Chronology of World War II
Saturday, March 31st
A Messerschmitt Me-262
A Messerschmitt Me-262 is photographed at an airfield in Frankfurt after her test pilot chose to surrender to US forces on March 31, 1945. The Me-262 was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and claimed 542 Allied kills during her brief deployment in 1945. This particular unit was transported back to the US but it crashed during testing in 1946. The test pilot ejected safely