Bell P-59 Airacomet (with Bell P-63 Kingcobra in background)
The Bell P-59 was the Army Air Corps first jet plane.
Date: 06/30/2006
The Bell P-59A was a fighter aircraft built in the United States during World War II. Its prototype, the XP-59A became the first jet-powered aircraft to fly in the US on October 1, 1942. The type was produced in small numbers and its performance was so unremarkable that the USAAF cancelled the contract when less than half of the aircraft ordered had been produced. No P-59s went into combat, the aircraft considered to have deficient performance.
Bell P-39 Aircobra
One of the principal fighter aircraft in service with American forces at the start of World War II
Date: 06/30/2006
The second-highest scoring Allied ace, Pokryshkin, flew the P-39 from late 1942 until the end of the war; his unofficial score in the Airacobra stands at nearly 60 Luftwaffe aircraft. 9,584 were produced, with over half being sent to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. A number are still in existence of which three are still flying. The mid-engine, gun-through-hub concept was developed further in the Bell P-63 Kingcobra.
