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18/07/1942 Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262

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The Messerschmitt Me 262

The V3 3rd prototype airframe, with the code PC+UC, became a true jet when it flew in July 1942 in Leipheim near Günzburg, Germany, piloted by test pilot Fritz Wendel. This was almost 9 months ahead of the British Gloster Meteor's 1st flight in March 1943. Its retracting conventional tail wheel gear, a feature shared with the first four Me 262 V-series airframes,
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    • Surviving aircraft