The American B-24 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 M2-262, the world's first operational jet aircraft, burst onto the scene.
Without hesitation, the Me-262's Mk 108 cannon roared to life, and one of its 30-millimeter
mine shells struck the midsection of the sturdy bomber. The projectile detonated upon impact,
and hundreds of stainless steel shards tore apart the bomber’s fuselage, destroying it.
Even more striking was the location where the event occurred.
The B-24 had not been obliterated in Europe, but at Wright Field, Ohio, by a captured Me-262.
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…
Air Technical Intelligence Office
When the United States entered World War 2 in 1941, the Army Air Forces
found themselves underpowered, understaffed, and technologically
lagging behind their Japanese and German counterparts, particularly the Luftwaffe.
However, the tide of the war soon shifted, and the US began producing more powerful
aircraft capable of combating the Mitsubishi Zero and iconic German
fighters such as the Messerschmitt BF 109 and the Focke-Wulf FW 190.
By the time the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944,
the Army Air Forces’ Air Technical Intelligence had already compiled lists of Luftwaffe aircraft
they sought to inspect and learn from. They were known as the “Black Lists.”
The Air Technical Intelligence teams were trained at Wright Field, Ohio,
and raced against other intelligence groups to gather information on
enemy aircraft and components from crash sites and captured airfields.
The lists encompassed a diverse range of equipment, from piston-powered aircraft to jets.
The most desirable of the enemy aircraft was the world's first operational jet fighter, the Me-262.
On April 22, 1945, the USAAF merged the technical and post-hostilities
intelligence teams under the Exploitation Division. The codename for this combined
forces effort was Operation Lusty, an acronym for Luftwaffe Secret Technology.
The primary objective was to seize as much Luftwaffe technology as possible
before the Soviets, who were rapidly advancing from the East,
overran German cities and captured scientists and crucial military assets.
Operation Lusty
Operation Lusty was composed of two teams: one led by Colonel Harold E. Watson, a former test pilot,
and the other by Colonel Howard M. McCoy. Watson’s team focused on collecting Luftwaffe
aircraft and weapons for inspection in the US, while McCoy’s team aimed to capture scientists,
gather classified documents, and investigate aircraft facilities.
As the teams spread over Europe to accomplish their objectives,
Watson began recruiting Luftwaffe pilots, mechanics, and engineers to teach his fellow
airmen how to operate and maintain the captured aircraft. Some of them were Hauptman Heinz Braur,
Ludwig Willie Huffman, Gerhard Coulis, and Karl Baur, and Watson heavily relied on
1st Lieutenant Robert C. Strobell to acquire the highly sought-after Me-262 jet fighter.
By May of 1945, when Germany surrendered, Strobell flew directly to Lechfeld,
Augsburg, where several Me-262s had been captured.
In addition to enlisting Luftwaffe pilots and mechanics, Strobell also recruited
seasoned P-47 fighter pilots from the 54th Air Disarmament Squadron to fly and test the Me-262s.
Watson was given free rein to capture as many aircraft and weapons as possible without
obstruction. Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gave him a card that read:
(QUOTE) “The bearer of this card will not be interfered with in the performance of
his duty by the military police or any other military organization.”
Consequently, various aircraft and weaponry began to arrive at Lechfeld for immediate testing. These
included the Bf-109, FW-190, He-177, Ju-388, Ju-290, and the jet-powered Me-262 and Ar-234.
It was now time to repair and test them.
Testing the Me-262
Out of the 30 available Me-262s, only ten were deemed airworthy, and some had booby
traps and explosives inside the cockpits to prevent the Allied forces from using them.
The pilots planned to fly the rebuilt German aircraft to Cherbourg,
France, where they would be loaded into carriers and sent to the US for testing.
Once the Me-262s were properly inspected and repaired, they were spray-painted with the United
States and Allied star insignia. The swastika and Balkenkreuz were also removed from each airframe,
and the American test pilots eventually pushed the jet aircraft to the flight line for testing.
Strobell was the first American to test the Me-262. A Luftwaffe pilot and other
Messerschmitt personnel taught him the proper flight procedures.
Then, in June of 1945, following a local checkout mission with Karl Baur,
Strobell abruptly interrupted the German’s return taxi with his Jeep and switched places.
Strobell had trouble taking off in the Me-262,
as he did not have enough ground speed and used the entire runway to become airborne.
Once in the sky, Strobell was perplexed by the
Me-262’s leading edge slats constantly popping in and out at low speeds.
Complicating matters, he discovered that the Me-262 didn't decelerate quickly with a
decrease in throttle, causing him to overshoot the field by ten miles during his landing approach.
Furthermore, Strobell made the mistake of lowering the landing gear at high airspeed,
which led to the nose wheel door forcing the aircraft's nose up by about 20 degrees.
A Taste of German Jet Power
Despite the minor mishaps, Strobell was deeply impressed by the exceptional capabilities of
the Me-262. The aircraft was smooth, powerful, and extraordinarily fast. After his first and
unique flight experience, he briefed his team on the basics of the new aircraft.
The seasoned airman meticulously reviewed the cockpit layout,
the instruments panel, and the distinctive characteristics of the jet fighter.
Before taking the German aircraft to the skies, the pilots familiarized themselves with a damaged
Me-262 chained to the ground. They fired up the Jumo engines, looked at the instruments panel,
and then took turns in the pilot's seat of another two-seat 262-B, accompanied by Baur.
A quick lap and a smooth landing provided the men with a taste of Messerschmitt’s masterpiece.
Then, after a few test flights, the Jumo engines had to be rebuilt
and given maintenance. To guarantee the success of further tests, Watson and his
team gathered all the spare parts they could find to keep the 262s in optimal condition.
Some spare engines and many of their parts were provided by the Germans,
while others were found hidden in a nearby barn. Although Watson instructed Strobell to seize the
German mechanics' tools, he refused, knowing full well that they were all the impoverished
men had left after the war. According to author Phil Scott, Strobell later recalled:
(QUOTE) “In America, we had the capability to fabricate anything. But these tools were
their livelihood. There was no way I was going to take a man’s livelihood away.”
Watson’s Whizzers
The US pilots flew the 262s to Melun on June 10, 1945.
None of them had logged solo time and had flown the jet for less than an hour.
Nevertheless, they had a smooth flight and landed without issues.
Once at Melun, Watson informed Strobell that General Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz,
chief of the Army Air Forces in Europe, wanted his men,
known as the Watson’s Whizzers, to showcase the power of the 262 during a special event.
While the pilots awaited the general’s arrival,
they devised their unique emblem patch. It depicted Disney's Donald Duck circling
the globe on a jet engine, with the name “Watson’s Whizzers” also printed on it.
The event took place on June 27, and the pilots performed a series of mid to low-level passes
and various maneuvers. During the final pass, Strobell performed a vertical barrel roll,
and General Spaatz was so impressed that he told Watson: (QUOTE) “Hal,
that’s a wicked airplane! I’m sure glad the Germans screwed up the tactical use….”
Stateside
The journey to the French coast resumed on June 30 to load the
aircraft and other assets aboard HMS Reaper. On the first day, a Me-262 flown by Willie
Hofmann experienced a turbine failure. The jet crashed, but the German pilot survived after
parachuting at the very last moment. The rest of the Me-262s and
other Luftwaffe aircraft arrived safely at Cherbourg in the following days. All
the aircraft were cocooned against salt air and weather prior to being loaded aboard HMS Reaper.
The British carrier departed France for Newark on July 19. Once in the US,
the captured Luftwaffe aircraft were split between the Navy and the Army Air Forces,
and General Hap Arnold immediately ordered the preservation of one of every type of aircraft.
The Army Air Forces then took their collection of fighters and bombers to Wright Field, and
the aircraft that could not be housed at the base were taken to Freeman Field, Seymour in Indiana.
It was there that most of the testing and exploitation of the Luftwaffe aircraft occurred.
The Army Air Forces even conducted live-fire testing of German weaponry,
including the Me-262s Mk 108 cannon, which was used to tear apart a B-24 bomber.
Ultimately, Operation Lusty was extremely successful thanks to the extraordinary effort
of Watson's Whizzers. Over 16,300 items or 6,200 tons were captured and thoroughly inspected by
technicians of the Army Air Forces Intelligence. In 1946, the Luftwaffe aircraft were moved to
Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, and the Special Depot in Park Ridge, Illinois.
With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950,
the Air Force required the Special Depot for aircraft bound for Asia.
Consequently, the German aircraft were moved outside, and in 1953, some of them were sent
to the National Air and Space Museum, while the remaining aircraft were either sold or scrapped.
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