The Dawn Of The Jet Age

Late into the second world war, the German air force or, Luftwaffe, started development on a new type of fighter. Using the newest innovation in aviation technology, the jet engine, they began work on some of the most experimental aircraft of their time.  Designed by German aviation innovator, Alexander Lippisch, the Me 163 was to be the first in a line of German fighter and bomber aircraft. It was launched from a catapult device and had only 7 minutes of fuel, this meant that the fighter would fly up to an altitude of around 18,000m, cut it's engine and glide down to the enemy, shooting it's way down until around 1500m where it would level out and begin the slow descent to land, one of the major problems with the aircraft was the landing mechanism, it had NO landing gear, instead the Me 163 would land on a ski like device attached to the bottom of it's fuselage. The 163 has never been recorded to have landed successfully, most tore one of their wings off because the aircraft would tilt to one side.

The Luftwaffe  wasn't done, after the Me 163 came the Me 262, which has become known as the "First Jet Fighter" though it was quick at fast altitude, if the 262 got below a certain airspeed, it's maneuverability would be greatly decreased which made it easier for allied prop driven aircraft to catch up to it, and shoot it down. Though it was a designated fighter, the 262 was mainly used in a bomber intercepting role, flying up to high altitude and attacking american B17 Flying Fortresses made it a deadly foe, fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) the Luftwaffe only made a few 262's which meant that they were too late to change the course of the war.

The Arado Ar 234 was to be Germany's next addition to it's vast array of jet propelled aircraft, this was  a bomber, capable of flying long distances, Hitler hoped that it would be able to deliver Nazi Germany's nuclear bomb which he was assured they would have in the next year or so, on New York.

It was not only the Germans getting into the jet fighter swing of things, the British, Americans and the Japanese were all starting their own programs, the Japanese built a lighter, more agile variant of the Me 262, the Nakajima J9Y. The Japanese were transporting the blueprints for the Nakajima via a small Japanese submarine fleet, but on the way to Japan, the plans were destroyed when the fleet was attacked by an American Cruiser.

The British began design and production of the Gloster Meteor which was to be Britain's first operational jet fighter, though it was an incredibly powerful aircraft, it never saw service in the Second World War.
The Americans were developing and creating the F-86 Sabre which, like the Meteor, never saw active service during the Second World War.