In 1939 the RLM issued a specification for a jet powered aircraft with one hour of endurance and a speed of at least 850km/h (530mph). Messerschmitt overtook the task and appointed Dr. Valdemar Voigt to lead the design team with Robert Lusser overseeing.
First plans were drawn in April 1939 and the original drawings were very different from the aircraft that eventually entered service, as it featured root-mounted engines instead of the podded ones. Plans were submitted in June 1939 and progression of the original design was greatly delayed by technical issues involving the new jet engine. As the engines were slow to arrive, the design was changed from root wings to underwing pods, allowing them to be changed and repaired faster if needed. As the BMW 003 engines were heavier than expected, the wings were swept slightly by 18.5º to acommodate a change in the centre of gravity. Messerschmitt also had to face another trouble, the lack of funding, as many high ranking officers thought that the war could be won with conventional aircrafts. Among them were Hermann Göring who cut the engine development to just 35 engines in February 1940. However, both Willy Messerschmitt and Adolf Galland supported Messerschmitt and by 1941 the first prototype was ready to flight.
The first prototype, named V1, flew on 18th April 1941 and, since the BMW 003 engines weren't available, it was powered by a single conventional Junkers Jumo 210 mounted in the nose and driving a two-bladed propeller. It was used to test the V1's airframe. Later, when the BMW 003 engines were available, they were installed in underwing pods but retaining the Junkers Jumo 210 just in case. This decission proved wise as the jet engines catched fire during the test flight and the pilot had to land using the propeller engine alone. The first four prototypes featured a convetional landing gear with a retracting tailwheel.
The third prototype became a real jet fighter when it flew on 18th July 1942 in Leipheim, close to Günzburg, however its conventional retracting tail wheel gear caused the jet exhaust to deflect off the runway with the wing's turbulence negating the effects of the elevators and the first takeoff attempt was cancelled. On a second attempt, the problem was solved by tapping the aircraft's brakes at takeoff speed, lifting the horizontal tail out of the wing's turbulence. In order to avoid that problem for good, the fifth prototype featured a tricycle landing gear which would feature in every production aircraft.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_262
2. https://www.valka.cz/Messerschmitt-Me-262-t15721
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
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