Fighting Jets [antikvár]

fl new era of combat On August 27, 1939, just four days before the outbreak of World War II, a slender, unconventional research airplane designated the Heinkel 178 took off from Marienhe Airfield in Germany to make the first successful flight of a turbojet aircraft. The event, although hardly noticed at the time, marked the dawn of a new age in aerial warfare. It was a revolution created basically by two men— Frank Whittle of Great Britain and Hans von Ohain of Germany. Their radical theories regarding aircraft propulsion stirred little interest at first, but war inevitably prompted a reassessment. By 1944, Germany, desperate for a means of halting the Allied bombing offensive, had a dazzling operational jet in the Messerschmitt 262 (right). And Great Britain, the United States and Japan each developed and flew jet fighters before the War ended. Although the first fighting jets had little effect on the outcome of that conflict, their appearance set the stage for future generations of jet warplanes—aircraft that would play a vital role in determining the fate of contending nations. The dramatic views on these and the following pages, painted by some of the world's leading aviation artists, depict highlights in the 40-year evolution of this awesome weapon.