircraft
Cons:
- Handling feels Heavy
- Slow compared to other BR 8.0 aircraft
- Horrible climb rate if boosters aren't in use
- Performs significantly worse than the A-1a variant
- MK 108s are not well suited for jet combat.
- No Airbrakes to slow down
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.
Media
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Read also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,
- reference to the series of the aircraft;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
Sources
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- topic on the official game forum;
- page on aircraft encyclopedia;
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