Messerschmitt Bf 162

Bf 162
Role	light bomber
Manufacturer	Messerschmitt
First flight	February 1937
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	3

The Messerschmitt Bf 162 Jaguar was a light bomber aircraft designed in Germany prior to World War II that only flew in prototype form.

The Bf 162 was designed in response to a 1935 RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Reich Aviation Ministry) specification for a schnellbomber ("fast bomber") for tactical use. Messerschmitt's design was a modified Bf 110 with a glazed nose to accommodate a bombardier. In 1937, three prototypes were flown against rival designs, the Junkers Ju 88 and the Henschel Hs 127, both entirely new aircraft.

Eventually, it would be decided that the Ju 88 that was selected for production, and development of the Bf 162 ended. As a disinformation tactic, images of the Bf 162 were widely circulated in the German press captioned as the "Messerschmitt Jaguar", a name never used outside this context.

This aircraft's RLM official airframe number of 8-162 was later re-used for the Heinkel He 162 jet fighter, probably again for disinformation purposes.

Specifications (Bf 162)

Data from Warplanes of the Third Reich^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3 - pilot, gunner, and bombardier/navigator
• Length: 12.75 m (41 ft 10 in)
• Wingspan: 17.16 m (56 ft 3½ in)
• Height: 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in)
• Loaded weight: 5,810 kg (12,782 lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 600Aa liquid-cooled inverted V12 piston engines, 736 kW (986 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 480 km/h (259 knots, 298 mph) at 3,400 m (11,155 ft)
• Cruise speed: 425 km/h (230 knots, 264 mph) at 3,400 m (11,155 ft)
• Range: 782 km (423 nmi, 486 mi)
• Rate of climb: 9.0 m/s (1,770 ft/min)

Armament

• Guns: 1× 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun in dorsal position
• Bombs: 10× 50 kg (110 lb) bombs internally and 2× 250 kg (550 lb) bombs externally (overload)

See also

Related development

• Bf 110
• Bf 161
  

References

1. ^ Green 1972, pp. 592–593.

• Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. New York:Doubleday, 1972. ISBN 0-385-05782-2.