Bell XP-59A Airacomet: First American Jet

On October 1, 1942, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet made its first official flight, becoming the first jet-powered aircraft built in the United States. Bell's test pilot Robert Stanley was at the controls. The flight took place in great secrecy at Muroc Dry Lake in California.

The aircraft was powered by turbojet engines derived from the pioneering British designs of Frank Whittle, the technology having been shared with the United States as part of the wartime alliance. The Airacomet was a modest performer, with a top speed in the region of 400 miles per hour that gave it little advantage over the best piston fighters of the day.

Although it never saw combat, the XP-59A was enormously important as a stepping stone. It gave American engineers and pilots their first hands-on experience with jet propulsion and paved the way for the far more capable Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star that followed.