Jet planes of the Second World War, the history of creation and application

All countries that took an active part in the Second World War had before it a certain reserve for the development of jet aircraft. During the war, efforts to create reactive combat aircraft did not cease. But their achievements fade when compared with the scale in which the Wehrmacht jets of the Second World War were produced.

Prewar reserve

Jet propulsion always attracted the attention of gunsmiths. The use of powdered rockets goes back to ancient times. The appearance of aircraft capable of carrying out a controlled flight immediately led to the desire to combine this innovation with the capabilities of jet thrust. The desire to provide military potential at the advanced technological level was most vividly reflected in the scientific and technological policy of the Reich. The restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles deprived Germany of fifteen years of evolutionary improvement in military equipment and forced them to seek revolutionary solutions. Therefore, immediately after the Reich's refusal of military restrictions and the creation of the Luftwaffe, the head of scientific programs Richtofen in 1934 was tasked to create a German jet aircraft of the Second World War. By its very beginning, only the British managed to make a technological breakthrough, creating a prototype turbojet engine. But this is not due to technical foresight, but to the persistence of the inventor F. Whittle, who invested his own resources in it.

Prototypes and samples

The outbreak of war had different effects on programs for the development of jet aircraft. The British, realizing the vulnerability to the air threat, took seriously enough to develop a new type of combat aircraft. On the basis of the Whittle engine, in April 1941 they tested a prototype, from which the British jets of the Second World War began. The Soviet Union, which had a weak technological base, lost and evacuated part of the industry, conducted rather sluggish experiments with rocket and low-power jet engines, which, rather, had cognitive interest. Americans and Japanese, despite the great opportunities, have not greatly advanced from the same level. Their jet planes of the Second World War were based on foreign developments. Already at the very beginning of the war, Germany proceeded to create flying prototypes of serial vehicles and to develop the operation of real combat aircraft. In the spring of 1941 the Jet Henkel He-178, equipped with two turbojet engines HeS-8A, developed traction up to six hundred kilograms. In the summer of 1942, the first German jet of the Second World War, a twin-engined "Messerschmitt" Me-262, flew to show its excellent handling and reliability.

First series

The first serial jet aircraft of the Second World War, which came into service, were the Messerschmitt Me-262 and the English Gloster Meteor. There is a legend that the delay in the release of the reactive Messerschmitt is connected with Hitler's whims, who wanted to see him as a fighter-bomber. Having started production of this machine, in 1944 the Germans produced more than 450 aircraft. In 1945, the production amounted to about 500 aircraft. Also, the Germans put in series and began mass production of the He-162, considered by the command as a mobilization fighter for Volkssturm. The third type of jet fighter that took part in the war was Arado Ar-234. Before the end of the war, they produced 200 units. The swing of the British was noticeably weaker. The entire military series of the "Gloucester" limited to 210 cars. World War II jets of the US and Japan developed on the transferred technologies of England and Germany and confined themselves to experimental series.

Combat application

Only Germans managed to gain combat experience in the use of jet aircraft. Their planes tried to solve the task of defending the country from an enemy possessing overwhelming superiority in the air. The English jets of the Second World War, although applied over the territory of Germany and in the defense of England against German cruise missiles, had only a few combat episodes. Basically they were used as training. The Soviet Union did not have time to create jet planes of the Second World War. The USSR actively developed trophy reserves based on its own rich military experience.