Overview
The Jumo 004 turbojet was one of the most advanced powerplants to see service in World War II. Developed in Germany between 1939 and 1942, it was the first successful axial flow turbojet, the first to go into large volume production, and the first designed to use an afterburner. Inevitably, it also powered the first turbojet aircraft to enter combat, the legendary Messerschmitt Me-262 “Schwalbe.” Even the US and British air forces latest piston-engine fighters could not compete with the 540 mph Me-262 jet. The Jumo 004 also powered the Arado Ar 234B, the world’s first jet bomber, and a postwar copy of the engine was used in two Soviet jet fighters, the Yak-15 and Yak-17.