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When did the first jet airplane take off?

The first jet airplane took off in 1939 in Germany at the start of World War II (1939–45). The Germans copied the model that had been designed by British inventor Frank Whittle (1907–1996) in 1937. Whittle's company, Powerjets Limited, built the engines for Britain's first jet planes in 1941; they became the standard model for all U.S. jets. The jet airplane played a crucial role in military operations during World War II. The innovation was that the jet engine propelled the aircraft forward by discharging heated air and exhaust gases rearward, greatly increasing speed and flight capacity.

At the end of the war aircraft manufacturers began developing jet airliners for travel. The first commercial jet was known as the Comet and was developed by the De Havilland Aircraft Company. It was used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (now known as British...

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