Bell P-59 Airacomet
The US had a delayed entry into the jet propulsion field. On October 1, 1942, the Airacomet was the first American turbojet airplane to fly. As the P-59 was clearly outclassed by contemporary piston-engine fighter such as the P-51 Mustang, only fifty production aircraft were ever completed - six of these (including the prototypes) survived:
Oakes Claudia e.a.: Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., 1991 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_P-59_Airacomet |
|