The Hunt for Hidden Nazi Air Force Technology

The American B24 Liberator bomber sat motionless on the airfield as though awaiting inspection or maintenance from an aircrew. The sky appeared clear, and suddenly a piercing shriek shattered the silence as an M2262, the world s first operational jet aircraft, burst onto the scene. Without hesitation, the Me262 s Mk 108 cannon roared to life, and one of its 30millimeter mine shells struck the midsection of the sturdy bomber. The projectile detonated upon impact, and hundreds of stainless steel shards tore apart the bombers fuselage, destroying it. Even more striking was the location where the event occurred. The B24 had not been obliterated in Europe, but at Wright Field, Ohio, by a captured Me262. The men in charge were the Watson s Whizzers, an Army Air Forces intelligence team tasked with capturing as much Luftwaffe technology as possible during the last weeks of World War 2 and analyzing it before the Soviets could advance into the heart of Germany