From the Me 262 to late-war Spitfires and Mustangs, this list ranks WWII’s quickest combat-ready aircraft by top speed and ...

The top speed of the fastest operational fighter was less than 360 mph when the war started. By 1945, this had increased by an astonishing 300mph. Knowing that ‘speed was life’, some designers packed ...

The Dornier Do 335 was a fast, unconventional World War II fighter whose advanced design came too late, leaving it grounded before it ever saw combat.

The Opel RAK.1, the first purpose-designed rocket plane, flew on 30 September 1929. It reached a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph). The first operational military rocket-powered aircraft was the ...