The ME-262: How effective was it really? An analysis of ME262 claims against Allied records.

The ME262 is often claimed to have shot down hundreds of Allied aircraft during its brief combat career, but most of this combat took place in the final weeks of WWII, where records remain spotty and the Luftwaffe's claim verification system was no longer functional. Given the tendency of pilots to over claim, it stands to reason the claims submitted during this time were inflated, yet books and media on the ME262 continue to use these figures uncritically. We'll take a look at ME262 claims present in books, particularly those of JG7 which was the highest scoring ME262 unit, and see how they match up against Allied records and literature. Timestamps: 00:00 - Competing stories - March 30th, 1945 03:07 - Introduction 07:31 - German sources for the ME262 12:50 - American Sources used by me 18:57 - The reality of March 30th, 1945 31:41 - JG7: Claims, Kills and Losses 54:53 - The ME262 at war: Conclusions Footage courtesy of the US National Archives: https://catalog.archives.gov/ MACR Index available at: http://www.accident-report.com/MACR/m... MACRs available from Fold3.com: https://www.fold3.com/ 8th Air Force Historical Society Website - excellent resources https://www.8thafhs.org/ Archives that contain 8th Air Force intelligence summaries for many WWII missions https://sites.google.com/site/95thbga... American Air Museum in Britain - Another excellent resources http://www.americanairmuseum.com/ Aircraft resources: http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/ http://www.forgottenprops.warbirdsres... https://b17flyingfortress.de/ Bomber and Fighter Group Websites: http://www.351st.org http://www.388bg.info www.b24.net www.398th.org/ www.401bg.org www.8thairforce.com/44thbg http://445bg.org www.91stbombgroup.com http://www.339thfg.com/ http://351st.org/ 401bg.org/ http://www.303rdbg.com/ www.306bg.org/ Music: -Crusade - By Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song... -Faceoff - By Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com/music/royalty... -Asian Invasion - From SidSonic.com https://www.sidsonic.com/portal#/port... -Sound the Alarm - From SidSonic.com https://www.sidsonic.com/portal#/port... the alarm -In a Perfect World - Howard Harper-Barnes https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/s... -Titanic Battle - By PantheonMusic https://audiojungle.net/item/titanic-...