| Unpainted Me-262-A-1a “T2-711” on the ramp at Dayton, Ohio prepped for what would be its last flight. Messerschmitt Aktiengesellschaft test pilot and technical inspector Hans Fay (July 31, 1914 – March 30, 1981), the son of painter Hans Fay (1888 – 1957) defected to the Allies at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany. He brought with him a brand-new Messerschmitt Me-262-A-1a twin-engine jet fighter. Fay had been waiting for an opportunity to bring a 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. On March 30, 1945, Fay was ordered to fly His airplane was unpainted; Fay was the 4th to take off, but instead of heading east-southeast toward Neuburg, he flew north-northwest to Frankfurt, arriving there at 1345 Hours. His Me-262A-1 Werk Number 111711 was from the Messerschmitt final assembly plant at Schwäbisch-Hall. He flew directly to Rhein-Main airfield at Frankfurt, Germany. It was 1 of 22 factory-fresh new fighters from the Me-262 assembly factory at Schwäbisch-Hall ferried to a safer location at Neuburg a der Donau, as they were in danger of being captured by advancing Allied forces and bombing attacks. It was the leading example of the world’s 1st operational jet fighter to fall into American hands. Intending to defect to Allied forces, Fay took off in the unpainted aircraft, other than low visibility Balkenkreuz markings on the wings and fuselage, and standard Luftwaffe markings on the vertical fin. He planned to land near his hometown of Lachen-Speyerdorf, which recently fell to Allied troops and give himself up. However, he could not raise the jet’s landing gear. With decreased range performance changing his plans, Fay flew along the Autobahn at 300 to 400 feet to Frankfurt, and landed on the only open runway at Rhein-Main at 1345 Hours. Allied troops only captured the field 4 days before. Air Technical Intelligence (ATI) personnel led by Major John Gette Junior (May 29, 1908 – October 25, 1954) welcomed the Nazi German jet, and immediately began the initial exploitation of the Me-262. The aircraft featured a natural metal finish with black German crosses on the wings and fuselage and a black swastika on the tail. It carried those markings for its entire existence. The jet carried the numbers 711 in black on the tail and on the side of the bomb racks. Fay became a valuable asset as the expert on the aircraft and his interrogation on all aspects of the Me-262 began shortly thereafter. The Army filmed the initial examination of Me-262A-1 111711 and photographed personnel climbing all over it. The troops opened every access hatch and studied the aircraft as much as they could, yet in order to obtain a complete understanding of the jet’s characteristics and potential usefulness it had to be shipped to the United States. The aircraft needed to go to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, where Air Materiel Command had the Army’s experts in foreign materiel exploitation (FME). After the initial few days of examination at Rhein-Main, the Army took the 1st step to get the aircraft home to the States. On April 2, 1945, the ATI personnel at Rhine-Main requested Mobile Repair Unit Number 4 from the 7th Air Depot Group’s 382nd Air Service Squadron to come from airfield Y-34 at Metz, France to take the Me-262 apart for shipment. The crew of 14 men inspected the Me-262 and found the tools they normally used to take aircraft apart did not work on the German jet’s metric fittings. American ingenuity proved critical in overcoming that obstacle. The 382nd Air Service Squadron’s history recorded, “Under the supervision of Mobile Chief Technical Sergeant Gordon R. Walters (1919 – January 24, 1998), through improvisation and usage of old wrenches and tools found in adjacent areas, the men were able to accomplish their mission and disassemble the plane for shipment to the depot.” The team finished their job by April 16, 1945, when they photographed 711 in a disassembled state. In the coming weeks, the Army transported it to Rouen, France, where it departed Europe on May 9, 1945, aboard the Liberty Ship SS Madawaska Victory. Hans Fay’s Messerschmitt Me 262-A-1a, WerkNummer 111711, was transported to the United States and was tested at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio. After Werk Number 111711 arrived at Wright Field, a team from Air Materiel Command (AMC) re-assembled it, and by August 29, 1945, the aircraft stood ready for a test flight. Captain Russell E. Schleeh (1919 – 2012), a former B-17 pilot that became a leading test pilot at Wright Field’s Flight Test Division, took the aircraft up for the 1st test flight. The flight almost ended in tragedy when the assembly crew did not install the 4 130 pound (60 kilogram) MK-108 30 millimeter (1.1 inch) cannons in the aircraft. The missing 520 pounds in the nose caused a major shift in the aircraft’s center of gravity (CG), causing Captain Schleeh great difficulty in maintaining control during takeoff. His skill enabled him to overcome the aircraft’s CG problem and he landed safely. Captain Schleeh’s 1st 2 flights in the Me-262 on August 29 and September 12, 1945, gave him 1 hour and 45 minutes experience in the aircraft. When Schleeh moved on to flight test other aircraft at Wright Field, other pilots including 1st Lieutenant Walter J. McAuley, Junior (March 10, 1917 – March 11, 1985). from the Fighter Operations Section took over the testing of the Me-262, now known as T2-711. 711 was lost during a test flight, August 20, 1946, when 1 of its engines caught fire. The test pilot, United States Army Air Force 1st Lieutenant Walter J. “Mac” McAuley, Junior, safely bailed out. The Me 262 crashed 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) east of Lumberton, Ohio, and was completely destroyed. In December 2013, remains of T2-711 were recovered by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s (NASIC) Office of History. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1752.jpg |
| Image Size | 272.09 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1972 x 1426 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 20, 1946 |
| Location | |
| City | Dayton |
| State or Province | Ohio |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive |
| Record Number | 01_00085073 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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