𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭

The Heinkel He 178 was the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power, and the first practical jet aircraft. It was a private venture by the German Heinkel company in accordance with director Ernst Heinkel's emphasis on developing technology for high-speed flight. It first flew on 27 August 1939, piloted by Erich Warsitz. This flight had been preceded by a short hop three days earlier.

The aircraft made its maiden flight on 27 August 1939, only days before Germany invaded Poland. The test pilot was Erich Warsitz, who had also flown the world's first rocket powered airplane, the Heinkel He 176, on its maiden flight in June 1939.

Heinkel had developed the turbojet engine and the testbed aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 V1, in great secrecy. They were kept secret even from the German air force, and on 1 November 1939, after the German victory in Poland, Heinkel arranged a demonstration of the jet for officials, which Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe, did not attend. Ernst Udet and Erhard Milch, Minister of Aircraft Production and Supply watched the aircraft perform, but were unimpressed. While a technical success, speeds were limited to 598 kilometres per hour (372 mph) even when fitted with more powerful HeS 6 1,300lb thrust engines and combat endurance was only 10 minutes.

Undeterred, Heinkel decided to embark on the development of a twin-engine jet fighter, the He 280 as a private venture using what had been learned from the He 178 prototype. The He 178 V1 airframe was placed on display at the Berlin Aviation Museum, where it was destroyed in an air raid in 1943.

Text-source: Wikipedia