When were jet aeroplanes invented?

In 1929 Frank Whittle designed the first jet airplane on paper. The first actual manufactured jet was made by the Germans in 1939 and was called the Heinkel He 178. The Italians followed in 1940 and the British soon after in 1941. The United States built and flew a prototype in 1942. The first jet fighter was the German Messerschmitt Me 262, which saw flight in the final stages of World War II.