In 1945, a defecting pilot delivered the first jet fighter into Allied hands
In the closing months of World War II, a German pilot made a daring decision to defect, handing the Allies their first look at the revolutionary technology of jet-powered flight.
In March 1945, German pilot Hans Fay flew his Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 directly into American hands. This was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter, a machine so fast it could outrun almost any Allied plane. Fay had waited for the perfect moment to defect, landing at an airfield in Rhein-Main to surrender the prized aircraft.
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