Test Flight of the Heinkel He 178, the First Jet Aircraft

The Heinkel-produced He 178 has the distinct honor of becoming the world's first aircraft to fly solely with a turbojet engine. The aircraft was already in the design stage in 1936, eventually hitting the skies before the war in 1939. A fundamental design to the core, the aircraft was nonetheless a major stepping stone to the world of modern jet aircraft and helped propel the German High Command interest in turbojet technology. The single flyable prototype was furthered in design as far as possible before finding a home in the Berlin Air Museum, only to be unknowingly destroyed by Allied bombers in an air raid in 1943.

http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail....