List of jet aircraft of World War II

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A captured Messerschmitt Me 262, the most numerous jet fighter of World War II Me 262 T-2-4012 side view on ground.jpg
A captured Messerschmitt Me 262, the most numerous jet fighter of World War II

World War II was the first war in which jet aircraft participated in combat with examples being used on both sides of the conflict during the latter stages of the war. The first successful jet aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, flew only five days before the war started on 1 September 1939. [1] By the end of the conflict on 2 September 1945 [2] Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States all had operational turbojet-powered fighter aircraft while Japan had produced, but not used, motorjet-powered kamikaze aircraft, and had tested and ordered into production conventional jets. Italy and the Soviet Union had both tested motorjet aircraft which had turbines powered by piston engines and the latter had also equipped several types of conventional piston-powered fighter aircraft with auxiliary ramjet engines for testing purposes. Germany was the only country to use jet-powered bombers operationally during the war. [3]

Contents

This list includes only aircraft powered by turbine engines, either on their own or as part of mixed-power arrangements. Rocket-powered aircraft are not included, nor are aircraft that only flew following the end of the war. [N 1] Aircraft which were designed but not constructed are also excluded. Production figures for aircraft used postwar include examples built after the war ended, of the same versions already flying during the war.

Aircraft

NameOriginFirst flightTypeEntered serviceNumber builtNotes
Arado Ar 234 GermanyJune 1943CombatAugust 1944210+First jet bomber but used mostly for reconnaissance. Few ever flew. Night fighter tested operationally. [5] [6]
Bell P-59 Airacomet USOctober 1942OperationalSeptember 194466First USAAF jet to fly, used as trainer only. [7]
Bell XP-83 USFebruary 1945Prototypen/a2Cancelled long-range escort fighter. [8]
Caproni Campini N.1 ItalyAugust 1940Prototypen/a2First motorjet. [9]
Consolidated Vultee XP-81 USFebruary 1945Prototypen/a2Cancelled turboprop and turbojet powered fighter. [10]
Curtiss XF15C USFebruary 1945Prototypen/a3Cancelled mixed-power fighter. [11]
de Havilland Vampire F.1UKSeptember 1943ProductionMarch 1946244Only 12 produced before VE Day; no combat service. [12]
Douglas XBTD-2 Destroyer USMay 1944Prototypen/a2Cancelled jet engine addition to conventional radial engine torpedo bomber [13] [14]
Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg GermanySeptember 1944OperationalOctober 1944300Manned version of the pulsejet powered V-1 flying bomb ready late 1944 but not used. [15]
Gloster E.28/39 UKApril 1941Prototypen/a2Engine testbed and first Allied jet to fly. [16]
Gloster Meteor F.1 & F.3 UKMarch 1943CombatJuly 1944250First operational Allied jet. First jet to down another jet aircraft (a V-1 flying bomb). [17]
Heinkel He 162 GermanyDecember 1944CombatFebruary 1945238+Simple, inexpensive interceptor for use by semi-trained pilots (Volksjaeger); saw little service before war ended. [18]
Heinkel He 178 GermanyAugust 1939Prototypen/a2First jet aircraft to fly [19]
Heinkel He 280 GermanySeptember 1940Prototypen/a9First jet fighter to fly, cancelled. [1]
Horten Ho 229 GermanyFebruary 1945Prototypen/a3Fighter/bomber, first jet powered flying wing. [20]
Junkers Ju 287 GermanyAugust 1944Prototypen/a1Testbed for multi-engine bomber design. [21]
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star USJanuary 1944OperationalJanuary 1945361First operational US jet fighter. Four deployed during the war, two seeing limited service in Italy, but no combat. [22]
McDonnell FD Phantom USJanuary 1945ProductionJuly 194762Postwar production, designation changed April 1946 to FH. [23] [24]
McDonnell TD2D Katydid US1942Operational1942UnknownUS Navy pulsejet-powered target drone. [25]
Messerschmitt Me 262 GermanyJuly 1942CombatJune 19441,433First operational jet fighter as fighter and fighter-bomber, with night-fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance versions trialled. [26]
Messerschmitt Me 328 Germany1944 (early)Prototypen/a9Cancelled pulsejet fighter/bomber. [27]
Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250 USSRMarch 1945Prototypen/a28Mixed-power motorjet fighter. [28]
Nakajima Kikka JapanAugust 1945Prototypen/a1 [N 2] Jet bomber inspired by Me 262. [30]
NAMU TD2N USJune 1945Prototypen/a9Target drone based on Gorgon III missile. [31]
Ryan FR Fireball USJune 1944OperationalMarch 194566US Navy mixed power fighter, never saw combat. [32]
Sukhoi Su-5 USSRApril 1945Prototypen/a1Cancelled mixed power motorjet fighter. [33]
Yakovlev Yak-7PVRD USSR1944 (late)Prototypen/a2Mixed-power ramjet fighter. [34]


See also

Related Research Articles

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The McDonnell FH Phantom is a twinjet, straight-wing, carrier-based fighter aircraft designed and first flown during late World War II for the United States Navy. As a first-generation jet fighter, the Phantom was the first purely jet-powered aircraft to land on an American aircraft carrier and the first jet deployed by the United States Marine Corps. Although only 62 FH-1s were built it helped prove the viability of carrier-based jet fighters. As McDonnell's first successful fighter, it led to the development of the follow-on F2H Banshee, which was one of the two most important naval jet fighters of the Korean War; combined, the two established McDonnell as an important supplier of navy aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star</span> First jet aircraft in U.S. operational service

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two pre-production models saw limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. Designed with straight wings, the type saw extensive combat in Korea with the United States Air Force (USAF) as the F-80.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger</span> Interceptor jet aircraft, German, WW2

The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger is a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its wing-construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the name given to the plane by the Heinkel aviation firm.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1937:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell P-59 Airacomet</span> First jet aircraft of the United States

The Bell P-59 Airacomet is a single-seat, twin jet-engine fighter aircraft that was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II. It was the first jet produced in the United States. As the British were further along in jet engine development, they donated an engine for the United States to copy in 1941 that became the basis for the General Electric J31 jet engine used by the P-59 a year later. Because the plane was underpowered, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was not impressed by its performance and canceled half of the original order for 100 fighters, using the completed aircraft as trainers. The USAAF would instead go on to select the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star as its first operational jet fighter. Although no P-59s entered combat, the aircraft paved the way for later generations of U.S. turbojet-powered aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 280</span> Experimental jet aircraft

Originally called the He 180, the Heinkel He 280 was an early turbojet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the first jet fighter to fly in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas F4D Skyray</span> US carrier-based jet-powered interceptor

The Douglas F4D Skyray is an American carrier-based supersonic fighter/interceptor designed and produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was the first naval fighter to exceed the speed of sound in level flight and the last fighter produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company prior to its merger with McDonnell Aircraft to become McDonnell Douglas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman F9F Panther</span> US Navy carrier-based jet fighter

The Grumman F9F Panther is an early carrier-based jet fighter designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Grumman. It was the first jet-powered fighter aircraft to see air-to-air combat with the United States Navy as well as being Grumman’s first jet fighter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas F5D Skylancer</span> US carrier-based jet-powered fighter

The Douglas F5D Skylancer is a development of the F4D Skyray jet fighter for the United States Navy. Starting out as the F4D-2N, an all-weather version of the Skyray, the design was soon modified to take full advantage of the extra thrust of the Pratt & Whitney J57 eventually fitted to the Skyray instead of the Westinghouse J40 originally planned.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1936:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1940:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941:

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1939:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockheed T2V SeaStar</span> US carrier-capable jet trainer

The Lockheed T2V SeaStar, later called the T-1 SeaStar, is a carrier-capable jet trainer for the United States Navy that entered service in May 1957. Developed from the Lockheed T-33, it was powered by one Allison J33 engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel HeS 011</span> German turbojet engine

The Heinkel HeS 011 or Heinkel-Hirth 109-011(HeS - Heinkel Strahltriebwerke) was an advanced World War II jet engine built by Heinkel-Hirth. It featured a unique compressor arrangement, starting with a low-compression impeller in the intake, followed by a "diagonal" stage similar to a centrifugal compressor, and then a three-stage axial compressor. Many of the German jet-powered aircraft being designed near the end of the war were designed to use the HeS 011, but the engine itself was not ready for production before the war ended in Europe and only small numbers of prototypes were produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas BTD Destroyer</span> 1943 dive/torpedo bomber model by Douglas

The Douglas BTD Destroyer is an American dive/torpedo bomber developed for the United States Navy during World War II. A small number had been delivered before the end of the war, but none saw combat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arado E.381</span> German WWII aircraft

The Arado E.381 was a proposed parasite fighter aircraft. Conceived by Arado Flugzeugwerke in December 1944 for Germany's Luftwaffe during World War II, the E.381 was to have been carried aloft by and launched from an Arado Ar 234 "mother" aircraft. It would then have activated its rocket engine, which would have propelled it to attack Allied bombers. Development was cancelled due to lack of funds and official support.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ For instance, the first French jet aircraft, the Sud-Ouest Triton, was clandestinely designed during the German occupation of France, but was not constructed and flown until after the end of the war. [4]
  2. ↑ 23 additional Kikkas were near completion when the end of the war ended production. [29]

Citations

  1. 1 2 Bishop, 2002, p.321
  2. ↑ James, 1995, p.188
  3. ↑ Zabecki, 1999, p.868
  4. ↑ Caygill, 2006, p.136
  5. ↑ Smith, 1984, pp.2, 8 & frontispiece
  6. ↑ Nohara, 1996, p.72
  7. ↑ Pelletier, 1992, pp.50–54
  8. ↑ Pelletier, 1992, pp.61–62
  9. ↑ Smith, 1941, p.c
  10. ↑ Ginter, 2007, pp.22–23.
  11. ↑ Green, 1994, p.143-144
  12. ↑ Harrison, 2000, pp.2, 8 & 14
  13. ↑ Kowalski, 1995, pp.42–43
  14. ↑ Francillon, 1979, pp.356–360
  15. ↑ Myhra, 2007, pp.3, 6
  16. ↑ Kershaw, 2004, pp.38, 54
  17. ↑ Butler, 2006, pp.15, 23, 26, 48 & 105
  18. ↑ Smith, 1986, pp.6, 12 & frontispiece
  19. ↑ Koehler, 1999, p.173
  20. ↑ Daprowski, 1991, pp.5
  21. ↑ Hitchcock, 1974
  22. ↑ Francillon, 1987, pp.235–243
  23. ↑ Ginter, 1981, pp.2 & 19
  24. ↑ Francillon, 1990, pp.65–67
  25. ↑ Yenne 2006, p.25
  26. ↑ Baker, 1997, pp.7, 8, 31, 77, 111 & 128
  27. ↑ Ford, 2013, p. 224
  28. ↑ Gunston, 1999, pp.40–43
  29. ↑ Lee, 2016
  30. ↑ Mikesh, 1979, pp.1 & 31
  31. ↑ Leyes, 1999, p.42
  32. ↑ Ginter, 1995, p.3 & 45
  33. ↑ Antonov, 1996, pp.68–69
  34. ↑ Gordon, 1992, p.35

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