• The 262 was the first operational jet-powered fighter.

This was the very first combat jet fighter. It was developed, constructed, and fielded by the German's during the very end of WWII. Its predecessor was the Me163 Komet, which was powered by a rocket instead of a jet engine.

The Me262 was considered by many Germans to be a war winning aircraft, and it very well may have been had it been introduced in time and in a greater number of aircraft. It had the ability to fly much faster than any other aircraft ripping through bomber formations and easily destroying them.

However, Allied pilots were able to shoot down a number of them despite how advanced the 262 was.

After the war, all the countries that could get their hands on one of them took them and used them to develop their own jet fighter.