Home > Fighter aircraft
1.4 1945-1952
- U.S.
- U.S.S.R
- United Kingdom
- France
- Dassault MD 450
- Dassault Mystere IVB
- Dassault MD 550 Mirage I
- Sweden
The first generation of production jet fighter planes had performance problems near sonic speed (similar to that of the latest piston engined fighters) until aeronautical engineer Richard Whitcomb discovered the " area rule" in 1952. Subsequent designs featured a "bottle-shaped" fuselage that improved performance. This would be an important distinction between early jet fighters (F-86, etc.) and later ones, like the F-5.
1.5 1953-present