Aug 27 2009
The World’s First Jet
On this day in History, an aviation first took place – August 27, 1939. The world’s first jet plane, the German Heinkel HE-178, makes its maiden flight in northern Germany, piloted by Flight Captain Erich Warsitz.
The plane reached a speed of 375 miles per hour. The invention of the jet is credited to two men who worked independently and whose nations were bitter enemies in World War II. Sir Frank Whittle of England received the first patent for a turbojet engine in January 1930. He was also the first to successfully test a jet engine on a laboratory rig in April 1937.
Doctor Hans Van Ohain, who had been working on the concept of a jet engine since 1933, was the first to get his invention into the air, despite not having achieved a successful laboratory test until five months after Whittle. Historical information from This Day in History and the History Channel.
Well I learned something today! I did not know how many years after the plane the jet came!