Meanwhile, in Britain the
Gloster E28/39 had its
maiden flight on 15 May 1941 and the
Gloster Meteor finally entered service with the
RAF in July 1944. These were powered by turbojet engines from Power Jets Ltd., set up by Frank Whittle. The first two operational turbojet aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262 and then the Gloster Meteor entered service within three months of each other in 1944.
In fact the Heinkel was the first jet aircraft flying.