Fighter Jet Trivia
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This fighter jet trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers and starts with the first operational jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262, and runs through the swept-wing duels of MiG Alley, the Phantom and Tomcat era, the F-15's perfect combat record, the F-16's fly-by-wire trick and the stealth generation of the F-22, F-35, J-20 and Su-57. It also covers the people and gear around the cockpit: what makes a pilot an ace, the top-scoring aces of both world wars, how ejection seats and G-suits work, why afterburners are called reheat, and which jets the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds and Top Gun films actually flew. There are a few propeller-era questions on the Spitfire, Mustang, Zero and Red Baron for context. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries before publishing.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which aircraft was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter?
Messerschmitt Me 262
Its first jet-powered flight was in July 1942, and it flew the world's first jet fighter operations from October 1944.
Q 02Which was the only Allied jet aircraft to fly combat operations in the Second World War?
Gloster Meteor
It was Britain's first jet fighter; the proof-of-concept Gloster E28/39 had first flown in May 1941.
Q 03The F-86 Sabre fought some of the first jet-versus-jet battles against the MiG-15 during which war?
The Korean War
It was America's first swept-wing fighter, drawing on German wartime research into swept wings.
Q 04Roughly how many MiG-15s were built, making it one of the most-produced jet aircraft ever?
Over 13,000
North Korea still uses it as an advanced trainer.
Q 05Which Soviet fighter, NATO codename Fishbed, is the most-produced supersonic jet in history?
MiG-21
For years it also held the record for the longest production run of any combat aircraft.
Q 06How many F-4 Phantom IIs were built between 1958 and 1981?
5,195
That makes it the most-produced American supersonic military aircraft; both the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels flew it.
Q 07Which fighter has a combat record of more than 104 air-to-air kills and no losses?
F-15 Eagle
It scored 36 of the 39 US Air Force air-to-air victories in the Gulf War.
Q 08By what nickname do pilots commonly know the F-16 Fighting Falcon?
Viper
Over 4,600 have been built since 1976, and the manufacturer now sells the upgraded F-16V under that name officially.
Q 09The F-16 was the first production fighter deliberately designed to be what?
Slightly aerodynamically unstable
Its four-channel fly-by-wire system keeps it under control; the seat is also reclined 30 degrees to help the pilot handle g-forces.
Q 10What distinctive wing feature does the F-14 Tomcat have?
Variable-sweep wings
They sweep back automatically for high-speed intercepts and forward for slow flight and loitering.
Q 11Which country, other than the United States, operated the F-14 Tomcat, buying it in 1976?
Iran
After the 1979 revolution the aircraft fought in the Iran-Iraq War; Iran claimed at least 160 kills with them.
Q 12How many F-22 Raptors were built in total after the programme was capped in 2009?
195
The Air Force had once planned 750 to replace its whole F-15 fleet; the F-22 first flew in 1997 and entered service in December 2005.
Q 13Which of the F-35's three variants is the short take-off and vertical-landing version?
F-35B
The A is conventional take-off and the C is the carrier catapult version; the Marines fielded the B first, in 2015.
Q 21Which was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in level flight, in October 1958?
Dassault Mirage III
Its tailless delta wing meant no conventional flaps, so it needed a long take-off run and a fast landing.
Q 22Which company marketed the F-104 Starfighter with the slogan 'the missile with a man in it'?
Lockheed
West Germany lost 292 of its 916 Starfighters, and the public nicknamed it the Witwenmacher, or widowmaker.
Q 23The Harrier 'jump jet' is famous for which capability?
Vertical and short take-off
Sea Harriers flew from HMS Invincible and HMS Hermes in the 1982 Falklands War.
Q 14The F-35's official name pays tribute to which World War II fighter?
P-38 Lightning
Lockheed Martin delivered a record 191 F-35s in 2025, taking the global fleet to about 1,300.
Q 15Which was the first fifth-generation fighter to enter service, in December 2005?
F-22 Raptor
All fifth-generation designs carry weapons in internal bays to keep their radar cross-section small.
Q 16China's Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter is known by which nickname?
Mighty Dragon
It entered service in March 2017, making China the second country to field an operational stealth fighter.
Q 17What is the NATO reporting name of Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter?
Felon
It was meant to replace both the Su-27 and MiG-29 with a single fifth-generation type.
Q 18In 1976 Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected by flying his MiG-25 to an airport in which country?
Japan
The Foxbat could exceed Mach 3.2, but only at the cost of wrecking its engines.
Q 19Which four nations manage the Eurofighter Typhoon programme?
UK, Germany, Italy and Spain
France was in the original 1983 collaboration but left to build the Rafale; the Typhoon entered service in 2003.
Q 20Sweden's Saab JAS 39 fighter is named after which mythical creature?
Griffin
The name Gripen was chosen in a public competition and matches the heraldic beast on Saab's logo.
Q 24The Panavia Tornado was jointly developed by Italy, Germany and which other nation?
Britain
The consortium formed to replace the F-104 Starfighter, and the Tornado kept its swing wings.
Q 25Despite the 'Stealth Fighter' label, the F-117 Nighthawk was designed for what role?
Ground attack
One was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Yugoslavia in March 1999.
Q 26What is the British term for a jet engine afterburner?
Reheat
Extra fuel is injected into the exhaust behind the turbine and burned at around 1,390 °C.
Q 27Which company, founded by a Northern Irish engineer named James, leads in ejection seats?
Martin-Baker
Its first live test came in July 1946, when fitter Bernard Lynch ejected from a Gloster Meteor.
Q 28The first aircraft with an ejection seat, in 1940, was a prototype jet from which manufacturer?
Heinkel
Test pilot Helmut Schenk made the first emergency ejection from a He 280 in January 1942 after his controls iced up.
Q 29A G-suit prevents blackouts by stopping blood from pooling where?
In the lower body
Without it, a pilot goes from greyout to tunnel vision to blackout and finally G-LOC, g-induced loss of consciousness.
Q 30How many aerial victories does a pilot usually need to be called an ace?
Five
French newspapers coined the term for Adolphe Pégoud in World War I; about 5% of fighter pilots score most of the kills.