Jet Pioneer

The Heinkel He 178V1 was the first jet-powered aircraft ever to fly.  Built as a concept aircraft by Heinkel, it first flew under its own power, and with its gear fixed in its extended position, on August 27th 1939 out of the Rostock-Marienahe airfield in Germany, just days before the outbreak of World War II.  During later test flights, the gear was made retractable (as designed), and as such, the prototype reached speeds of just under 600 kmh.  While its performance - compared to propellor aircraft of the time - wasn't exceptional, it at least showed the viability of jet-powered aircraft.

After only about a dozen of test flights, including a demonstration in front of representatives of the German Air Ministry where said representatives remained unimpressed, the Heinkel He 178 prototype was retired.  A second prototype, the He 178V2 with numerous alterations to the design, never flew under its own power, as Heinkel switched focus to a twin-engined design, the Heinkel He 280 (which eventually would be rejected in favour of the Messerschmitt Me 262).  Depending on the version, the prototype was either shipped to the Air Museum in Berlin, or retained at the Heinkel factory in Rostock - either way, both locations were destroyed by numerous allied bombing raids during the latter stage of the War, so the sole He 178V1 prototype was lost either in 1943 (in Berlin) or 1944 (in Rostock).

Model: 1/72 Condor (MPM) C72003
Kit inventory no. 938, acquired July 27th 2012.