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That March 18, 1945, raid on Berlin included more than 1,220 Allied bombers and scores of North American P-51 Mustang fighters contending with heavy German flak and tangling with fast-flying German Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters employing air-to-air rockets operationally for the first time.
The world's first operational jet fighter, the Me-262 Schwalbe, was powered by two Junkers Jumo 004 B turbine engines and had sleekly swept wings and a powerful armament of four 30-mm cannons.
(Photo: USAF) Who would have though that the world’s first operational jet fighter would start out as a tail dragger, but that’s exactly what happened with the development of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow). It wasn’t until the 5th prototype that a nose wheel was finally added to make it easier to get the plane airborne.
Developed from a 1938 design by the Messerschmitt company, the Me 262 Schwalbe was the world's first operational turbojet aircraft. First flown under jet power on July 18, 1942, it proved much faster than conventional airplanes.
Jul 13, 2021 · The Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a Schwalbe, meaning Swallow, held in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum was captured in 1945 by a special U.S. Army Air Force team led by Col. Harold...
Messerschmitt Me 262. The Me 262 was a German fighter aircraft flown during late World War II. It was the first jet to be used in war. It began test flights in 1942, but was not used in combat by the German air force, the Luftwaffe, until 1944. Very few were built because Germany's enemies were bombing factories.
The Messerschmitt Me 262, the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, streaked across the tumultuous tapestry of war with a blend of speed and power previously unseen. Its swept wings and distinctive shape cast an indelible silhouette that would mark the dawn of a new era in flight.
