Bell XP-59 Airacomet |
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USA |
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America's first jet plane offered only a small advantage over conventional piston-engined fighters and was confined to the training role. |
Described as one of the best-kept secrets of World War II,
the Airacomet was the first jet-propelled airplane in the
United States. It was such a hush-hush project that
hundreds of flights had been made in the radically
new machine before it was announced to the public
in 1943.
The P-59 had its inception on August 28, 1941,
when Lawrence Bell, President of Bell Aircraft, was
summoned to Washington, DC, for a conference.
He had been called to the nation's capital by
General Henry "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General of the
Army Air Force, to discuss the possibility of
designing a single-seat fighter around the jet engine
that had been evolved by a Royal Canadian Air
Force officer, Group Commander, Frank Whittle.
Mr. Bell replied that he was definitely interested in
the project and would put his design engineers to
work on the plane without delay.
At that time the Bell company was working on a
new twin-engined fighter for the Air Force, under
the designation XP-59. In order to preserve the
cloak of secrecy, the original project was canceled
and the new twin jet fighter was given the same
designation.
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To conceal the jet engine power source, a wooden propeller was attached to the nose for ground transportation. |
Bell Aircraft engineers immediately began design
work on the new project, and by March 1942 they
were ready to start construction on three XP-59As.
The planes were to be powered by two 1,250
pounds-thrust turbojet engines built under license
by General Electric.
The first XP-59A was shipped in secrecy to
Edwards Air Force Base in California, where it was
flown for the first time on October 1, 1942, by
Robert Stanley, Bell's chief test pilot.
During the test program, a formation of
P-38 Lightnings
on a training mission over the Mojave
Desert was overtaken by an Airacomet. The
P-38
pilots were puzzled when they saw the plane with no
propeller. Stranger still, the Airacomet pilot was
wearing a derby hat and had a cigar in his mouth.
After a few seconds, the jet pilot tipped his hat
politely and pulled away from the formation. This
was the first time that Air Force personnel, except
for a select few at the test base, had ever seen a jet
propelled airplane.
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A P-63 Kingcobra and a P-59A Airacomet flying together. Neither plane was outstanding, but both were unique. |
Following the test program, the Air Force ordered 13 YP-59As. Next was a contract for 80 P-59As. Only 30 of these had been delivered when the contract was canceled on October 30, 1943. Unlike the Messerschmitt Me-262, and the Gloster Meteor, the airplane had been successful as a test vehicle, but it offered only a small advantage over conventional piston-engined fighters. No P-59s ever entered squadron service, but were used for test purposes and as trainers for jet pilots.
Specifications: | |
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Bell XP-59A Airacomet | |
Dimensions: | |
Wing span: | 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m) |
Length: | 38 ft 2 in (11.63 m) |
Height: | 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m) |
Weights: | |
Empty: | 7,320 lb (3,320 kg) |
Max Gross T/O Weight: | 12,562 lb (5,698 kg) |
Performance: | |
Maximum Speed: | 404 mph (650 km/h) @ 25,000 ft (7,620 m) |
Service Ceiling: | 45,756 ft (13,946 m) |
Max Fuel: | 870 U.S. gal (3,293 l) |
Range: | 400 miles (643 km) @ 375 mph (603 km/h) |
Powerplant: | |
Two General Electric I-A 1,250 lb (567 kg) thrust, centrifugal turbo jet engines. | |
Armament: | |
Two 37 mm cannons. |