Heinkel He 178

The Heinkel He 178 was an experimental German aircraft and the first in the world to fly using the thrust of a turbojet engine. Heinkel built it as a private venture around the HeS 3 engine, which grew out of the ideas of Hans von Ohain, and kept the work secret from the German authorities. Test pilot Erich Warsitz flew the first prototype for about six minutes on 27 August 1939, only days before Germany invaded Poland. Its top speed of 598 kilometres per hour and short endurance failed to impress Luftwaffe officials, but it supplied test data for later jets and led Heinkel to build the twin-engined He 280. The only flying prototype went on display in Berlin and was destroyed in an air raid in 1943.