Thijs Postma - Poster - Messerschmitt Me 262 Attacked A B-17 'Flying Fortress'A Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German: Swallow) after an attack on a Boeing B 17G Flying Fortress. The Messerschmitt 262 being a jet fighter was 150 km h faster than a propeller fighter and therefore a difficult target to shoot. The first drawings of the Messerschmitt Me 262 were made in April 1939 but only after the Junkers Jumo 004 engine was ready, the Germans started production in 1944. Every 10 hours the engine needed to be overhauled though.