Quote:The Messerschmitt Me 262 test programme revealed unexpected compressibility effects during high-speed combat dives performed between 7,600 and 5,500 meters.
At Mach 0.86 the airplane went out of control in a dive that the pilot could not counter. Near the critical Mach number the elevator could not be used for recovery, only the elevator trim worked at these speeds.
By mid-1943 the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) had to accept that the heavy fighter Messerschmitt Me 262, specifically designed to destroy bombers, left a lot to be desired when used in dogfight against the conventional Allied fighters. The type had insufficient ceiling, its manufacturing was expensive and its maintenance difficult.
To overcome these deficiencies, the OKL issued three requirements: The rocket powered Interzeptor, the aerodynamically refined Hochgeschwindigkeits and the Sofortprogramm directive for a night fighter conversion. None of these specifications were successful.

The Luftwaffe needed a single-engine jet fighter to replace the old '0-nine' (the only successful fighter built by Messerschmitt AG) whose basic design dated back to 1934.
In January1943, the OKL asked Professor Messerschmitt if the Bf 109 G could be adapted to take one Jumo 004 turbojet. The answer was negative.
The excessive zeal demonstrated in the search for the perfect weapon, ruined the last German opportunity to obtain an air-superiority jet fighter during World War Two.