Amerika Bomber

Amerika Bomber (Me-264
Class Overview
Type	Long Distance Bomber
Technical Specifications
Length	69.9 ft (21.3 meters)
Height	14.11 ft (4.3 meters)
Empty weight	46,628 lb (21,150 kg)
Full weight	123,459 lb (56,000 kg)
Speed	348mph (580 kph)
Range	15,000 km (9,315 miles)
Armament
Crew	8
Cargo	2000 kg bomb
Usage
Year introduced	1942
Affiliation	Germany
[Source]

The Amerika Bomber was a project developed by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, or the German Ministry of Aviation. It attempted to create a long-distance bomber, which could bomb the continental United States from Germany. Such a design was conceived as early as 1938, but was not presented to Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring until early 1942, by which time the Me 264 prototype had already been constructed. However, by that time, the Luftwaffe was already past its prime and lacking in sufficient resources, and the project was cancelled for financial reasons.

History

The RLM awarded Messerschmitt an official development contract in March 1941. This called for a four-engined plane capable of carrying a load of 4,409 lb (2,000 kg) over a range of 9,315 miles (15,000 km), leading to construction of the Me 264V1 (RE+EN). Primarily regarded as an aerodynamic test bed, the aircraft was able to make it's first flight in December 1942 - about a year after the United States of America entered the war - due to the use of Junkers Juno 2I IJ-1 liquid cooled engines, complete with Junkers Ju 88A-4 type nacelles and radiators.

Following America's entry into the war, the RLM's technical department re-evaluated the Amerika Bomber requirements, resulting in calls for a larger six engined aircraft with a greater bomb load. This led to proposals being submitted for the junkers Ju 390, the Focke Wulf TA 400 and a six engined Me 264, designated Me 264B. Despite the eventual selection of the Ju 390, which was chosen primarily because it could use already produced components intended for the Ju 290, the Me 264B was not cancelled, as orders were issued for the two pending prototypes to be completed as development aircraft for the Me 264A long range reconnaissance aircraft. This redesign, which was not completed until mid March 1944, was primarily intended to simplify the design for ease of production. Following consideration of the Daimler-Banz DB 603s and Junkers Jumo 213s, it was decided to power production examples with BMW 801Gs, as these were air cooled, and more fully developed for service use. These would be provided with GM-1 injection, consisting of a 25 min supply located in the bomb bay, which could be activated at an altitude of 27,224 ft (8,300 m), to increase the aircraft's speed by about 59 mph (95 km/h) when the aircraft came under attack. In addition, the bomb bay would also contain marker flares, radio buoys and three Rb 50/30 cameras.

There were a number of powerplant configurations proposed for the Me 264, including:

• Six piston engines plus additional jets,
• Four BMW 109-018 turbojets,
• Two BMW 109-028 turboprops.

In May 1944, the Me 264V1 was destroyed by incendiary bombs. The Me 264V2 was also damaged in a bombing raid, but due to the worsening war situation, it could not be repaired.