{"id":28119918,"date":"2026-10-15T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/ewr-vj-101-first-supersonic-vtol-fighter-germany-1964\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T11:04:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T09:04:56","slug":"ewr-vj-101-first-supersonic-vtol-fighter-germany-1964","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/fr\/ewr-vj-101-first-supersonic-vtol-fighter-germany-1964\/","title":{"rendered":"EWR VJ 101: The First VTOL Fighter to Break the Sound Barrier"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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That alone was nothing new in 1964; the Bell X-1 had done it 17 years earlier. What made the EWR VJ 101 C special was that it could also take off straight up, hover, and land vertically like a helicopter. It was the first VTOL aircraft ever to fly supersonic.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Germany wanted it as a vertical-take-off <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-104-starfighter\/\">F-104 Starfighter<\/a> that would not need a runway. That runway was the first thing Soviet bombs would hit. Two prototypes were built, one crashed, and the programme was cancelled in 1968.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 28px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.7\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li><strong>Type:<\/strong> Experimental supersonic VTOL fighter<\/li><li><strong>Builder:<\/strong> EWR, a joint venture of B\u00f6lkow, Heinkel and Messerschmitt<\/li><li><strong>Prototypes:<\/strong> Two: VJ 101 C X-1 (D-9517) and X-2 (D-9518)<\/li><li><strong>Engines:<\/strong> Six Rolls-Royce\/MAN RB145 turbojets, 12.2 kN (2,750 lbf) each<\/li><li><strong>First hover:<\/strong> 10 April 1963 (X-1)<\/li><li><strong>First transition:<\/strong> 20 September 1963<\/li><li><strong>Supersonic:<\/strong> Mach 1.04 on 29 July 1964, the first VTOL aircraft past Mach 1<\/li><li><strong>Cancelled:<\/strong> 1968<\/li><li><strong>Survivor:<\/strong> X-2, Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Fighter Without a Runway<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea grew out of a hard Cold War calculation. Once West Germany was allowed to build combat aircraft again in the late 1950s, its planners worried that NATO's airfields would be destroyed in the opening hours of a war. In 1957 the government asked German companies to study vertical take-off fighters, and the target was demanding: interceptor performance on a par with the F-104G Starfighter the Luftwaffe was about to buy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B\u00f6lkow, Heinkel and Messerschmitt were pushed into a joint venture, Entwicklungsring S\u00fcd, or EWR. The defence ministry held back a development contract until they cooperated. By late 1960 EWR had proposed a Mach 2 interceptor, the VJ 101 D, and Bonn ordered two experimental aircraft to prove the concept first. They became the VJ 101 C.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fomQ5a6gEJk\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">British Path\u00e9 newsreel from 1963 showing Germany's vertical take-off jet in hover tests.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Six Engines, Two Ways to Lift<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VJ 101 C solved the lift problem in two ways at once. Two Rolls-Royce\/MAN RB145 turbojets sat vertically in the fuselage behind the cockpit and blew straight down. Four more RB145s were mounted in pairs in nacelles on the wingtips, and the whole nacelles swivelled: pointing down for take-off and hover, rotating forward for normal flight. Each engine produced about 12.2 kN of thrust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/ewr-vj-101-rb145-engine-deutsches-museum.jpg\" alt=\"Fuselage lift-engine bay of the EWR VJ 101\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The fuselage engine bay of the VJ 101 seen from below at the Deutsches Museum. Two RB145 lift jets fired straight down from here. Photo: High Contrast \/ CC BY 3.0 DE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before anything flew, EWR tested the controls on a \"Wippe\", a seesaw rig with a cockpit on a beam and a single lift engine in the middle. A skeletal hover rig with three RB108 engines followed, tethered from May 1961 and flying freely from March 1962. Balancing a jet on columns of thrust needed an autopilot that worked at every moment, and the VJ 101 relied on one completely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Hover, Transition, Mach 1<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The X-1 made its first hover on 10 April 1963 with EWR chief test pilot George Bright at the controls, according to German Wikipedia. On 20 September 1963 it made the hardest manoeuvre in VTOL flying, the transition from hover to wing-borne flight. Then, on 29 July 1964, it reached Mach 1.04. No vertical take-off aircraft had flown supersonic before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/ewr-vj-101c-x1-d-9517-hanover-1964.jpg\" alt=\"VJ 101 C X-1 D-9517 at the Hanover Air Show 1964\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The X-1, D-9517, at the Hanover Air Show in May 1964, its wingtip engine nacelles clearly visible. Photo: RuthAS \/ CC BY 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seven weeks later it was gone. On 14 September 1964 a fault in the flight control system sent the X-1 out of control. Bright ejected and survived with injuries. The second aircraft, X-2, first flew on 12 June 1965 with afterburners added to its wingtip engines and a new autopilot, and made its first transition on 22 October 1965.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dQGdtYSEsuE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Retro Transport's short history of the EWR VJ 101, Germany's forgotten supersonic VTOL fighter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why It Was Cancelled<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The VJ 101 did not fail technically. The requirement changed. The defence ministry turned the interceptor into a general-purpose fighter, which needed longer endurance at low level, and that broke the delicate weight balance of a jet lifted by its own engines. NATO's wider competition for a supersonic VTOL strike fighter collapsed in the mid-1960s too, and in 1968 the programme ended. The Mach 2 VJ 101 D was never built.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The X-2 survives at the Deutsches Museum's Flugwerft Schleissheim near Munich. It is a reminder that Germany came close to fielding a supersonic jump jet decades before the F-35B.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/ewr-vj-101-x2-schleissheim-src.jpg\" alt=\"VJ 101 C X-2 at Flugwerft Schleissheim\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The surviving X-2 on display at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim, with one wingtip nacelle swivelled upright. Photo: Nimbus227 \/ CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 6px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ntZDAS4fCPA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:0 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Period film of the VJ 101 hovering, transitioning and flying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: Wikipedia (English and German) on the EWR VJ 101; Deutsches Museum; British Path\u00e9; Retro Transport<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What was the EWR VJ 101?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The EWR VJ 101 was a West German experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter of the 1960s, built by EWR, a joint venture of B\u00f6lkow, Heinkel and Messerschmitt. Two VJ 101 C prototypes were built to prove a planned Mach 2 interceptor.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Was the VJ 101 the first supersonic VTOL aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. On 29 July 1964 the EWR VJ 101 C reached Mach 1.04, making it the first vertical take-off and landing aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many engines did the VJ 101 have?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The VJ 101 C had six Rolls-Royce\/MAN RB145 turbojets: two lift engines mounted vertically in the fuselage and four in swivelling wingtip nacelles that pointed down for hover and forward for normal flight.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was the VJ 101 cancelled?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The VJ 101 was cancelled in 1968 after the West German defence ministry changed the requirement from an interceptor to a general fighter needing longer low-level endurance, which the delicate weight balance of the VTOL design could not meet.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to the VJ 101 prototypes?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The first prototype, X-1, crashed on 14 September 1964 after a flight control fault; its pilot ejected and survived. The second prototype, X-2, is on display at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim near Munich.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who flew the VJ 101?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">EWR chief test pilot George Bright made the first hover in the VJ 101 C X-1 on 10 April 1963 and was flying the X-1 when it crashed in September 1964.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the EWR VJ 101?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The EWR VJ 101 was a West German experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter of the 1960s, built by EWR, a joint venture of B\u00f6lkow, Heinkel and Messerschmitt. Two VJ 101 C prototypes were built to prove a planned Mach 2 interceptor.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was the VJ 101 the first supersonic VTOL aircraft?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. On 29 July 1964 the EWR VJ 101 C reached Mach 1.04, making it the first vertical take-off and landing aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many engines did the VJ 101 have?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The VJ 101 C had six Rolls-Royce\/MAN RB145 turbojets: two lift engines mounted vertically in the fuselage and four in swivelling wingtip nacelles that pointed down for hover and forward for normal flight.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the VJ 101 cancelled?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The VJ 101 was cancelled in 1968 after the West German defence ministry changed the requirement from an interceptor to a general fighter needing longer low-level endurance, which the delicate weight balance of the VTOL design could not meet.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to the VJ 101 prototypes?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The first prototype, X-1, crashed on 14 September 1964 after a flight control fault; its pilot ejected and survived. The second prototype, X-2, is on display at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim near Munich.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who flew the VJ 101?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"EWR chief test pilot George Bright made the first hover in the VJ 101 C X-1 on 10 April 1963 and was flying the X-1 when it crashed in September 1964.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dornier-do-31-only-vtol-jet-transport-ever-flown\/\">Ten Engines, One of a Kind: the Dornier Do 31<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/hawker-siddeley-p-1154-supersonic-harrier-cancelled-1965\/\">Hawker Siddeley P.1154: The Supersonic Harrier Britain Cancelled<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/yakovlev-yak-141-freestyle\/\">Soviet Supersonic Jump Jet Hidden Inside the F-35B<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/short-sc-1-vtol-jet-fly-by-wire-xg900-xg905\/\">Short SC.1: Britain's First VTOL Jet, and Early Fly-by-Wire<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1964 West Germany&#8217;s six-engine VJ 101 C became the first vertical take-off aircraft to fly faster than sound. Then the requirement changed.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":28119733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28119918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EWR VJ 101: First Supersonic VTOL Fighter | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The EWR VJ 101 was West Germany&#039;s six-engine VTOL fighter and the first vertical take-off aircraft to go supersonic, in 1964. 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