Messerschmitt Me 265

German heavy fighter project

The Messerschmitt Me 265 was a design project for a Zerstörer (“Destroyer;” heavy fighter), produced by leading German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt in World War II.

Design

The Me 265 was designed in 1942, intended to replace the failing Me 210. It was also known as the Lippisch Li P 10.^[1]

The Me 265 was an aerodynamically advanced design, using a tailless delta-shaped flying wing and two pusher propellers built into the wing. The two-man crew sat back-to-back in the cockpit. It was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 603 liquid-cooled, 12-cylinder piston engines, each engine producing 1,750 hp. These engines were mounted in a pusher configuration.^[1]

Ultimately, the design of the Me 265/Li P 10 was rejected in favour of the more conventional Me 410, which re-used a greater proportion of Me 210 components and could be brought into production more quickly.

Specifications

Data from ^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 17.4 m (57 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 45 m² (480 sq ft)
Empty weight: 6,300 kg (13,889 lb)
Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 603 V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 675 km/h (419 mph, 364 kn) at 5,400 m (17,717 ft)
Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,500 m (31,200 ft)

Armament

Guns: Most likely 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns and 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons forward-firing; 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns rearward-firing
Bombs: up to 1,000 kg (2,205 lb)