Me 261 Adolfine

The Messerschmitt Me 261 “Adolfine” was a prototype long-range, four-engine aircraft developed in Germany during the 1930s. Conceived as a high‑altitude reconnaissance platform, the Me 261 first flew on 22 June 1939 at Augsburg and was the only one of the planned six examples to take to the air. Its airframe combined a sleek all‑metal cantilever wing with a deep fuselage that housed a pressurised cabin for a crew. Powered by four Daimler‑Benz DB 603A‑2 V‑12 engines, each driving a four‑blade propeller, the aircraft could generate about 4 800 hp, giving it a top speed near 560 km/h and an estimated range of 8 000 km at cruising altitude. The Me 261 featured a retractable tricycle undercarriage, wing‑tip fuel tanks and a variable‑pitch propeller system, all advanced for its era. Although the war redirected resources to fighters and bombers, the design foreshadowed post‑war long-range transports and provided data on high‑altitude aerodynamics, engine reliability and pressurised flight, securing its place in aviation history though it never entered production. A restored prototype is displayed at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, attracting scholars of early historical strategic endurance.