As the Cold War heated up in the early 1960s, West Germany revived the longtime dream of an airplane capable of vertical takeoff and landing. The Bundesluftwaffe was concerned about the vulnerability of its air bases to Soviet attack, and in 1962 the Federal Ministry for Defense issued a specification for VTOL aircraft that could operate from small forward bases or even the autobahn. Three German firms pursued fighter, strike and transport variants. Built by Entwicklungsring Slid, a consortium of Messerschmitt, Bolkow and Heinkel, the VJ-101 supersonic fighter featured wingtip tilt-jets as well as supplementary lift jets in the fuselage. First taking off vertically on April 10, 1963, with American test pilot George Bright in the cockpit, it subsequently became the first VTOL aircraft to exceed Mach 1. On September 14, 1964, however, a faulty roll-rate gyro with reverse polarity was installed. As Bright pushed the stick left to correct a slight roll to the right during a conventional takeoff, the airplane rolled faster and crashed. The Martin-Baker ejection seat saved Bright's life, though his back was broken in the accident. The VJ-101 project was finally canceled in 1968.
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