Bell P-59 Airacomet

what is it?

The Bell P-59 Airacomet is a single-seat, twin jet-engined, 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.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 13.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 665 km/htop speed
• size 6,214 kgmax take-off weight
• built 66made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 13.9 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.6× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1942-10-01

number built

66

role

fighter/jet trainer

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Bell Aircraft Corporation

engines

2× General Electric J31-GE-5

crew

1

length

11.8 m

wingspan

13.9 m

height

3.8 m

max take-off weight

6,214 kg

top speed

665 km/h

cruise speed

603 km/h

range

—

ceiling

14,082 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.