This book, the first in a multi-volume history of German aviation,
provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis of of jet aircraft design
and development in Germany. The solid description, unique photo
material, historical documents, numerous drawings and complete data
tables - published for the first time - make this book not only a
gripping story but also an indispensable reference work for anyone with
an interest in the development of aviation. In August 1939 in Germany a
small propellerless aircraft took off on its maiden flight under
conditions of utmost secrecy: the world's first jet aircraft. Apart from
Ernst Heinkel, Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (inventor of the turbojet
engine) and a small circle of their co-workers, no one suspected the
profound effect that the successful flight of the tiny He 178 would have
on aviation. Spurred on by Heinkel's success, very high speed aircraft
were also put into the air by Messerschmitt, Arado and Junkers. On the
other hand the designers of jet engines initially encountered almost
insuperable problems, for in wartime high-quality raw materials such as
nickel, cobalt and molybdenum were unobtainable and substitute materials
had to be used in their place. But the designers, who were rushing ahead
with their own projects, found a way around this with the help of
experienced test pilots: in 1940 the Heinkel 280, the first twin-engined
jet aircraft, was flown without engines as a towed glider; Messerschmitt
installed an auxiliary piston engine in the nose of its twin-engined Me
262; Arado equipped its twin-engined Ar 234 with jet engines intended
for ground tests only. The test pilots became accustomed to landing on
just one working engine or none at all. In spite of shortages of
strategic materials and the use of replacements, jet engines reached the
production stage by the end of the war. But it was only possible to put
small numbers of the very high speed aircraft into service, too late to
have any decisive effect on the war. The development work on these first
jet aircraft led to a tremendous technological leap forward; it was the
beginning of advanced technology in aircraft design.
