Results of an experimental and analytical study of a Blumlein‐type transverse fast discharge operating with He and Xe are presented. An electro‐optical voltage probe was used to measure the discharge voltage. The measured voltages were in good agreement with the computed voltages. The analytical model was used to predict the dependence of the discharge efficiency for producing metastables and ions on the important plasma and external circuit parameters. In He the ion efficiency is greater than the metastable efficiency, whereas in Xe the opposite is true. Much larger ion efficiencies (&eegr;+∼0.12) occur in He than in Xe, whereas much larger metastable efficiencies (&eegr;+∼0.20) occur in Xe than in He. The large dissociative recombination rate of Xe compared to He accounts for the differences in performance between Xe and He.