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Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union resumed after the Second World War ended in 1945. They escalated from 1945 to 1947. Historians differ, but the usual starting year is 1947 for the Cold War that lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. Both sides that participated in the Cold War produced an amazing array of jet-powered fighter aircraft. The earliest jet fighters were adaptations of World War II aircraft. Without the stakes of the Cold War, real or imagined, it is difficult to see what could have inspired an aviation program such as the one undertaken by both sides in the decades from the end of World War II to the fall of Communism.

The Vampire was a first-generation jet fighter which saw service in the immediate postwar period with Royal Air Force frontline fighter squadrons in the United Kingdom and Germany, followed by further service with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. No 112 Squadron Royal Air Force was reformed on May 12, 1951, at Fassberg in the then West Germany, equipped with Vampire FB.5s and moved to Jever in March 1952. The squadron’s “Egyptian cat” motif appeared on the tails in a white disc. The squadron flew the Vampires until January 1954, when they were replaced by Canadair Sabres.