A replica of the legendary Messerschmitt Me 262, the world’s first production jet fighter, took to the air during the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) air show held at RAF Fairford in Great Britain, reports Militarnyi.

This Messerschmitt Me 262B1A is a 1993-2000 USA built replica owned by Messerschmitt Museum of Flight. The museum is located on the territory of the Airbus Defense and Space factory (Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm has been part of Airbus since 1989) and is open only one day a month by appointment. The Me 262 doesn’t leave the museum grounds very often and rarely takes to the air, so this is a truly outstanding event.

The Messerschmitt Me 262 is the first production jet fighter in history, which made its first jet flight on July 18, 1942, and entered service in April 1944. According to its specifications, the Me 262 surpassed any aircraft of the Second World War. A total of 1,430 Me 262s were built during the war, 11 aircraft have survived to this day. Only 5 replicas with new General Electric CJ610 engines built in the 1990s in the USA can take off.