The rise and fall of the rocket interceptor

Abstract

The world had entered the Second World War with piston-engine propeller aircraft technology, and these were sufficient for the duration of the war. However, shortly after Germany's surrender the former Allies suddenly found themselves in the jet age, as well as kicking off a conflict between the US and Western Europe on the one hand and the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe on the other. It was clear that any new air war would be fought by planes equipped with turbojets and/or rocket engines: no piston-engine aircraft could ever hope to keep up with the new jet fighters that were already flying at the end of the war, particularly the German Me 262 and Domier 234 and the British Gloster Meteor turbojet.