Bell XP-59 Airacomet
USA
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.

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.

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.