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Happy Birthday to the Jet Aircraft

by Tim Stevens on July 18, 2007 at 03:03 PM

Jet Aviation Turns 65 Today

On this date back in 1942, on July 18, the first operational jet aircraft took flight. A product of the Luftwaffe, the Nazi's air force, the Messerschmidt 262 was just one of the revolutionary weapons of war generated by the scientists within the WWII German military. Thankfully, most appeared too late in the war to have any impact on the inevitable defeat of their forces.

Likewise, the 262's third prototype first flew today, 65 years ago, but had been in development for more than three years previous. Still, despite all of that development time the jet didn't see service until 1944. It dominated the skies in the few battles that it flew in, ultimately just becoming a footnote in the overall history of the war, though its engine technology would help shape the burgeoning aircraft industry, resulting in such behemoths as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787.

From Wired

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Tags: Jet Aviation, JetAviation, ME 262, Me262

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