View source for Bell P-59 Airacomet

{{short description|First jet aircraft of the United States}}
{{Redirect|P-59}}
{{Redirect|XP-59|the unrelated Bell XP-59 fighter|Bell XP-52}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{good article}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = P-59 Airacomet
| image = File:Bell P-59B Airacomet at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.jpg
| caption = Bell P-59B Airacomet at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]], [[Dayton, Ohio]]
| type = Fighter/Jet Trainer
| national_origin = United States
| manufacturer = [[Bell Aircraft]]
| designer = Robert A. Wolf and Herbert L. Bower
| first_flight = 1 October 1942
| introduction = 
| retired = 
| status = 
| primary_user = [[United States Army Air Forces]]
| more_users = {{plainlist|
*[[United States Navy]]
*[[Royal Air Force]]}}
| produced = 
| number_built = 66
| unit cost = 
| developed_from = 
| variants = 
}}

The '''Bell P-59 Airacomet''' is a single-seat, twin [[turbojet|jet]]-engine [[fighter aircraft]] that was designed and built by [[Bell Aircraft]] during [[World War II]]. It was the first jet produced in the United States. Because the British were more advanced in jet engine development, they donated an engine for the United States to copy in 1941 that became the basis of the [[General Electric J31]] jet engine used by the P-59 a year later. Bell produced a combined 18 prototype and test aircraft; because the plane was underpowered, the [[United States Army Air Forces]] (USAAF) was not impressed by its performance and canceled half of the original order for 100 fighters, using the 50 completed production aircraft as trainers. The USAAF would instead go on to select the [[Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star]] as its first operational jet fighter. Although no P-59s entered combat, the aircraft paved the way for later generations of U.S. turbojet-powered aircraft.

==Design and development==
[[File:PowerJetsW.1.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Power Jets W.1]] engine that was later to be produced by GE as the [[General Electric J31]]]]
Major General [[Henry H. Arnold|Henry H. "Hap" Arnold]] became aware of the UK's jet program when he attended a [[taxiing]] demonstration of the [[Gloster E.28/39]] in April 1941. The subject had been mentioned, but not in-depth, as part of the [[Tizard Mission]] the previous year. He requested and was given, the plans for the aircraft's powerplant, the [[Power Jets W.1]], which he took back to the U.S. He also arranged for an example of the engine, the Whittle W.1X turbojet, to be flown to the U.S. on 1 October in a [[Consolidated B-24 Liberator]],<ref>Meher-Homji 2004, p. 306.</ref> along with drawings for the more powerful [[Power Jets W.2|W.2B/23]] engine and a small team of [[Power Jets]] engineers. On 4 September, he offered the U.S. company [[GE Aviation|General Electric]] a contract to produce an American version of the engine, which subsequently became the [[General Electric I-A]]. On the following day, he approached [[Lawrence Dale Bell]], head of Bell Aircraft Corporation, to build a fighter to utilize it. Bell agreed and set to work on producing three prototypes. As a [[disinformation]] tactic, the USAAF gave the project the designation P-59A, to suggest it was a development of the unrelated [[Bell XP-59]] fighter project which had been canceled. The design was finalized on 9 January 1942, and construction began. In March, long before the [[prototype]]s were completed, an order for 13 YP-59A pre-production aircraft was added to the contract.<ref>Pace 2000, pp. 4–7.</ref>

[[File:Details of P-59B Armament, 1x 37mm canon and 3x .50 cal machine guns.jpg|thumb|Details of fuselage and undercarriage of a P-59B, showing the nose armament]]
The P-59A had an oval cross-section, all-metal [[stressed skin]] semi-[[monocoque]] fuselage that housed a single pressurized [[cockpit (aviation)|cockpit]]. The mid-mounted, straight wing had two [[spar (aviation)|spars]] plus a false spar in the inner panel. The electrically powered [[tricycle landing gear]] was attached to the center spar. The pair of [[General Electric J31]] turbojets were positioned under the [[wing root]]s in streamlined [[nacelle]]s. The armament was located in the nose of the aircraft; two of the three XP-59As and most of the YP-59As had a pair of {{convert|37|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} [[M4 autocannon#US-built contemporaries and successors|M10 autocannon]]. Later aircraft, including the production models, had one M10 autocannon and three {{convert|0.5|in|adj=on|1}} [[M2 Browning#.50 Browning AN/M2|AN/M2 Browning heavy machine guns]]. The aircraft carried a total of {{convert|290|USgal|l impgal}} of fuel in four [[self-sealing fuel tank|self-sealing tanks]] in the inner wing panels. Both production models could carry {{convert|1590|USgal|l impgal|adj=on}} [[drop tank]]s under the wings. In addition, the P-59B was provided with a {{convert|66|USgal|l impgal|adj=on}} fuel tank in each outer wing panel.<ref>Pace 2000, pp. 40–41.</ref><ref>''Air International'' March 1980, pp. 134, 138.</ref>

The crated prototype had been built on the second floor of a disused [[Trico]] Plant 2 factory, but its components were too big to fit through any [[elevator]] and required a hole to be broken in the brick outer wall to remove the first XP-59A. It was shipped to Muroc Army Air Field (today, [[Edwards Air Force Base]]) in California on 12 September 1942 by train for [[flight testing]]. The aircraft first became airborne during high-speed [[taxiing]] tests on 1 October with Bell test pilot [[Robert Stanley (aviator)|Robert Stanley]] at the controls, although the first official flight was made by [[Colonel]] [[Laurence Craigie]] the next day. While being handled on the ground, the aircraft was fitted with a dummy [[Propeller (aircraft)|propeller]] to disguise its true nature. When heavy rains flooded [[Rogers Dry Lake]] at Muroc in March 1943, the second prototype was towed {{cvt|35|mi}} to [[Victorville Army Airfield auxiliary fields#Hawes Auxiliary Airfield|Hawes Field]], an auxiliary airfield of Victorville Army Airfield, later [[George Air Force Base]], over a public road. After one flight on 11 March, security concerns caused the jet to be transferred to nearby [[Harper Lake]] where it remained until 7 April.<ref name="AI Mar 80 p133">''Air International'' March 1980, pp. 132–134.</ref><ref>Pace 2000, pp. 6–10, 12.</ref>

Five of the Airacomets, a pair of XP-59As, two YP-59As, and a P-59B had open-air flight observer cockpits (similar to those of [[biplane]]s) fitted in the nose with a small [[windscreen]], replacing the armament bay. The XP-59As were used for flight demonstrations and testing, but one of the latter pair was used as a "[[mother ship]]" for the other modified YP-59A during [[remote control]] trials in late 1944 and early 1945. After the [[drone (aircraft)|drone]] crashed during take-off on 23 March, a P-59B was modified to serve as its replacement.<ref name="AI Mar 80 p136">''Air International'' March 1980, pp. 136–137.</ref><ref>Pace 2000, pp. 32–34.</ref> During diving trials in 1944, one YP-59A was forced to make a [[belly landing]] and another crashed when its entire [[empennage]] broke away.<ref>Pelletier 1992, p. 52.</ref>

Over the following months, tests on the prototypes and pre-production P-59s revealed a multitude of problems including poor engine response and reliability (common shortcomings of all early turbojets), poor [[flight dynamics|lateral]] and [[directional stability]] at speeds over {{cvt|290|mph}}, so that it tended to "snake" and was a poor gunnery platform. The performance was greatly hampered by the insufficient thrust from its engines that was far below expectations. The Army Air Force conducted combat trials against propeller-driven [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning|Lockheed P-38J Lightning]] and [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt|Republic P-47D Thunderbolt]] fighters in February 1944 and found that the older aircraft outperformed the jet. It, therefore, decided that the P-59 was best suited as a training aircraft to familiarize pilots with jet-engine aircraft.<ref>''Air International'' March 1980, pp. 137.</ref><ref>Pace 2000, pp. 27, 29, 36–38.</ref>

Even as deliveries of the YP-59As began in July 1943, the USAAF had placed a preliminary order for 100 production machines as the P-59A Airacomet, the name having been chosen by Bell employees. This was confirmed on 11 March 1944 but was later cut to 50 aircraft on 10 October after the procurement bureaucracy had digested the earlier evaluation.<ref name="AI p138"/><ref>Pace 2000, pp. 22, 27.</ref>

==Operational service==
[[File: Bell P-59 Airacomet 060913-F-1234P-013.jpg|thumb|The first production P-59A with a [[Bell P-63 Kingcobra]] behind]]

The 13 service test YP-59As had a more powerful engine than their predecessor, the [[General Electric J31]], but the performance improvement was negligible, with top speed increased by only 5&nbsp;mph and a reduction in the time they could be used before an overhaul was needed. One of these aircraft, the third YP-59A ([[United States military aircraft serials|S/n:]] ''42-108773'') was supplied to the [[Royal Air Force]] (receiving [[United Kingdom military aircraft serials|British serial]] ''RJ362/G''), in exchange for the first production [[Gloster Meteor|Gloster Meteor I]], ''EE210/G''.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200729.html "Gloster Meteor."] ''Flight,'' 27 May 1955, p. 727.</ref> British pilots found that the aircraft compared very unfavorably with the jets that they were already flying. Two YP-59A Airacomets (''42-108778'' and ''42-100779'') were also delivered to the U.S. Navy where they were evaluated as the "YF2L-1" but were quickly found completely unsuitable for [[Aircraft carrier|carrier operations]]. Three P-59Bs were transferred to the Navy in 1945–1946, although they kept their designations. The Navy used all five of its jets as trainers and for flight testing.<ref>Pace, pp. 64, 75.</ref>

Faced with their own ongoing difficulties, Bell eventually completed 50 production Airacomets, 20 P-59As and 30 P-59Bs; deliveries of P-59As took place in the fall of 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marchfield.org/aircraft/fighter/p-59a-airacomet-bell/|title=P-59A Airacomet|publisher=March Field Air Museum|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-date=15 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715114625/https://www.marchfield.org/aircraft/fighter/p-59a-airacomet-bell/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The P-59Bs were assigned to the [[412th Fighter Group]] to familiarize USAAF pilots with the handling and performance characteristics of jet aircraft.<ref>[http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19450016000 "Bell XP-59A Airacomet."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104094451/http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19450016000 |date=4 January 2012 }} ''Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum''. Retrieved: 15 December 2011.</ref> While the P-59 was not a great success, the type did give the USAAF and the USN experience with the operation of jet aircraft, in preparation for the more advanced types that would shortly become available.<ref name="AI p138">''Air International'' March 1980, p. 138.</ref>

==Variants==
[[File: P-59 Airacomet.jpg|thumb|XP-59A with the short-lived red-outlined national markings (June 1943 to September 1943)]]
[[File: Bell YP-59A in flight 060913-F-1234P-008.jpg|thumb|Bell YP-59A in flight. X and Y aircraft had rounded vertical stabilizers and wingtips while the production A and B models had squared surfaces. The YP-59A can be distinguished from the XP-59A due to its nose armament.]]
; XP-59
:Unrelated piston engine-powered pusher-propeller design developed from the [[Bell XP-52]]. Not built.<ref>Pace 2000, p. 5.</ref>
; XP-59A
: Prototype of the new jet engine-powered aircraft, three built, serial numbers 42-108784/108786.<ref>Pelletier 1992, pp. 50–51.</ref>
; YP-59A
: Series of test aircraft, 13 built, serial numbers 42-108771/108783.<ref>Pelletier 1992, p. 51.</ref> 
; YF2L-1
: Two YP-59A (42-108778/108779) delivered to the US Navy for carrier evaluation as Bu63960/63961.<ref>Pelletier 1992, pp. 51–52.</ref> 
;P-59A
: First production version, 20 built, serial numbers 44-22609/22628. Redesignated ZF-59A in June 1948.<ref>Pace 2000, pp. 22–23.</ref>
; XP-59B 
:Study for a single-engined P-59A.<ref>Pace 2000, pp. 25–26.</ref>
;P-59B
: Improved P-59A. 80 aircraft ordered but only 30 built, serial numbers 44-22629/22658, further 50 (44-22659/22708) canceled. Redesignated ZF-59B in June 1948.<ref>Pace 2000, pp. 23–24.</ref>

==Operators==
*{{UK}}
**[[Royal Air Force]] received one aircraft, becoming ''RJ362/G'', in exchange for a [[Gloster Meteor|Gloster Meteor I]] ''EE210/G''.<ref>Pace 2000, p. 75.</ref>
*{{Flag|United States|1912}}
**[[United States Army Air Forces]]<ref>Pace 2000, p. 28.</ref>
***[[412th Fighter Group]]
****[[29th Training Systems Squadron|29th Fighter Squadron]]
****[[31st Tactical Training Squadron|31st Fighter Squadron]]
****[[445th Fighter Squadron]]
**[[United States Navy]]

==Surviving aircraft==
[[File:A Bell P-59A Airacomet at March Field Air Museum in 2013.jpg|alt=|thumb|A Bell P-59A Airacomet at the March Field Air Museum in 2013]]

Six P-59s are known to survive today.

'''On display''':
; P-59A
* 44-22614 – [[March Field Air Museum]], [[March Air Reserve Base]] (former [[March AFB]]) in [[Riverside, California]].<ref>[http://www.marchfield.org/p59a.htm "P-59A Airacomet/44-22614"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051223022231/http://www.marchfield.org/p59a.htm |date=23 December 2005 }} ''March Field Air Museum'' Retrieved: 10 April 2012.</ref>
;P-59B
* 44-22633 – [[Edwards AFB]].<ref>Pace 2000, p. 80.</ref>
* 44-22656 – [[Pioneer Village (Nebraska)]] in [[Minden, Nebraska]].<ref>Pace 2000, p. 79.</ref>
* 44-22650 – [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]] at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] near [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref>[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=579 "P-59B Airacomet/44-22650"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826055153/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=579 |date=26 August 2007 }} ''National Museum of the United States Air Force'' Retrieved: 10 April 2012.</ref>
'''In storage:'''

;XP-59A
* 42-108784 – [[National Air and Space Museum]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bell XP-59A Airacomet |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/bell-xp-59a-airacomet/nasm_A19450016000 |access-date=September 13, 2023 |website=National Air and Space Museum}}</ref>

'''Under restoration''':
; YP-59A
* 42-108777 – As of 2020, being restored to flying condition by the [[Planes of Fame Museum]] in [[Chino, California]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Restoration Projects |url=https://planesoffame.org/collection/restoration-projects |publisher=Planes of Fame Air Museum |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref>

==Specifications (P-59B)==
[[File:Bell P-59A Airacomet 3-view.svg|right|thumb|3-view drawing of the P-59]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=''The American Fighter''<ref>Angelucci and Bowers 1987, p. 50.</ref> 
<ref>AN 01-110FF-2 "Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Army Models '''P-59A''' and '''P-59B''' Airplanes"</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=1
|length ft=38
|length in=10
|length note=
|span ft=45
|span in=6
|span note=
|height ft=12
|height in=4
|height note=
|wing area sqft=386
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil='''root:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA 66-014]]; '''tip:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA 66-212]]<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
|empty weight lb=8165
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=11040
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=13700
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity={{convert|356|USgal|l impgal}}
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name= [[General Electric J31-GE-5]]
|eng1 type=[[centrifugal-flow turbojet]] engines
|eng1 lbf=2000
|eng1 note=
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=413
|max speed note= at {{cvt|30000|ft}}
|cruise speed mph=375
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=375
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=950
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling ft=46200
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{cvt|30000|ft}} in 15 minutes 30 seconds
|lift to drag=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|thrust/weight=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=<br>
**1 × 37 mm [[M4 autocannon#US-built contemporaries and successors|M10 autocannon]] with 44 rounds of ammunition
**3 × .50 cal [[M2 Browning#.50 Browning AN/M2|AN/M2 Browning heavy machine guns]] with 200 rounds per gun
|bombs=<br>
**2 x 1000lbs (450kg) [[AN-M65A1]] or simply [[Mark 65 bomb]]
|rockets=<br>
**8 x 60lbs (27kg)

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{aircontent
|related=
|similar aircraft=
* [[de Havilland Vampire]]
* [[Gloster E.28/39]]
* [[Gloster E.1/44]]
* [[Gloster Meteor]]
* [[Heinkel He 178]]
* [[Heinkel He 280]]
* [[Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star]]
* [[Messerschmitt Me 262]]
* [[Nakajima Kikka]]
* [[Sukhoi Su-9 (1946)|Sukhoi Su-9]]
|lists=
*[[List of aircraft of World War II]]
*[[List of fighter aircraft]]
*[[List of jet aircraft of World War II]]
*[[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
|see also=
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* "Airacomet... A Jet Pioneer by Bell". ''[[Air International]]'', Vol. 18 No. 3, March 1980, pp.&nbsp;132–139. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll. {{ISSN|0306-5634}}.
* Angelucci, Enzo and [[Peter M. Bowers|Peter Bowers]]. ''The American Fighter''. Yeovil, UK: Haynes, 1987. {{ISBN|0-85429-635-2}}.
* {{cite conference|title=The Historical Evolution of Turbomachinery|url=https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/163364/t29pg281.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|first=Cyrus B.|last=Meher-Homji|year=2000|conference=Proceedings of the 29th Turbomachinery Symposium|page=306}}
* Pace, Steve. ''Bell P-59 Airacomet''. Air Force Legends Number 208. Ginter Books, Simi Valley, California, 2000. {{ISBN|0-942612-93-0}}.
* Pelletier, Alan J. ''Bell Aircraft Since 1935''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. {{isbn|1-55750-056-8}}.

==Further reading==
* Carpenter, David M. ''Flame Powered: The Bell XP-59A Airacomet and the General Electric I-A Engine''. Boston: Jet Pioneers of America, 1992. {{ISBN|0-9633387-0-6}}.
* Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. ''Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters.'' North Branch, Minnesota, USA: Specialty Press, 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-58007-111-6}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bell P-59 Airacomet}}
* [https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/bell-xp-59a-airacomet Bell XP-59A Airacomet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412154528/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/bell-xp-59a-airacomet |date=12 April 2019 }} – [[National Air and Space Museum]]
* [https://www.marchfield.org/p-59a-airacomet/ P-59A Airacomet] – [[March Field Air Museum]]
* [https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195780/bell-p-59b-airacomet/ Bell P-59B Airacomet] – [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]]
* [http://aircraftowner.ning.com/video/america-s-first-jet-flight-october-1942 America's First Jet Flight, October 1942] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205090425/http://aircraftowner.ning.com/video/america-s-first-jet-flight-october-1942 |date=5 February 2017 }} – Aircraft Owner Online
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=BiEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA84 "How The First U.S. Jet Was Born"] – ''[[Popular Science]]''

{{Bell Aircraft}}
{{USAF fighters}}
{{USN fighters}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bell aircraft|P-059]]
[[Category:1940s United States fighter aircraft]]
[[Category:World War II jet aircraft of the United States]]
[[Category:Twinjets]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1942]]
[[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]