Quote:
Originally Posted by Mussolini
re: Jets
I could be wrong, but I think a British Scientists developed it in the 1920's, a year or two before a German came out with his own. However, it was the Germans who first applied this 'science' to aircraft, long before the British did.
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Whittle produced the first workable jet engine. His design was patented internationally, and was in the public domain. The jets used in the Me 262 were axial rather than centrifugal flow, however, so certainly weren't a copy of Whittle's jet. They weren't entirely original, either: axial-flow gas turbines had been worked on in various countries, but were mainly held up by the lack of suitably heat-resistant alloys.
The first flight of a German jet was of the He 280 on 30 March 1941. The first British jet was the Gloster E28/39 (note the number 39 - it was designed to a specification produced in that year). This flew on 15 May 1941 - just six weeks later.
The first flight of a combat jet - the Me 262 -was on 18 July 1942 (earlier flights were with a prop engine in the nose), but lots of work was needed (especially to the engines) so serial production didn't start until 1944. The first experimental/test squadron was formed in April 1944, carrying out initial operational missions in August 1944. The first regular Luftwaffe Me 262 squadron was formed in January 1945 (JG7).
The Gloster Meteor was designed in 1940 (to spec F9/40) and although the first prototype was built in 1942 one didn't fly until March 1943. The first production Meteor F.1 flew in January 1944 and the first regular RAF squadron (No.616) was formed in July 1944 and went into action against V1 flying bombs at the end of that month. The Meteor therefore beat the Me 262 into regular operational service, and saw action sooner.