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To: Dave who wrote (147289)11/9/2001 4:40:15 PM
From: fingolfen  Read Replies (1) of 186894
 
I was under the impression the Germans had the very first rocket/jet propulsion type aircraft....

I think he's talking about "missiles" rather than a rocket propelled aircraft. The Soviets also made extensive use of rocket propelled explosives as artillery in World War II, such as the various Katyusha versions. The first production jet was the British Meteor, if memory serves, but its performance and production volumes were vastly overshadowed by the German Me-262. The Meteor was also never deployed outside of Britain. The German 'Komet' rocket powered interceptor was a novel concept, but it's service record was far from exemplary. The fuel mixture was corrosive and unstable. The fuel capacity of the plane was exceptionally limited. While untouchable under full burn in the air, many were picked off as they glided in for a landing (ditto with the Me-262 jet).

In terms of ballistic missile technology, the Germans ended up far ahead of everyone else. The U.S. had forward bases in Europe and therefore could target the U.S.S.R. with short to medium range missiles. The U.S.S.R. had no forward bases from which to target major U.S. population centers, and were therefore forced to develop long-range rockets by "necessity." This gave the U.S.S.R. a major leg up in early space exploration. The U.S. won the race to the moon, however, and (unfortunately) major spending for space programs was dramatically curtailed once that milestone had been reached.
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