The first non-axis jet plane to see combat was?

The first non-Axis jet plane to see combat was the Gloster Meteor. Built in Britain by the Gloster Aircraft Company, it became the only Allied jet aircraft to conduct combat operations during the Second World War.

The Meteor entered Royal Air Force service with No. 616 Squadron in July 1944. Its earliest operational missions were flown against German V-1 flying bombs over southern England. Meteors were initially kept away from direct encounters with German jet fighters because British commanders feared that a captured aircraft could reveal valuable technology. The type’s first confirmed victories came when Meteor pilots shot down V-1s in August 1944.

Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262 entered service earlier and was the first operational jet fighter overall, so the wording “non-Axis” is important. Britain had earlier experimental jet aircraft, including the Gloster E.28/39, but those prototypes did not see combat. The Meteor later served widely overseas, including with the Royal Australian Air Force during the Korean War.