Messerschmitt Me 261 Adolfine

Messerschmitt · Germany · first flew 1940 · transport aircraft

The Messerschmitt Me 261 Adolfine was a long-range German record-breaking aircraft designed to fly the Olympic torch non-stop from Berlin to Tokyo. Only three were completed, each powered by a pair of coupled DB 606 engines in two large wing nacelles.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, tapered
E — Engines	2 × piston, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	16.68 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Very long-span low-wing monoplane built for extreme-range record flights
Two large wing nacelles each housing a paired DB 606 coupled engine unit
Only three aircraft built; designed for Berlin–Tokyo non-stop flight

Extremely long wingspan relative to fuselage length gives an elegant, glider-like appearance. The two large paired-engine nacelles projecting well ahead of the wing leading edge are the defining recognition feature.

Specifications

The Messerschmitt Me 261 Adolfine has a length of 16.68 m (55 ft).
It has a wingspan of 26.86 m (88 ft).
Its maximum speed is 620 km/h (385 mph).
Typical crew: 3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Conceived in the late 1930s and first flown in 1940, the Me 261 was intended to demonstrate German aerospace prestige by staging a record-breaking flight to Japan for the cancelled 1940 Tokyo Olympics. The war diverted it to long-range maritime reconnaissance trials, but no operational use followed.

Variants

Three prototypes (V1–V3) were completed with minor differences in equipment fit; no production version was ordered.

Where you'll see it

Never entered operational service; the prototypes were used for trials and one was lost in an accident. The programme was cancelled before any mission was flown.

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