The Luftwaffe ME 262A 1a was the first jet fighter to be used in combat in WWII. It attacked a British photo-recognisance plane over Munich in July 1944. (Both the Americans and British were also developing jet fighters, but they were only used in combat during the last months of the war.) While the plane was effective against allied bomber squadrons in the air, hundreds of them were destroyed on the ground by US Army Air Corps bombers. Of the more than 1,400 ME 262s produced, only about 300 saw combat.
The ME 262 was powered by two Junkers Jumo 004s turbojet engines with a cursing speed: 740 kph (460 mph) and an effective range of 1,046 km (650 miles.) It was armed with four 30mm MK-108 cannons and some versions carried two 500 lbs. bombs under the wings. The planes were 10.6 m (34’ 9”) long with a wingspan of 12.5 m (41’) and weighed 7,076 kg (15,600 lbs.)
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