The compressor issue for the Jumo engine—which had proved to be the first great challenge as later stalls were common and dangerous while in takeoff or landing mode—was resolved, while blade fractures that were common after only a few hours of operation were also corrected. AVA Göttingen built the prototypes of these early compressors and the turbine blades were developed by AEG GmbH. Eighty of the experimental Jumo 004A engines (V-series) were built, with the first controlled static test run of the Jumo engine conducted on October 11, 1940.
By 1943, the problems with Junkers Jumo 004 jet engines still remained. Despite being the most reliable engines made in Germany during the war, they would not be produced in any quantity until the spring of 1944. This lack of engine building had slowed production of the aircraft considerably, as airframes sat waiting for powerplants, primarily due to the inability to achieve certain limited availability metals required for engine construction, such as cobalt, nickel, chromium, bauxite, and aluminum. Another reason was the continuous night and day Allied bombing campaign, which damaged or destroyed subsidiary manufacturing companies supplying everything from electrical wiring to rubber for gaskets and tires.
The other issue raised by field commanders was the need for the jet to be easily serviced in the field, thereby reducing turnaround time for repairs and engine changes. Changing a Jumo 004 engine should have required three hours under ideal conditions, but this sometimes took three times as long due to poorly made parts that were not always interchangeable, the inadequate training of ground crews, or weather conditions, unless in a sheltered environment.
Another problem was the availability of all the necessary components, including ammunition, wiring, and instruments for replacement. For example, Major Walter Nowotny, who was in command of his Kommando Nowotny, even mentioned this problem to Galland, and the General of the Fighters decided to create a special school for the mechanics at Achmer.{4}
Nowotny’s problems were actually nightmares with which he had no familiarity. He was a very successful fighter with 255 confirmed and 32 unconfirmed kills on the Eastern Front before his appointment by Galland; he had been a very effective section and even a very competent squadron leader with JG-54 under his commanding officer, Oberst (later Generalmajor) Hannes Trautloft. However, he had never been in the position of handling acquisitions, maintenance reports, and other such encumbrances, such things that were the nuts-and-bolts headaches of commanding a large unit as a geschwader. On top of this new assignment, he was also dealing with a brand-new and relatively unproven weapon system, where research and development was effectively completed as trial by combat.{5}
In a report he filed to Galland, Nowotny outlined his deficiencies and his inability to overcome so many issues. He was not always able to coordinate fuel deliveries and replacement parts, mainly due to the effective Allied interdiction of rail lines and roads. Transportation sometimes ground to a halt. Factories making the various components were bombed and in some cases suffered internal sabotage.
Nowotny described the shortages he experienced toward the end of the war: “In these final weeks of the war our supply system had, to all intents and purposes, collapsed. As we were receiving hardly any replacement parts for our jet fighters, the mechanics cannibalized damaged machines for usable spare parts in order to keep the others flying. Due to engine damage to his Me 262, one of my pilots had been sitting on the ground for three days.”{6}
Nowotny had also loudly complained about the lack of qualified mechanics to service the jets. It was estimated that three qualified mechanics—one main engine technician, one avionics specialist, and one hydraulics and airframe inspector—be assigned to each aircraft. Most jet units were lucky if they had three such men to service twenty or more aircraft, and the fledgling Kommando Nowotny was no exception. Armorers were usually not in such high demand. One of the facts often left out of the history of the jet units was that unlike the conventional German units (and the Allied units for that matter), Me 262 pilots often had to work as mechanics on their own aircraft when shorthanded.
Walter Nowotny’s older brother, infantry officer Oberleutnant Rudolf Nowotny, stated that his brother complained about the conditions, but that he was still quite excited about his new command: “Walter was absolutely overjoyed at the prospect of commanding the jet unit. He had been in command of a fighter-training unit in France, and he absolutely hated it. He felt as if it was a form of punishment, but we all knew that it had been a quiet word from Hitler or Göring that had put him there. They had a way of taking the Diamond holders out of combat, hoping to keep them alive as national heroes to maintain morale for the war effort.
“I know that Walter was excited; he called me once when I was on leave at our parent’s home. He finally managed to get away and I was able to see him for the first time in two years. The last time I saw him he looked haggard, drained, completely exhausted. I thought he was on the verge of a breakdown, to be honest. He had flown repeated missions without a break for a year. Now, this time he looked like the old Walter of his youth. This was the last time I would see and speak with him. He told me of the problems with operations and not having everything he needed. He felt like a beggar at a poor man’s banquet; there was just not enough materiel to go around. But, I told him, knowing him as I did, that he would find a way to make things work.”{7} (Rudolf was captured by the Soviets at the end of the war and survived the gulags in Siberia.)
Georg-Peter Eder related his experience in the unit and compared his experience in his conventional fighter wings: “It is true that we often had to do a lot of work on our fighters. Most of us were not trained in these matters. I was no engineer or mechanic, but I did learn a lot by working with my mechanics on Me 109s and Fw 190s. However, none of us knew anything about the Jumo engines. We had technical manuals that might as well have been written in Sanskrit for all the good it did us, or at least me. I was a pilot, not an aeronautical engineer”{8}
Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves recipient Walter Krupinski, who scored 196 victories, with two kills in the jet, experienced this shortage while assigned to Jagdverband (JV-44) under Galland’s command: “Our problem was that not all the jets were ready for flights. We were short on parts, fuel, even ammunition, or sometimes small technical problems happened. I flew one 262 that did not have a working fuel gauge or altimeter. Another one I flew actually had the complete instrument panel, but none of the wires were hooked up! One of our mechanics was also an electrician, and he managed to get a wiring diagram for the jet and repaired it.”{9}
With the airfields always under threat, and the limited availability of jets in general, having idle machines was unacceptable. Yet, despite these issues, field maintenance was still faster than working on an Me 109 or Fw 190 in the field. Luftwaffe ace and Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves holder Georg-Peter Eder, who assumed command of the unit on the day of Nowotny’s death, had this to say about maintenance:
“The engines were very easily removed and replaced, with only a few long bolts mounting them to the aircraft wings, but only if you had the parts. Once the cowls were opened, the engines could be dropped onto a carriage, a new engine mounted, and the old one taken in for maintenance. I once clocked the men, and it required only four men, and they dismounted both engines, and replaced them in less than two hours. Repairs took longer, but as long as we had replacement [engines] this was not a great problem for us. We were able to maintain operational status much more easily than with 109s and 190s. This made a great difference.”{10}