The ‘Heinkel He 178’ was the world's first aircraft to fly under turbojet power,

and the first practical jet plane, a pioneering example of this type of aircraft.

It was built by German company ‘Heinkel’ specifically to test fly a pioneering

turbojet engine, and designed by Hans von Ohain. It first flew on August 27, 1939
piloted by Captain Erich Warsitz, just one week before the outbreak of World War
II, having achieved a short hop three days earlier.

In 1936, Hans von Ohain had taken out a patent on using the exhaust from a gas
turbine as a means of propulsion. He presented his idea to Heinkel, who agreed to
help develop the concept. Hans Von Ohain successfully demonstrated his first
engine in 1937, and plans were quickly put in place to test a similar engine in an
aircraft. The He 178 was designed around Hans Von Ohain's third engine design,
which burned diesel fuel.

The aircraft ‘He 178’ was of conventional configuration and construction, with a
barrel-shaped metal fuselage with stubby wooden wings mounted high on its sides.
The jet intake was in the nose, and the plane was fitted with taildragger-style
undercarriage rather than the tricycle configuration which was later adopted for
other jets. On the first flight, the main gear was fixed, but was later made
retractable.

The ‘He 178’ went on to reach a maximum speed of 650 km/h – much faster than any
piston-engined aircraft of the day. But despite its success, it failed to convince
officials from the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry") that it
was worthy of further development. Undeterred, Ernst Heinkel led his company in a
private development of a twin-engined jet fighter, the He 280, using experience
and data gained from the ‘He 178’.

The aircraft ‘He 178’ was an outstanding success — although just a flying testbed,
it was faster than the fastest piston engined aircraft of the day having reached a
maximum speed of 650 km/h and a cruising speed of 585 km/h. Projected maximum
speed for a production aircraft was to be 700 km/h, a speed not reached in combat
until 1944.

The ‘He 178’ was placed in the Deutsches Technikmuseum ("German Technical Museum")
in Berlin, where it was destroyed in an air raid in 1943.

SPECIFICATIONS
Length 24 ft 6 in
Wingspan 23 ft 3 in
Height 6 ft 10 in
Wing area 98 ft2
Empty weight 3,572 lb
Max. takeoff weight 4,405 lb
Engine 1× HeS 3B turbojet (992 lbf )