List of jet aircraft of World War II
![](../I/m/Messerschmitt_Me_262_Schwable.jpg)
Messerschmitt Me 262, the most numerous jet fighter of World War II, in flight
This is a list of jet aircraft that were developed during the Second World War. Rockets and aircraft for which construction had not begun by the end of the war are excluded. Entries coloured in green were operational during the war. Production figures for aircraft used postwar include examples built after the war ended, of the same versions already flying during the war.
Aircraft
Aircraft | Origin | 1st Flight | Date Operational | # built | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arado Ar 234[1][2] | ![]() | June 1943 | August 1944 | 250+ | first jet bomber |
Bell P-59 Airacomet[3] | ![]() | October 1942 | n/a | 66 | first USAAF jet to fly; used as trainer, production cancelled |
Bell XP-83[4] | ![]() | February 1945 | n/a | 2 | cancelled long-range escort fighter |
Caproni Campini N.1[5] | ![]() | August 1940 | n/a | 2 | first Italian thermojet |
Consolidated Vultee XP-81[6] | ![]() | February 1945 | n/a | 2 | cancelled mixed power fighter |
de Havilland Vampire F.1[7] | ![]() | September 1943 | March 1946 | 244 | postwar production |
Douglas XBTD-2 Destroyer[8][9] | ![]() | May 1944 | n/a | 2 | cancelled mixed power torpedo bomber |
Douglas XB-43 Jetmaster | ![]() | May 1946 | n/a | 2 | cancelled jet bomber[notes 1] |
Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg[10] | ![]() | September 1944 | n/a | 300 | ready for operations late 1944, not used[notes 2] |
Gloster E.28/39[11] | ![]() | April 1941 | n/a | 2 | Jet engine testbed and first Allied jet to fly. |
Gloster Meteor F.1 & F.3[12] | ![]() | March 1943 | July 1944 | 250 | First operational Allied jet fighter & first jet on jet kills (over V-1 flying bombs). |
Heinkel He 162[13] | ![]() | December 1944 | February 1945 | 238+ | lightweight interceptor |
Heinkel He 178 | ![]() | August 1939 | n/a | 2 | Jet engine testbed and first jet aircraft to fly |
Heinkel He 280 | ![]() | September 1940 | n/a | 9 | first jet fighter to fly, cancelled |
Henschel Hs 132 | ![]() | n/a | n/a | 4 | dive bomber, captured before flown |
Horten Ho 229[14] | ![]() | March 1944 | n/a | 3 | fighter/bomber, first jet powered flying wing |
Junkers Ju 287 V-1/2/3[15] | ![]() | August 1944 | n/a | 1 | multi-engine bomber |
Lockheed P-80A Shooting Star[16] | ![]() | January 1944 | January 1945 | 361 | first operational USAAF jet fighter |
McDonnell FD Phantom[17][18] | ![]() | January 1945 | July 1947 | 62 | postwar production, designation changed April 1946 to FH. |
Messerschmitt Me 262[19] | ![]() | July 1942 | June 1944 | 1,433 | first operational jet fighter |
Messerschmitt Me 328 | ![]() | 1944 (early) | n/a | 9 | cancelled pulse jet fighter/bomber |
Messerschmitt P.1101[20] | ![]() | n/a | n/a | 2 | captured before flown |
Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250 & MiG-13[21] | ![]() | March 1945 | n/a | 28 | mixed power thermojet fighter |
Nakajima Kikka[22] | ![]() | August 1945 | n/a | 1 | jet interceptor, similar but smaller than Me 262[notes 3] |
Northrop XP-79B[23] | ![]() | September 1945 | n/a | 1 | cancelled after crash |
Ryan FR Fireball[24] | ![]() | June 1944 | March 1945 | 66 | US Navy mixed power, never saw combat |
Sud-Ouest Triton | ![]() | November 1946 | n/a | 5 | developed while France under German occupation |
Sukhoi Su-5[25] | ![]() | April 1945 | n/a | 1 | cancelled mixed power thermojet fighter |
Yokosuka MXY7 Model 22 | ![]() | July 1945 | n/a | 50 | kamikaze thermojet version deployed but not used[notes 4] |
See Also
References
Notes
- ↑ Was at an advanced state of development when the war ended.
- ↑ Manned variant of V-1 flying bomb intended for suicide attacks against ships and high value targets
- ↑ 22 additional Kikkas were near completion when the end of the war ended production.
- ↑ Jet engine powered version of rocket kamikaze "Ohka" Suicide Attacker
Citations
- ↑ Smith, 1984, pp.2, 8 & frontispiece
- ↑ Nohara, 1996, p.72
- ↑ Pelletier, 1992, pp.50-54
- ↑ Pelletier, 1992, pp.61-62
- ↑ Smith, 1941, p.c
- ↑ Ginter, 2007
- ↑ Harrison, 2000, pp.2, 8 & 14
- ↑ Kowalski, 1995, pp.42-43
- ↑ Francillon, 1979, pp.356-360
- ↑ Myhra, 2007, pp.3, 6
- ↑ Kershaw, 2004, pp.38, 54
- ↑ Butler, 2006, pp.15, 23, 26, 48 & 105
- ↑ Smith, 1986, pp.6, 12 & frontispiece
- ↑ Daprowski, 1991, pp.5
- ↑ Hitchcock, 1974
- ↑ Francillon, 1987, pp.235-243
- ↑ Ginter, 1981, pp.2 & 19
- ↑ Francillon, 1990, pp.65-67
- ↑ Baker, 1997, pp.7, 8, 31, 77, 111 & 128
- ↑ Myhra, 1999
- ↑ Gunston, 1999, pp.40-43
- ↑ Mikesh, 1979, pp.1 & 31
- ↑ Anderson, 1976, pp.76-78
- ↑ Ginter, 1995, p.3 & 45
- ↑ Antonov, 1996, pp.68-69
Bibliography
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- Antonov, Vladimir; Gordon, Yefim; Gordyukov, Nikolai; Yakovlev, Vladimir; Zenkin, Vyacheslav; Carruth, Lenox; Miller, Jay (1996). OKB Sukhoi A History of the design bureau and its aircraft. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing (Aerofax). ISBN 978-1857800128.
- Baker, David (1997). Messerschmitt Me 262. Crowood Aviation Series. Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press. ISBN 978-1861260789.
- Butler, Phil; Buttler, Tony (2006). Gloster Meteor - Britain's celebrated first generation jet. Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing. ISBN 978-1857802306.
- Daprowski, H.P. (1991). The Horten Flying Wing in World War II - The History and Development of the Ho 229. Schiffer Military History Volume 47. West Chester, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 978-0887403576.
- Francillon, René J. (1987). Lockheed Aircraft since 1913. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0870218972.
- Francillon, René J. (1979). McDonnell Douglas Aircraft since 1920. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-0370000503.
- Ginter, Steve (2007). Consolidated Vultee XP-81. Air Force Legends Number 214. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books. ISBN 0-942612-87-6.
- Ginter, Steven J. (1981). McDonnell FH=1 Phantom. Naval Fighters Number Three. Simi Valley California: Ginter Books. ISBN 978-0942612035.
- Ginter, Steve (1995). Ryan FR-1 Fireball and XF2R-1 Darkshark. Naval Fighters Number Twenty Eight. Simi Valley California: Ginter Books. ISBN 978-0942612288.
- Gunston, Bill; Gordon, Yefim (1999). MiG Aircraft Since 1937. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 978-0851778846.
- Harrison, W. A. (2000). De Havilland Vampire. Warpaint series No.27. Buckinghamshire, UK: Hall Park Books. ASIN B001PDL8RK. ISSN 1363-0369.
- Hitchcock, Thomas H. (1974). Junkers Ju 287. Monogram Close-Up 1. Monogram Aviation Publications. ISBN 978-0914144014.
- Kershaw, Tim (2004). Jet Pioneers: Gloster and the Birth of the Jet Age. Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0750932127.
- Kowalski, Bob; Ginter, Steve (1995). Douglas XSB2D-1 & BTD-1 Destroyer. Naval Fighters Number Thirty. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books. ISBN 978-0942612301.
- Mikesh, Robert C. (1979). Nakajima Kikka. Monogram Close-Up 19. Monogram Aviation Publications. ISBN 978-0914144199.
- Myhra, David (2007). Fieseler Fi 103R. X Planes of the Third Reich series. Schiffer. ISBN 978-0764313981.
- Myhra, David (1999). Messerschmitt P.1101. X Planes of the Third Reich. Schiffer. ISBN 978-0764309083.
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- Pelletier, Alan J. (1992). Bell Aircraft Since 1935. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 50–54. ISBN 978-1557500564.
- Shigeru, Nohara; Shiwaku, Masatsugu; Hards, Scott T. (1996). Arado Ar 234 Blitz. Aero Detail 16. Model Graphix/Dainippon Kaiga. ASIN B000UDQMIQ.
- Smith, G. Geoffrey (4 December 1941). "Jet Propulsion of Aircraft". Flight Magazine. Flight. Retrieved May 2014.
- Smith, J. Richard; Creek, Eddie J. (1984). Arado Ar 234B. Monogram Close-Up 23. Boylston, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications. ISBN 978-0914144236.
- Smith, J. Richard; Creek, Eddie J. (1986). Heinkel He 162 Volksjager. Monogram Close-Up 11. Acton, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications. ISBN 978-0914144113.
- Wood, Paul; Roger Ford (2000). Germany's Secret Weapons in World War II. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 0-7603-0847-0.