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Messerschmitt Me 262: The World’s First Fighter Jet

While the numbers may be inflated, Luftwaffe pilots claimed that the Me 262 shot down 542 Allied aircraft during the war. Nazi Germany has long been begrudgingly admired for its technological ...
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Today in Aviation History: First Flight of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Prototype

On this day in aviation history, 83 years ago (July 18, 1942), the Messerschmitt Me 262 prototype took to the skies for the first time under jet power. This historic flight marked the culmination of ...
insider.si.edu

Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1a Schwalbe (Swallow)

Click to open image viewer. CC0 Usage Conditions ApplyClick for more information. Nicknamed Schwalbe (Swallow), the Messerschmitt Me 262 surpassed the performance of every other World War II fighter.
Business Insider

76 years ago, the first jet fighter changed aerial combat forever, but it didn't do Hitler any good

In summer 1944, the Nazis debuted one of the many advanced weapons they devised during World War II: the Messerschmitt Me 262. The Me 262 was the first operational fighter jet in history, and while it ...
The National Interest

Me 262: The Best Fighter Plane of World War II?

The Me 262 – the World’s First Operational Jet-Powered Fighter – Design work on the Messerschmitt Me 262 began before the outbreak of the Second World War, but due to problems with the engine design, ...