World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

was the first war in which

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, jet ...

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 The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. It was the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine. The He 178 was developed to test the jet propu ...

, flew only five days before the 1 September 1939 start of the war. By the end of the conflict on 2 September 1945 Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States all had operational

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a ...

-powered

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

while Japan had produced, but not used, motorjet-powered

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

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 A ramjet, or athodyd (aero thermodynamic duct), is a form of airbreathing jet engine that uses the forward motion of the engine to produce thrust. Since it produces no thrust when stationary (no ram air) ramjet-powered vehicles require an ass ...

engines for testing purposes. Germany was the only country to use jet-powered

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

s operationally during the war. This list includes only aircraft powered by turbine engines, either on their own or as part of mixed-power arrangements.

Rocket-powered aircraft A rocket-powered aircraft or rocket plane is an aircraft that uses a rocket engine for propulsion, sometimes in addition to airbreathing jet engines. Rocket planes can achieve much higher speeds than similarly sized jet aircraft, but typicall ...

are not included, nor are aircraft that only flew following the end of the war. 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

, - ! width=18%, Name !! Origin !! First flight !! Type !! Entered service !! Number built !! Notes , - ,

Arado Ar 234 The Arado Ar 234 ''Blitz'' (English: lightning) is a jet-powered bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the world's first operational turbojet-powered bomber, seeing service during the latter half of the ...

, , Germany , , , , Combat , , , , + , , First jet bomber but used mostly for

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

. Few ever flew. Night fighter tested operationally. , - ,

Bell P-59 Airacomet The Bell P-59 Airacomet was a single-seat, twin jet-engine fighter aircraft that was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II, the first produced in the United States. As the British were further along in jet engine develop ...

, , US , , , , Operational , , , , , , First

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

jet to fly, used as trainer only. , - ,

Bell XP-83 The Bell XP-83 (later redesignated ZXF-83) was a United States prototype jet escort fighter designed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. It first flew in 1945. As with most early first generation jet fighters, the design was hampered by a r ...

, , US , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled long-range

escort fighter The escort fighter was a concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed range long enough to reach the target, loiter over it for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, and ...

. , - ,

Caproni Campini N.1 The Caproni Campini N.1, also known as the C.C.2, is an experimental jet aircraft built in the 1930s by Italian aircraft manufacturer Caproni. The N.1 first flew in 1940 and was briefly regarded as the first successful jet-powered aircraft in h ...

, , Italy , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , First motorjet. , - ,

Consolidated Vultee XP-81 The Consolidated Vultee XP-81 (later redesignated ZXF-81) is a development of the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation to build a single seat, long range escort fighter that combined use of both turbojet and turboprop engines. Although promi ...

, , US , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled mixed-power fighter. , - ,

Curtiss XF15C The Curtiss XF15C-1 is a mixed-propulsion fighter prototype of the 1940s. It was among a number of similar designs ordered by the US Navy before pure-jet aircraft had demonstrated their ability to operate from carriers and the mixed-propulsion de ...

, , US , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled mixed-power fighter. , - ,

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

F.1 , , UK , , , , Production , , , , , , Only 12 produced before

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

; no combat service. , - , Douglas XBTD-2 Destroyer , , US , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled mixed-power torpedo bomber , - ,

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg The Fieseler Fi 103R, code-named ''Reichenberg'', was German manned version of the V-1 flying bomb (more correctly known as the ''Fieseler Fi 103''). It was developed towards the end of the Second World War and, although it never entered servic ...

, , Germany , , , , Operational , , , , , , Manned

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...

ready late 1944 but not used. , - , Gloster E.28/39 , , UK , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Engine testbed and first Allied jet to fly. , - , Gloster Meteor F.1 & F.3 , , UK , , , , Combat , , , , , , First operational Allied jet. First jet to down another jet aircraft (a

). , - ,

Heinkel He 162 The Heinkel He 162 ''Volksjäger'' (German language, German, "People's Fighter") was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed a ...

, , Germany , , , , Combat , , , , + , , Cheap mass-production interceptor (''Volksjaeger'') for use by semi-trained pilots. Little service before war over. , - ,

, , Germany , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , First jet aircraft to fly , - , Heinkel He 280 , , Germany , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , First jet fighter to fly, cancelled.Bishop, 2002, p.321 , - , Horten Ho 229 , , Germany , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Fighter/bomber, first jet powered

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

. , - ,

Junkers Ju 287 The Junkers Ju 287 was an aerodynamic testbed built in Nazi Germany to develop the technology required for a multi-engine jet bomber. It was powered by four Junkers Jumo 004 engines, featured a novel forward-swept wing, and apart from the wing ...

, , Germany , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Testbed for multi-engine bomber design. , - ,

Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was 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, prod ...

, , US , , , , Operational , , , , , , First operational US jet fighter. Four deployed during the war, two seeing limited service in Italy, but no combat. , - , McDonnell FD Phantom , , US , , , , Production , , , , , , Postwar production, designation changed April 1946 to FH. , - ,

McDonnell TD2D Katydid The McDonnell TD2D Katydid was a pulsejet-powered American target drone produced by McDonnell Aircraft that entered service with the United States Navy in 1942, and continued in use until the late 1940s. History In March 1941, the U. S. Navy aw ...

, , US , , , , Operational , , , , Unknown , , US Navy pulsejet-powered target drone. , - ,

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: " Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: " Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Ge ...

, , Germany , , , , Combat , , , , , , First operational jet fighter as fighter and fighter-bomber, with night-fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance versions trialled. , - , Messerschmitt Me 328 , , Germany , , (early) , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled pulsejet fighter/bomber. , - , Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250 , , USSR , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Mixed-power motorjet fighter. , - ,

Nakajima Kikka The was Japan's first jet aircraft. It was developed late in World War II and the first prototype had only flown once before the end of the conflict. It was also called . Design and development After the Japanese military attaché in Germany w ...

, , Japan , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Jet bomber inspired by Me 262. , - , NAMU TD2N , , US , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Target drone based on Gorgon III missile. , - , Polikarpov I-153DM , , USSR , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Experimental mixed power

fighter biplane. , - ,

Ryan FR Fireball The Ryan FR Fireball was an American mixed-power (piston and jet-powered) fighter aircraft designed by Ryan Aeronautical for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the Navy's first aircraft with a jet engine. Only 66 aircraft were ...

, , US , , , , Operational , , , , , , US Navy mixed power fighter, never saw combat. , - , Sukhoi Su-5 , , USSR , , , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Cancelled mixed power motorjet fighter. , - , Yakovlev Yak-7PVRD , , USSR , , (late) , , Prototype , , n/a , , , , Mixed-power ramjet fighter. , - , Yokosuka MXY7 Model 22 , , Japan , , , , Production , , n/a , , , , Motorjet "Ohka"

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending ...

, not used operationally.Nijboer, 2015, p.169

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Aircraft

See also

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