Was Germany's jetfighter (towards end of WW2) the father of modern fighter planes?

Answer 1

I'd say so:

"In regard to the aircraft themselves, the most noticeable trend during the five years following World War II was the transition from straight wings to swept wings. As early as 1935, Professor Adolf Büsemann of the German Luftfahrtforchungsamt (aeronautical research establishment) suggested that sweptback wings would reduce drag at the "sound barrier," the point at which an aircraft moves at the speed of sound, where the compression of the surrounding air would have dangerous effects on the controls of the plane.

During World War II, the Germans had tried to put those principles into practical use on such revolutionary aircraft as the Messerschmitt Me-163 rocket fighter (calculations on the center of gravity had dictated the use of sweptback wings on the Me-262 jet fighter; their aerodynamic benefits were realized later). Only after the war did the victorious Allied powers, having access to the fruits of German research, begin to adapt those principles to their own designs.

Great Britain emerged from World War II with a decided head start in jet technology, the only Allied power to have had a jet fighter operational in squadron strength before the German surrender on May 8, 1945. This was the Gloster Meteor, which first flew on March 5, 1943. On July 21, 1944, the first two production Meteors arrived at Culmhead and formed the nucleus of No. 616 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF). Appropriately, the Meteor's first duty was to defend Britain from attacks by German V-1 pulse jet-powered guided bombs, of which they destroyed 13 by the end of the war. Meteor IIIs of No. 616 Squadron were committed to Continental Europe in the last months of the conflict, but they never got the opportunity to meet the Me-262A in battle.

Powered by two Rolls-Royce Welland I engines, generating 1,700 pounds of static thrust (lb.s.t.), the Meteor I was a pleasant plane to fly, and for the next 12 years, upgraded models would serve in the RAF and other air arms around the world.

A second wartime British fighter was the deHavilland DH-100 Vampire, whose design dated to 1941, but which did not become operational until 1946. Unlike the twin-engine Meteor, the Vampire had a single deHavilland Goblin 2 jet engine, rated at 3,100 lb.s.t., which was housed in the pilot's nacelle, and its tail surfaces consisted of a twin-boom arrangement similar to that of the American Lockheed P-38 Lightning. Maximum speed was 540 mph. Six Vampire F.3s of No. 54 Squadron made the first crossing of the Atlantic by RAF jets in July 1948, and on December 3, 1945, a naval version, the Sea Vampire, became the first pure jet aircraft to operate from an aircraft carrier.

The first sweptwing jet to fly over Britain was the de Havilland DH-108, a tailless conversion of the Vampire that made its first flight on May 15, 1946. Unofficially known as the Swallow, the first DH-108, TG-283, was alleged to have suddenly jumped from Mach .98 to Mach 1.05 while being test-flown by John Derry on September 9, 1948. Derry's passage through the sound barrier, which he stated occurred during an uncontrolled dive, remains unofficial, but his principal achievement was having survived, for the DH-108 proved to be dangerously unstable and tricky to fly. Three versions were built and all three crashed, killing their pilots--the first victim being Geoffrey de Havilland himself, killed on September 27, 1946, while flying the second prototype."

But a British citizen can also lay a cliam:

"Dr. Hans von Ohain and Sir Frank Whittle are both recognized as being the co-inventors of the jet engine. Each worked separately and knew nothing of the other's work. Hans von Ohain is considered the designer of the first operational turbojet engine. Frank Whittle was the first to register a patent for the turbojet engine in 1930. Hans von Ohain was granted a patent for his turbojet engine in 1936. However, Hans von Ohain's jet was the first to fly in 1939. Frank Whittle's jet first flew in in 1941.

Sir Frank Whittle was an English aviation engineer and pilot, the son of a mechanic, Frank Whittle joined the Royal Air Force or RAF as an apprentice. He joined an RAF fighter squadron in 1928 and became a test pilot in 1931. The young RAF officer was only 22 when he first thought to use a gas turbine engine to power an airplane. While often regarded as the father of modern jet propulsion systems, the young Frank Whittle tried without success to obtain official support for study and development of his ideas. He had to persist his research on his own initiative and received his first patent on turbojet propulsion in January 1930.

With private financial support, he began construction of his first engine in 1935. This engine, which had a single-stage centrifugal compressor coupled to a single-stage turbine, was successfully bench tested in April 1937; it was only a laboratory test rig, never intended for use in an aircraft, but it did demonstrate the feasibility of the turbojet concept. The modern turbojet engine used in many British and American aircraft is based on the prototype that Frank Whittle invented.

The firm of Power Jets Ltd., with which Whittle was associated, received a contract for a Whittle engine, known as the W1, on July 7, 1939. This engine was intended to power a small experimental aircraft. In February 1940, the Gloster Aircraft Company was chosen to develop the aircraft to be powered by the W1 engine - the Pioneer. The historic first flight of the Pioneer took place on May 15, 1941, with Flight Lieutenant P. E. G. Sayer as pilot.

born: June 1, 1907, Coventry, Warwickshire, England
died: Aug. 8, 1996, Columbia, Md., U.S.
Doctor Hans Von Ohain was a German airplane designer who invented an operational jet engine. Hans Von Ohain obtained his doctorate in Physics at the University of Göttingen in Germany and then became the junior assistant to Hugo Von Pohl, director of the Physical Institute at the University. German aircraft builder, Ernst Heinkel asked the university for assistance in new airplane propulsion designs and Pohl recommended his star pupil. Hans Von Ohain, was investigating a new type of aircraft engine that did not require a propeller. Only twenty-two years old when he first conceived the idea of a continuous cycle combustion engine in 1933, Hans Von Ohain patented a jet propulsion engine design similar in concept to that of Sir Frank Whittle but different in internal arrangement in 1934.
Hans Von Ohain joined Ernst Heinkel in 1936 and continued with the development of his concepts of jet propulsion. A successful bench test of one of his engines was accomplished in September 1937. A small aircraft was designed and constructed by Ernst Heinkel to serve as a test bed for the new type of propulsion system - the Heinkel He178. The Heinkel He178 flew for the first time on August 27, 1939. The pilot on this historic first flight of a jet-powered airplane was Flight Captain Erich Warsitz.

Hans Von Ohain developed a second improved jet engine, the He S.8A, which was first flown on April 2, 1941."

Answer 2

The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (German "Swallow") was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter. It was mass-produced in World War II and saw action from late summer of 1944 in bomber/reconnaissance and fighter/interceptor roles. Officially named Schwalbe, because the swallow is one of the fastest birds known when going into a dive to capture and eat an airborne insect, German pilots nicknamed it the Turbo, while the Allies called it the Stormbird. While the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war, shooting down an estimated 150 Allied aircraft for the loss of 100 Me 262s, it was well-known and highly influential on post-war aircraft development.

After the end of the war the Me 262 as well as other advanced German technology was quickly swept up by the Soviets and the Americans. Many Me 262s were found in readily-repairable condition by both sides and were confiscated. These aircraft were extensively studied, aiding development of early US and Soviet jet fighters. The F-86 Sabre and the Sukhoi Su-9 of 1946 were partially influenced by some of the features utilized for the Me 262. The F-86 used the slat design similar to that of the 262 and some German parts were used on the prototype. The Su-9 was quite similar in appearance.

Answer 3

The first jets were developed during World War II and saw combat in its last year. Messerschmitt developed the first operational jet fighter, the Me 262.

Answer 4

Definitely, Look up “Operation Paper Clip”

Answer 5

you are correct the first jet

Answer 6

YES