The picture above shows one of the last Me262s finally assembled in Schwäbisch Hall with the serial number 711. This aircraft was flown to Frankfurt am Main by the pilot Hans Fay at Easter 1945 and handed over to the Allies there. The Me262 was flown to France a few months later, disassembled there for shipment to the USA and transferred to the Wright Airfield test airfield in Ohio. On August 20, 1946, it crashed during test flights near the airfield.
Nach der Bombardierung des Werksfliegerhorstes von Messerschmitt in Leipheim wurde die Endmontage u.a. auch auf den Fliegerhorst Schwäbisch Hall verlagert. Erste Montagetrupps mit Bauteilen für 4 Me262 trafen im April 1944 ein. Nur wenige Tage später startete die erste in Schwäbisch Hall endmontierte Me262 zu ihrem Jungfernflug.
Nachdem die Alliierten auf dem Fliegerhorst die ersten Me262 entdeckten wurde die Endmontage in einen nahegelegenen Wald verlagert, ein sogenanntes Waldwerk.
After the bombing of the Messerschmitt factory airbase in Leipheim, final assembly was also relocated to the Schwäbisch Hall airbase. The first assembly teams with components for 4 Me262s arrived in April 1944. Only a few days later, the first Me262 finally assembled in Schwäbisch Hall took off on its maiden flight.
After the Allies discovered the first Me262s at the airbase, final assembly was relocated to a nearby forest, a so-called Waldwerk.
Das Waldwerk war 150m lang, 20m breit und ca. 5m hoch. Gearbeitet wurde in 3 Schichten. Ziel war es je Schicht 3 Flugzeuge endzumontieren, was jedoch nie erreicht wurde. Trotzdem wurde ca.400 Flugzeuge vom Typ Me262 in Schwäbisch Hall endmontiert und an die Truppe übergeben.
The woodwork was 150m long, 20m wide and approx. 5m high. Work was carried out in 3 shifts. The aim was to assemble 3 aircraft per shift, but this was never achieved. Nevertheless, around 400 Me262 aircraft were finally assembled in Schwäbisch Hall and handed over to the troops.
A view of the Waldwerk from above. Because of the spruce and fir trees embedded in the roof, the final assembly facility remained undiscovered for the allies.
Girls from Haller Gymnasium on their way to work at the Waldwerk. Pre-assembled nose sections of the Me262 lay along the way