The first indigenous jet aircraft of each jet nation
Was your country late to the jet-set? Find out in this pleasingly swift guide to the pioneering aircraft of every nation we can think of that has created its own jet. If we’ve missed out your nation, let us know the details in the comments section below.
Romania Coandă-1910
A controversial one here, some label this the first jet to fly – others believe it was neither strictly a jet aircraft nor did it fly. The inventor Henri Marie Coandă unsuccessfully tried to make nazi jetskis in World War II using the same method of propulsion as the 1910 aircraft. The Coandă effect describes the attachment issues a body of moving air of leaving a surface, the Canadians later tried to harness this effect to build flying saucers.
Germany Heinkel He 178 – 27 August 1939
The Germans flew the first jet aircraft and then celebrated four days after by invading Poland.
Italy – Caproni Campini N.1 (featuring first afterburner) 27 August 1940
The N.1 was powered by a motorjet (also known as thermojet), is a rudimentary type of jet engine with the compressor driven by a piston-engine. The motorjet was originally a French idea, refined and patented by the British and first flown by the Italians. Their first pure jet was the Fiat G-80 of 1951. Damn if we allow this in we’ll have to include all the weird Soviets.
Great Britain – Gloster E.28/39 May 15, 1941
The British invented the jet engine but were second to put one in a flying aeroplane.
USA – Bell P-59 Airacomet 1942
The USA made 66 of the disappointing P-59. One was given to the RAF. It used a General Electric J31, a souped-up variant of a British engine.
USSR – Mikoyan-Gurevich I-250 – 3 March 1945
Not quite a jet, think Caproni N1 but with a propeller.
Japan – Nakajima Kikka 7 August 1945
Despite a superficial resemblance to the 262, the Kikka was a Japanese product though the designers had access to Me-262 imagery and a cutaway of its BMW engine.
After this none of the aircraft are strictly indigenous and each involve a degree of foreign technology
USSR Mikoyan-Gurevich I-300 24 April 1946 Yak-15 24 April 1946
The Yak was ready earlier but lost a coin toss to the MiG. The MiG was the first true Soviet jet to fly, using a reverse-engineered BMW engine. The Yak was a converted Yak-3 fitted with a reverse-engineered German Junkers Jumo 004.
France Sud-Ouest SO.6000 Triton – 11 November 1946
Sweden – SAAB 21R 10 March 1947
Sticking a jet in a piston-engined aircraft worked for the Soviets so why not? Not as elegant as a Vampire but pretty lovely.
We do dope merch of the piston version here
Argentina – FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui I 9 August 1947
With a design team led by a Frenchman, Émile Dewoitine and a British engine the Pulqui was still the first Latin American jet aircraft.
Canada – Avro Canada C102 Jetliner 10 August 1949
Only the Canadians would think to enter the jet age with an airliner.
Austrailia – GAF Pika 1950
A crewed prototype for an uncrewed target drone, the delightfully cute Pika.
Our top cute aeroplances are here
Netherlands – Fokker S.14 Machtrainer 19 May 1951
Insert joke about Fokker sounding like ‘fucker’ here.
Switzerland – EFW N-20.02 Arbalète 16 November 1951
Wait… Switzerland flew a jet aircraft before China? Bonkers.
Yugoslavia
Ikarus 451M – 25 October 1952
Followed by
Ikarus 452 – 24 July 1953
Wait…Yugoslavia flew a jet before China?
Spain – Hispano HA-200 12 August 1955
With a bit of help from Willy Messerchmitt, Spain made this little beauty.
China – Shenyang JJ-1 26 July 1958
China is a tricky one to nail down. This was preceded by the J-2 and J-5, but they were both versions of MiGs.
Czechoslovakia Aero L-29 Delfín 5 April 1959
A real cutie this one.
PZL TS-11 Iskra 5 February 1960
India HAL HF-24 Marut 17 June 1961
Designed by Kurt Tank, creator of the superb Fw 190, the gorgeous Marut proved a disappointment and put India off creating its own jets for 50 years. We interviewed a Marut pilot here.
Egypt – Helwan HA-300 7 March 1964
The first African and Middle Eastern jet aircraft, the project had at earlier times been Spanish and Indian. The design was led by Willy Messerschmitt.
Taiwan – AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chung 16 September 1980
It’s the 80s now, so everything non-Soviet will have some US involvement. Northrop helped with this.
Israel – IAI Lavi 31 December 1986
Isreal had already created licence produced and pirated jet aircraft but it’s probably fair to call the Lavi the first indigenous type though there was much US assistance.
Brazil – Embraer ERJ145 August 11, 1995
Insert joke about mowing the side of the runway ‘Brazilian-style’
Russian Federation – Yakovlev Yak-130 25 April 1996
A bit Italian, and studies may have predated the end of the USSR, but the ‘Mitten’ is probably the first new Russian (we’re more certain the French/Russian MiG AT design was older so more Soviet in origin).
South Korea KAI T-50 20 August 2002
Lots of help from Lockheed Martin but let’s say this is South Korean.
Ukraine – Antonov An-148 (2004)
Or if you prefer, the An-72 of 1977 (as other Soviet Antonovs were built in Russia too)
Antonov was a man who put himself at risk, but he knew it couldn’t last! Antonov left his home in cold Novosibirsk, for some Ukrainian grass! Get back! Get back! Get back in USSR!
Make an articles on the first plane by big manufacturers, i think that would be fun
The First Brazillian Jet is the Embraer AMX A-1
This is not purely Brazilian, but half Italian
That Swiss jet- who was the designer? Gerry Anderson?
For Switzerland, the first jet flight was on 17 April 1948 with the F+W Emmen N-20.1 glider with a JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off). Yugoslavia’s first jet aircraft was the Ikarus S.451M Miazni (Mule), the straight-wing version preceding the M.452. Also, Hungary tested the world’s first turboprop, the Varga RMI-1 X/H in 1943 (contrary to English sources).
Hi Zane, do you have a source for the glider claim? The material I’ve seen suggests the flight on 17 April 1948 was tugged by a tow aircraft. If you have a good source do share. Cheers, HK
Hello HK,
Yes, it was the book “P-16 Prototypes Suisses d’Avions a Reaction N-20, Lear Jet, Piranha” by Luc Leonardi, Editions Secavia, 2011. Details came from a friend who worked at the FFA (Flug-und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein) Museum in Switzerland. The N-20.1 was typically towed aloft, however, they also wanted to explore if it could take off on its own, so utilized a JATO 12, 6.2 kN (1,400 lbf) thrust motor. The JATO was also used to accelerate the aircraft when towed aloft. They may have wanted to get it in the record books too.
We, the International Resin Modellers Association (IRMA), were in touch with the museum for our 1/72 IRMA Kit No. 6 Flug-und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhhein FFA P-16. Finding out about the F+W Emmen N-20.1 was purely coincidental.
Sadly, I’ve not heard from him or received a response since the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Sincerely,
Zane
Hi HK,
Another point of interest, in black and white photos, the F+W Emmen N.20.1 looks darker then lighter, this is because it was first painted in a safron shade and later was repainted in the yellow that the N.20.2 Arbelete would be. This came from the FFA Museum and was also referenced in the 1/72 N.20.1 Dujin kit. Regrettably, our dear Jean-Piere Dujin passed on in 2010.
You can find more details here: internationalresinmodellers.com/articles_17_flug-und_fahrzeugwerke_altenrhein_ffa-p-16.
Cheers,
Zane