It was a radically different and new design with corresponding delays in getting the thing into production as unexpected problems, design defects and the like need to be overcome.
What is sacrificed to get the thing into production? Traditional fighter production? Bombers? Maybe the Me-262?
Likely no more than the Me-262 did, even if it got into production in 43 (dont see 42) supply chain and production issues would likely mean not as many would ever be produced, and have limited effectiveness as the Allies bomb the factories which make the thing, fuel manufacturers, and airstrips. Also quality of pilot training would probably still be lacking as the Germans would still lack fuel and experienced surviving pilots to train new ones.
Probably, on its own it would be very useful, just not sure you would see enough of them to seriously effect allied bomber streams.
Destroy the industry and infrastructure to support the plane and train its pilots? Try to get allied jets in service earlier?
Maybe, or it would fly to fast for accurately hitting its targets with 1940s bombsights. Could be a useful resource dump for German resources though as with other late war German aircraft projects.
Yep.
I dont think its that the planes were horrible to fly so much as they handled very differently to traditional aircraft. Unsurprising given how different they were. So a pilot trying to fly it as any other plane he was used to would have issues. Once you know what not to do though then you could begin really developing the tactics to get the most out of the plane.
That's probably worse, a flyable plane, that needs pilots to retrain away from the 'rules' they know to fly it.
Very probably, the best result we could see from the plane is that the Luftwaffe puts their most experienced remaining pilots in these things and they either crash or are shot down after making mistakes by the bombers they are attacking. As a result the quality of Luftwaffe pilots is effected even worse and the allies hit more German industry, leading to the war ending sooner.
According to UFO lore, there was a memo written by Nathan Twining in 1947/48 that asked where the Horten brothers were.
Or just flying through the turbulence that a bomber box created. If you ever look at the footage taken from bombers in formation you will see them constantly bobbing up and down by six or seven feet as the prop wash and dirty air caused by the aircraft in front of them roil the air. Now take a aircraft that is unstable into that air.
I'd be more worried on the Pilot being inline with the compressor section of two turbojets, and needing to dodge the blades when they would fly loose
It's always those sort of little details that get overlooked in the wunderwaffen death traps.
