The de Havilland Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter. It was commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF, after the pioneering Gloster Meteor.Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, it servedwith front line RAF squadrons until 1955, and continued in use as atrainer until 1966. It also served with many air forces worldwide, andset several aviation firsts and records.
Almost 3,300 Vampires were built, a quarter of them under licence inother countries. The Vampire design was also developed into the de Havilland Venom fighter-bomber as well as naval Sea Vampire variants.