Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe is the German-developed first (practical) jet fighter in the world. This fighter plane should be remembered as, after a great deal of trial and error, the first successfully implemented jet fighter in history. From the start, speed was viewed as being of the utmost importance by the Luftwaffe, and it was considered undesirable to turn or bank to engage in dogfighting. As a result this jet fighter had a truly ideal airframe. The new plane was perfectly matched for the German strategy of preserving speed, engaging targets while limiting turns as much as possible, then strafing with machine gun fire and breaking away at once. In particular, this overwhelmingly fast plane excelled at quickly engaging and taking down enemy bombers while completely ignoring enemy escort fighters. The plane was only granted to to a select group of ace pilots that understood this strategy, but in contrast with its superior performance it suffered from fuel shortages in Germany. Additionally, though they were forbidden, inexperienced pilots would get drawn into dogfights and these valuable aircraft would be lost. (Even worse, in a mind-boggling decision, the Me262 ended up with the horrible fate of being equipped with bombs and turned into a ground-attack aircraft.) In Germany, Schwalbe (swallows) have long been beloved as the birds that bring spring-time.