Ejection seat
Asiento eyectable
- Date
- 1940-1946 · confidence medium
- Place
- Rostock-Marienehe, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany
- Credited to
- Heinkel, Bofors and Martin-Baker
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A seat that ejects the pilot out of the aircraft by compressed air or an explosive charge so that he can parachute to safety. The Heinkel He 280 tested it in 1940-1942 and the first pilot saved in an emergency was Helmut Schenk in 1942.
Bofors (Sweden) tested a seat about 1941-1944 and Britain's Martin-Baker made the first human ejection in 1946; date and priority depend on what counts (test, emergency or production).
What it led to
- safety of jet fighter pilots
- rocket-powered seats and escape capsules