Brian Thorn wrote:

True, but look at our *second* jet, coming down the pike not far
behind and really intended to be the first US jet to go into combat.
The Lockheed P-80. The odds would have been even.

It would have been fascinating to see those two mix it up, and see who
would win. The engine on the P-70 was certainly a lot more reliable than
those on the Me-262.
According to Eric Brown in his "Wings Of The Luftwaffe" book, the little
He-162 could fly like a bat out of hell, and might have been a real
problem for a P-70 to run into: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_162

Pat