WW2 German scientists were way ahead of the technology game in the 1940s.

This is the Messerschmitt Me 262, the worid's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. It was faster and more heavily armed than any Alied fighter, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor. Captured Me 262s were studied and flight-tested by the major powers, and
ultimately influenced the designs of post-war aircraft.