Messerschmitt Me 262A
On July 18, 1942 (69 years ago today), the Messerschmitt Me 262 was flown for the first time, using only its jet engines. Although experimental jet aircraft had been tested by the Germans on August 27, 1939, by the Italians on August 27, 1940, by the English on May 15, 1941, and then later by the Americans on October 1, 1942, the German Me 262 was the first fully operational jet fighter. The idea for the jet engine was developed independently, first in England in the mid-1920s, and then in Germany in the mid-1930s. The implementation of the gas turbine (or jet) engine was a huge leap forward from the piston engine, which had been used up to that point. The jet engine allowed aircraft to achieve faster speeds (breaking the sound barrier), better fuel efficiency, and higher altitudes. The invention and implementation of jet engine technology paved the way not only for commercial and passenger jet aircraft, which serve such a vital role in the modern world, but also for modern rockets, fueling mankind’s first steps into space. From the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, to the invention of the jet engine, and finally our launch into space — aircraft and flight have been a European invention. It is but one of many gifts the white man has given to the world.
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