World War 2 In Review

Operation LUSTY: Capture and Evaluate German Aeronautical Technology

Messerschmitt Me 262A1a with U.S. forces near Burgau, Germany, May 1945.

Operation LUSTY ("Luftwaffe Secret Technology") was the United States Army Air Forces' effort to capture and evaluate German aeronautical technology during and after World War II.

Overview

During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces Intelligence Service sent teams to Europe to gain access to enemy aircraft, technical and scientific reports, research facilities, and weapons for study in the United States. The Air Technical Intelligence (ATI) teams, trained at the Technical Intelligence School at Wright Field, Ohio, collected enemy equipment to learn about Germany's technical developments. The ATI teams competed with 32 allied technical intelligence groups to gain information and equipment recovered from crash sites.

As the war concluded, the various intelligence teams, including the ATI, shifted from tactical intelligence to post hostilities investigations. Exploitation intelligence increased dramatically.

On 22 April 1945, the USAAF combined technical and post-hostilities intelligence objectives under the Exploitation Division with the code name Lusty. Operation Lusty began with the aim of exploiting captured German scientific documents, research facilities, and aircraft. The Operation had two teams.

Team One, under the leadership of Colonel Harold E. Watson, a former Wright Field test pilot, collected enemy aircraft and weapons for further examination in the United States.

Team Two, under the leadership of Colonel Howard M. McCoy, recruited scientists, collected documents and investigated facilities.

Watson's "Whizzers"

By 1944, intelligence experts at Wright Field had developed lists of advanced aviation equipment they wanted to examine. Watson and his crew, nicknamed "Watson's Whizzers" and composed of pilots, engineers and maintenance men, used these "Black Lists" to collect aircraft. Watson organized his Whizzers into two sections: one collected jet aircraft while the other procured piston-engine aircraft and non-flyable jet and rocket equipment.

After the war, the Whizzers added Luftwaffe test pilots to the team, one being Hauptmann Heinz Braur. On 8 May 1945, Braur flew 70 women, children and wounded troops to Munich-Riem airport. After he landed, Braur was approached by one of Watson's men, who gave him the choice of either going to a prison camp or flying with the Whizzers; Braur thought flying preferable. Three Messerschmitt employees also joined the Whizzers: Karl Baur, the Chief Test Pilot of Experimental Aircraft, test pilot Ludwig Hoffman, and engineering superintendent Gerhard Coulis. Test pilot Herman Kersting joined later.

When the Whizzers located nine Messerschmitt Me 262 jet aircraft at Lechfeld airfield near Augsburg, these German test pilots had the expertise to fly them. It has been alleged, and partially substantiated by declassified documents, that the Whizzers recruited captured Luftwaffe personnel and pilots held at Fort Bliss, Texas, to go into what would become the British, French and Soviet controlled areas after V-E Day to fly out, hide, or otherwise remove to U.S. controlled areas all "black listed" planes, secret weapons equipment and supporting documents, some four months before Germany's surrender.

Watson's men traveled across Europe to find the aircraft on the "Black Lists." Once found, they had to be shipped to the United States. In Operation Sea Horse the British loaned them the originally American-built escort carrier HMS Reaper, first commissioned for the US Navy as the USS Winjah. The most viable harbor for docking the carrier and loading the aircraft was at Cherbourg, France.

The Whizzers flew the Me 262s and other aircraft, including an Arado Ar 234 from Lechfeld, to St. Dizier, to Melun and then to Cherbourg, on Querqueville Airfield, also known as ALG A-23C Querqueville. All the aircraft were cocooned against the salt air and weather, loaded onto the carrier and taken to the United States, where they were offloaded at Newark Army Air Field. They were then studied at their respective flight test centers by the air intelligence groups of both the USAAF, the flight test center of which was then at Wilbur Wright Field, and the U.S. Navy, which had its facility at the Patuxent Naval Air Test Center.

One of the Messerschmitt Me 262 jets was named "Marge" by the mechanics; the pilots later renamed it "Lady Jess IV."

Disposition of Foreign Equipment

In 1945 the enemy aircraft shipped to the United States were divided between the Navy and the Army Air Forces. General Hap Arnold ordered the preservation of one of every type of aircraft used by the enemy forces. The air force sent their aircraft to Wright Field. When the field could not handle additional aircraft, many were sent to Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana. In the end, Operation Lusty collectors had acquired 16,280 items (6,200 tons) to be examined by intelligence personnel who selected 2,398 separate items for technical analysis. Forty-seven personnel were engaged in the identification, inspection and warehousing of captured foreign equipment.

In 1946, when Freeman Field was scheduled to close, Air Technical Service Command had to move the aircraft. The larger aircraft were sent to Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, and the fighter aircraft sent to the Special Depot in Park Ridge, Illinois (now O'Hare Airport), which was under the control of ATSC's Office of Intelligence. The Special Depot occupied buildings that Douglas Airplane Co. had used to build C-54 aircraft. The aircraft were stored in these two locations until they could be disposed of in accordance with General Arnold's order.

With the start of the Korean War in 1950, the air force needed the storage buildings, so the aircraft were moved outside. In 1953 some of the aircraft were moved to what would later become known as the National Air and Space Museum's Garber Restoration Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and the remaining aircraft were scrapped. It is possible that, as part of Lusty, both an American-captured example of the Junkers Ju 290 four-engined maritime patrol aircraft, and a captured prototype example of the Heinkel He 177A-7 (Werknummer 550 256), a late war development of the Luftwaffe's only operational heavy bomber, had been ferried from Europe to the Park Ridge Depot, only to both be similarly crushed flat and buried under the modern O'Hare airport runways.

Operation Lusty resulted in the survival of the sole existing examples of the Arado Ar 234 (WkNr. 140 312) jet reconnaissance/bomber, the Dornier Do 335 (WkNr. 240 102) twin-engined heavy fighter, and the only readily restorable example in the United States of the German Heinkel He 219 night fighter (WkNr. 290 202), as well as the only surviving example of the Junkers Ju 388, a Ju 388L-1 reconnaissance model bearing WkNr. 560 049; all of which are in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. These are either currently restored and on display (for the Ar 234B and Do 335A sole survivors), under restoration and partial display (for the He 219A), or still awaiting restoration at the Garber Facility in Maryland (for the Ju 388); with the first three noted examples now at the Dulles International Airport-located NASM museum facility, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the home of the new Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar, the NASM's latest primary restoration workshop.

Bibliography

Samuel, Wolfgang W. E. (2004). American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets. University Press of Mississippi.

Daso, Dik Alan. 2002. "Focus: The Shaft of the Spear - Operation LUSTY: The US Army Air Forces' Exploitation of the Luftwaffe's Secret Aeronautical Technology, 1944-45". Airpower Journal. 16, no. 1: 28.

Daso, D. A. 2002. "Operation LUSTY: The US Army Air Forces' Exploitation of the Luftwaffe's Secret Aeronautical Technology, 1944-45". Aerospace Power Journal. 16: 28-40.

Heaton, Colin D. The Me 262 Stormbird: From the Pilots Who Flew, Fought, and Survived It. Minneapolis: MBI Pub. Co, 2012.

Hunt, M. La rafle des savants allemands ou l'opération "Lusty". Imprimeries Réunies S.A., 1953.

Young, R. L. 2005. "Operation Lusty Harold Watson's "Whizzers" Went Hunting for German Jets-and Came Back with Several Jewels". Air Force Magazine. 88: 62-67.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a “Schwalbe” (Wk.Nr. 110836), 2./KG 51 (9K+LK) WrNr. 110836 Black L with 2nd Staffel red nose tip, vertical fin and rudder red tips. Watson’s Whizzers No. 777, this aircraft was initially named “Doris” and later “Jabo Bait”. Shipped to the USA on HMS Reaper, it was designated FE-110, later T2-110. Seen here in altered camouflage finish with bogus Luftwaffe markings. The original Luftwaffe markings were overpainted and replaced with USAAF insignia along with the FE110 designation on the tail. Later the USAAF markings were overpainted by a poor attempt to replicate the original Luftwaffe camouflage, with the bogus Luftwaffe markings applied. USAAF photo.

Me 262 being examined by American intelligence officials. USAAF photo. Captured aircraft flown by the RAF and members of the RCAF were assigned an Air Ministry (AM) number. The Axis aircraft flown by the Americans were initially given a Foreign Equipment (FE) number and later a Technical (T) number. These numbers were primarily used to “identify aircraft of intelligence interest at their place of surrender in Germany or Denmark, and to clearly segregate such aircraft from the far larger number of aircraft which were to be destroyed as being of no further use.”

Another view of the same Me 262 as seen in the previous photo. USAAF photo.

Messerschmitt Me 262B-1a/U1 (Wk. Nr. 110305), “Red 8“, 10./NJG11, 305, two-seat trainer converted into a provisional night fighter version equipped with FuG 218 Neptun radar and Hirschgeweih (stag antler) eight-dipole antenna array. This aircraft was collected at Schleswig-Jagel, Germany in May 1945. “Red 8” flew operationally with Kurt Welters 10./NJG11 at Magdeburg. While at this location it was painted with all-black undersurfaces and mostly black engine nacelles. “‘Red 8” was ferried to the UK on 19 May 1945 by Wg Cdr RJ ‘Roly’ Falk, via Twente, Gilze-Rijen and Melsbroek. It was then flown by Wg Cdr Gonsalvez from the RAE to RNAS Ford, and used for radar and tactical trials from 6 July 1945. Designated AM50, it was later given RAF Serial No. VH519. It was damaged on its first landing at RNAS Ford, but quickly repaired. “Red 8” is the only genuine night fighter version of the Me 262 which has survived to the present day. It is currently displayed in the Ditsong National Museum of Military History, Saxonwold, Johannesburg, South Africa. RAF photo.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a/U3 reconnaissance aircraft aboard HMS Reaper in the Port of Cherbourg, France 1945. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Archives photo NASM-7A49458.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a, (Wk. Nr. 500071) coded “White 3“, III/JG7. This aircraft made an emergency landing due to lack of fuel at Dübendorf, Switzerland on 25 April 1945. Flown by Hans Guido Mutke while a pilot of 9. Staffel/JG 7, “White 3” was confiscated by Swiss authorities on 25 April 1945. Although it was taken over by the Swiss, it was not flown by them. After many years of storage at Dübendorf, the aircraft was given to the Deutsches Museum at Munich on 30 August 1957, where it is currently on display. Swiss Air Force photo.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a Schwalbe (Wk. Nr. 500079), coded B3+DA “Green D”, 54 KG (J) on the airfield at Giebelstadt, Germany, captured by the USAAF, April 1945. The season color “green” is likely to have been repeated on the nose and on the air inlet rings of the two turbines. Staff and I. Group of KG (J) 54 were based at Giebelstadt from 1 Sep 1944 to 28 Mar 1945. They were previously based at Zerbst and Prague-Ruzyn?. The squadron was disbanded on 7 May 1945 in Saaz (Žatec, Bohemia). USAAF photo.

Messerschmitt Me 262A1 (WrNr 111755) captured at Scheppach forest near Bavaria, Germany, 1945.

Hans Fay’s Messerschmitt Me 262 “711”

Hans Fay’s Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a 711 at Frankfurt Airfield.

31 March 1945: Messerschmitt AG test pilot and technical inspector Hans Fay (1888–1959) defected to the Allies at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield at the controls of a brand new Me 262A-1 twin-engine jet fighter.

Fay had been waiting for an opportunity to bring an Me 262 to the Americans, but feared reprisals against his parents. When he learned that the U.S. Army controlled their town, he felt that it was safe to go ahead with his plan.

Fay had been ordered to fly one of twenty-two new fighters from the Me 262 assembly factory at Schwäbisch-Hall to a safer location at Neuburg an der Donau, as they were in danger of being captured by advancing Allied forces. His aircraft was unpainted other than low visibility Balkenkreuz markings on the wings and fuselage, and standard Luftwaffe markings on the vertical fin. Fay was the fourth to take off, but instead of heading east-southeast toward Neuburg, he flew north-northwest to Frankfurt, arriving there at 1:45 p.m.

WNr. 111711 was transported to the United States and was tested at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

711 was lost during a test flight, 20 August 1946, when one of its engines caught fire. The test pilot, Lieutenant Walter J. “Mac” McAuley, Jr., U.S. Army Air Corps, safely bailed out. The Me 262 crashed 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) east of Lumberton, Ohio, and was completely destroyed.

Chronolgy

Surrendered at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main by defecting Messerschmitt test pilot Hans Fay, on 30 March 1945.

Examined on site by USAAF Air Intelligence organization and then shipped onwards from Rouen, France to the USA by a fast merchant ship, the Manawska Victory.

Test flown by Russ Schleeh on 29 August 1945, wearing its German WNr. 111711, and was generally referred to as ‘711’ or ‘T2-711’.

Crashed 20 August 1946 at Xenia, Ohio.

Additional Details

To the best of my knowledge, Hans Fay's Me 262, T-2-711, was never at Freeman Field. Early on, the aircraft had been assigned the number FE-107. Freeman and Wright Fields worked quite closely together. In one Freeman Field message, they requested being updated on the evaluation of Fay's parachute. Freeman Field made a contribution to the 1946 test program on the Me 262, preparing and sending to Wright Field Me 262 T-2-4012 (W.Nr. 500453), which, along with T-2-711 (W.Nr. 111711) were involved with the evaluation program against the P-80.

—Richard Eger, 7 August 2007

Initially, the aircraft was given the code FE-107. I think, also, there may have been codes FE-108 and FE-109 for other Me 262's, but the trail regarding these particular numbers is rather ephemeral. W.Nr. 111711 bore the number 711 in the tail and apparently, with the aircraft in hand, everyone gravitated to the number on the tail rather than the official designation FE-107. It became a fait accompli with the transition to the T-2 numbers, the aircraft becoming T-2-711. I don't think I've ever seen it referred to as either T-2-107 or FE-711.

—Richard Eger, 11 March 2007

More Than 30 Years Ago: Assembled in Hessental; Captured in Frankfurt;
Crashed in Ohio — The Story of a Brand-new Me 262

By Michael Sylvester Koziol, Schwäbisch Hall

The following is an English translation of an article published in 1979 in the Haller Tagblatt, the local newspaper of Schwäbisch Hall.

It was always difficult to satisfy the superpowers in getting insight about the technical knowledge of other nations. Quite fresh is the memory about the escape of the Russian pilot who landed in Japan with his MiG 25 and how the specialists threw themselves into the work to check out every detail of the aircraft. An important secret was revealed - just like in March 1945 - when the German pilot Hans Fay crossed the lines with his Schwäbisch Hall final assembled Messerschmitt Me 262 and landed it in Frankfurt.

30 March 1945 (Good Friday): The military state was a disaster for the “Third Reich”. Not one part of the front was holding back the Allies. The situation on the airbase in Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental was a reflection of the big picture. After the last bombing run a meager effort was made to get the runway repaired as soon as possible. Almost 3700 bombs, unloaded from 82 B-24 Liberator bombers literally ploughed over the airfield. The order was to pack whatever was necessary and of value and leave the airbase in the following days.

Coming to an end was also the interest of the military court (Feldgericht) Stuttgart. Luftwaffe non-commissioned officer NCO Heinz Leiermann, born in Essen, was taken out of the hospital and on the same day, 29 March 1945, condemned to death. He died on the morning of Good Friday in a hail of bullets at the airfield. Also the Messerschmitt Augsburg AG had to be evacuated. For almost one year in day and night shifts in Hessental had been located the final assembly line of the Me 262, the first jet fighter in serial production. The facility was torn apart as quickly as possible.

Leiermann and Fay together with a few more pilots arrived from Neuburg/Danube to fly out 22 of the precious new jets at the same day. The only alternative would have been to destroy the planes. In that situation Hans Fay made his decision to defect to the Allies.

The chief pilot of the local facility gave assistance during the start up procedure and after getting airborne - what a surprise - Fay flew to the northwest while the rest headed as told to the south in the direction of Neuburg. Was his compass not working?

Fay had waited to fulfill his plan until the US troops had reached and captured his hometown of Lachspeyersdorf. It was his intention to land near the town. But during the flight, he discovered some difficulties with the landing gear and therefore changed course and followed the Autobahn to Frankfurt where he landed on the only intact runway. Four days before the advancing US troops had managed to take the airfield after some heavy fighting.

The arrival of Fay was like a miracle, since the only information about the Me 262 available to the Allies had come from agents, airmen and from wrecks. But now there was a factory fresh 262 in the hands of the US military. It was also a lucky chance that there where members of “Technical Intelligence” at the airbase. They took Fay and his plane under their care. Fay said later that he was treated correctly, with only an NCO taking his pilot’s watch right after the landing.

US Major Ernst Englander became Fay’s main interrogator over the next days. He informed the HQ of the US Strategic Air Force about the case. General Spaatz scheduled for 2nd April a staff meeting with the request to hold Fay nearby in case there would arise questions from General Henry H. Arnold. And, indeed, it occurred that the Army Air Force Commander in Chief did talk with Fay in a suite at the “Ritz” Hotel in Paris.

An exhausting time began for Fay. He shuttled between Luxemburg, Paris and London. For his interrogators Fay emerged as a major source of technical details. He even gave hints as to what the weak points of the jet plane were and how to attack it. But that was old news for the Allied pilots. Most 262’s were shot down during take-off and landing. The Americans believed in his statement that his family was treated badly under the Third Reich system and therefore his decision to defect.

Shortly after the landing began the disassembling of the plane. The 262 was shipped under highest priority via Thionville (France) aboard a ship to the states. On the 21 May 1945 the plane arrived at the Wright Field for evaluation. At Vandalia Airport, Ohio, the plane was reassembled. Russell E. Schleeh, as chief pilot or the Flight Test Division, was the first American pilot to take the Me 262 into the air on 29 August and 12 September.

After those flights was a very close examination of the 262 in order. Not a single detail was overlooked. The main recognition is summarized in the maintenance handbook and where it was literally written: The Me-262 is a twin engined, jet powered, single seat, combat plane. For use as a fighter, fighter bomber or recon aircraft. Built by the “Firma Autobedarf Schwäbisch Hall”.

The writing of the handbook was still in progress when the flight test series began on 4 May 1946. This test series compared the Me 262 with the Lockheed P-80. The Messerschmitt was nearly equal and in some aspects superior in performance to the P-80.

The end for the 262 came when on 20 August 1946 Walter J. McAuley took off for a comparison flight with Major Richard L. Johnson in his P-80. Just after finishing the test program both engines caught fire and lost power. McAuley bailed out at about 7800 feet altitude, hitting his head on the tailplane. He lost his helmet and got a cut on his chin and finally sprained his left ankle during his landing in a field, but he survived. McAuley said later: “I will never jump out of a plane that burns just a little!”

More detailed information is not given due to safety measures by the US Air Force in 1979.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 WNr. 111711 at Rhine-Main Airport.

This colorized version of the previous photo is very well done. The main reason I include it here is to note that this “color” photo is a colorized version of a B&W photo. This was not an original wartime color photo that was reproduced in B&W all these years.

Air Technical Intelligence (ATI) personnel examining Me 262A-1 711 at Rhein-Main.

The unpainted Messerschmitt Me 262 (Wk.Nr. 111711) surrendered by Luftwaffe test pilot and flight instructor Hans Fay on March 30, 1945.

The fuselage of Me 262A-1 711 after disassembly by the 382nd Air Service Squadron at Rhein-Main.

The disassembled wings of Me 262A-1 711, April 16, 1945.

WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 Schwalbe WNr. 111711 at Wright Field, Ohio.

Messerschmitt Me 262 Wnr. 711 at Wright Field.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 711 on the ramp at Wright Field, Ohio.

WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field with ground crew. Engine panels have been removed. Photo is dated 26 July 1945.

WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field.

WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field. Engine panels have been removed. Photo is dated 26 July 1945.

WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field being fueled by a crewman sitting on the fuselage. Engine panels have been removed. Photo is dated 26 July 1945.

Left side front view of WNr. 111711 Me 262A-1a (USAF designation FE-107) on the ground at Wright Field being fueled by a crewman sitting on the fuselage. Engine panels have been removed. Photo is dated 26 July 1945.

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, WNr. 1117111, piloted by Capt. Russell E. Schleeh in flight in the U.S., probably near Wright Field, Ohio.

Jumo 004 was tested at the NACA Aircraft Engine research Laboratory, Cleveland, Ohio. 24 March 1946.

The end for the Me 262 came when on 20 August 1946 Lt. Walter J. McAuley Jr. took off for a comparison flight with Major Richard L. Johnson in his P-80. Just after finishing the test program both engines caught fire and lost power. McAuley bailed out at about 7800 feet altitude, hitting his head on the tailplane. He lost his helmet and got a cut on his chin and finally sprained his left ankle during his landing in a field, but he survived. McAuley said later: “I will never jump out of a plane that burns just a little!” McAuley is seen here with a Lockheed P-80.