Heinkel He 280

The Heinkel He 280, first called the He 180, was an early turbojet-powered fighter developed by Heinkel from the company's work on the He 178. Two turbojets sat in a mid-wing position and the airframe had the then uncommon tricycle undercarriage. The first prototype began glide tests on 22 September 1940, towed behind a He 111 with ballasted pods in place of engines because the intended HeS 8 engines were not ready, and the second prototype flew under its own power on 30 March 1941. After a mock dogfight on 22 December 1942 showed its speed advantage over the piston-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 190, an order followed for pre-production aircraft, but continuing engine delays and the rival Messerschmitt Me 262 led the Luftwaffe leadership to order work abandoned on 27 March 1943.