A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

Jet Aviation (Gallery 106)

The history of the development of the jet engine -- first theorized by Englishman Frank Whittle in 1928 -- and jet aircraft is the subject of the Jet Aviation gallery. The first successful flight of a jet aircraft was the Heinkel He-178 in August 1939. Whittle's engine powered the Gloster E28 in May 1941. As we enter the 21st Century, jet aircraft are still developing to a sophistication, speed, and power probably never envisioned by Whittle.

Messerschmitt Me-262
(1942)

The Messerschmitt Me-262 was a product of war and made its first jet-powered flight in July 1942. However, although the Me-262 proved to be superior in performance to propellor-driven aircraft of the Allies, Hitler ordered that the Me-262 be used in a bombing role, instead of the fighter role it's builders had envisioned. About 1,450 Me-262s were built, but only about 300 actually saw combat.

Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star
(1944)

The first flight of the Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star took place in January 1944, less than 150 days after the first designs of the aircraft were submitted to the U.S. Army by Kelly Johnson's "Skunk Works" team. Although a few developmental YP-80s were tested in Europe in 1945, none of them ever saw combat. A 2-seat variant was developed in 1948 and became a standard jet trainer for the U.S. Air Force as the T-33. About 360 P-80s (later redesignated F-80s) served during the Korean War, with the first recorded air-to-air kill involving two jet fighters taking place on November 8, 1950, when Lt. Russell Brown shot down a North Korean MiG-15. The Museum's aircraft is the prototype XP-80.

McDonnell FH-1 Phantom
(1945)

The McDonnell FH-1 Phantom was the first American jet to take off from and land on a carrier, the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, in July 1946. The plane had first flown in January 1945. Production models of the Phantom were first deployed aboard a carrier in July 1947. Although Phantoms served in the early part of the Korean War, by mid-1950 they had been replaced by more advanced naval jet fighters, like the McDonnell F2H Banshee and Grumman F9F Panther.

North American F-86A Sabre
(1949)

The classic American jet fighter of the Korean War was the North American F-86A Sabre. The F-86, which was based on the FJ-1 Fury that North American was developing for the Navy, first flew in October 1947. In September 1948, an F-86 set a world speed record of 670.98 mph. F-86s were used extensively by the U.S. Air Force in Korea, where they racked up almost 800 MiG-15 kills against less than 80 losses. F-86s were also built under license by Canada, Italy, and Japan, with a total of almost 8,500 being built. [The Museum's F-86 was on display for a short time in the Special Aircraft Exhibits gallery around 1976-1977.]

Bede BD-5J
(1970s)

[Historic photo not available]

The Bede BD-5J is unique in that it was one of (if not the) first jet aircraft to be sold as a kit that private individuals could build themselves. It's main claim to fame was at air shows and a starring role in the opening sequence of the James Bond movie Octopussy.

Next up in our tour is the Flight Testing gallery, which highlights the ways that new aircraft were tested and how significant advances in aircraft and flight systems were developed.

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003