Re: Another WW II Relic or two
Originally Posted by Mike-in-Orange
Had D-Day not been a success, Germany would have had more time to further develop the V2 and jet aircraft. As it was, the jet fighters they did place into service just before the end of the war were underdeveloped and short on range. But given time.......
The first operational jet fighters in WW2 came from the UK, beating the Germans by a month.
A German guy I worked with in the 1960's was training as a pilot of rocket powered planes, he said he was relieved when the war ended, they took of at speed and glided back when the fuel was used up, with short wings they fell like bricks he said. You could not land with power as it was too fast, so you had to glide, as a glider pilot before the war the powers that be said he was what they wanted, he was about seventeen or eighteen at the time. With a lack of fuel he was lucky never to get in one. He passed through the US lines coming west, a soldier saw him but told him to keep moving, he said he was grateful to that GI who could have shot him, he was still in uniform at the time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
Last edited by onehundred80; 02-13-2010 at 10:27 AM.