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Subject: Re: Bell P-59 Airacomet
From: john Szalay <john.szalayatatt.net>
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Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com> wrote in
news:osd0i50130j@drn.newsguy.com:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_P-59_Airacomet
>
> The Bell P-59 Airacomet was a twin jet-engined fighter aircraft, the
> first of the United States, designed and built by Bell Aircraft during
> World War II. The United States Army Air Forces were not impressed by
> its performance and cancelled the contract when fewer than half of the
> aircraft ordered had been produced. Although no P-59s entered combat,
> the fighter paved the way for another design generation of U.S.
> turbojet-powered aircraft, and was the first turbojet fighter to have
> its turbojet engine and air inlet nacelles integrated within the main
> fuselage.
>
> Major General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold became aware of the United
> Kingdom's jet program when he attended a 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 in
> October 1941 in the bomb bay of a USAAC Consolidated B-24 Liberator,
> along with drawings for the more powerful W.2B/23 engine and a small
> team of Power Jets engineers. On 4 September, he offered the U.S.
> company 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 prototypes were completed, an order
> for 13 "YP-59A" preproduction machines was added to the contract.
>
> On 12 September 1942, the first XP-59A was sent to Muroc Army Air
> Field (today, Edwards Air Force Base) in California by train for
> testing, taking seven days to reach Muroc. While being handled on the
> ground, the aircraft was fitted with a dummy propeller to disguise its
> true nature. The aircraft first became airborne during high-speed
> taxiing tests on 1 October with Bell test pilot Robert Stanley at the
> controls, although the first official flight was made by Col Laurence
> Craigie the next day. A handful of the first Airacomets had open-air
> flight observer stations (similar to those of biplanes) later cut into
> the nose; over the following months, tests on the three XP-59As
> revealed a multitude of problems including poor engine response and
> reliability (common shortcomings of all early turbojets), insufficient
> lateral stability, i.e., in the roll axis, and performance that was
> far below expectations. Chuck Yeager flew the aircraft and was
> dissatisfied with its speed, but was amazed at its smooth flying
> characteristics. Nevertheless, even before delivery of the YP-59As in
> June 1943, the USAAF ordered 80 production machines, designated "P-59A
> Airacomet".
>
>
> Role
> Fighter
>
> National origin
> United States
>
> Manufacturer
> Bell Aircraft
>
> First flight
> 1 October 1942
>
> Primary users
> United States Army Air Forces
> United States Navy
> Royal Air Force
>
> Number built
> 66
>
> The 13 service test YP-59As had a more powerful engine than their
> predecessor, the General Electric J31, but the improvement in
> performance was negligible, with top speed increased by only 5 mph and
> a reduction in the time they could be used before an overhaul was
> needed. One of these aircraft, the third YP-59A (S/n: 42-22611) was
> supplied to the Royal Air Force (receiving British serial RG362/G), in
> exchange for the first production Gloster Meteor I, EE210/G. British
> pilots found that the aircraft compared very unfavorably with the jets
> that they were already flying. (The YP-59A also compared unfavorably
> with the propeller-driven North American P-51 Mustang.) 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 carrier operations.
>
> Faced with their own ongoing difficulties, Bell eventually completed
> 50 production Airacomets, 20 P-59As and 30 P-59Bs. Each was armed with
> one 37 mm M4 cannon and 44 rounds of ammunition and three .50 cal
> (12.7 mm) machine guns with 200 rounds per gun. The P-59Bs were
> assigned to the 412th Fighter Group to familiarize AAF pilots with the
> handling and performance characteristics of jet aircraft. By 1950, all
> examples of the Airacomet were no longer airworthy. Over time,
> disposal of the aircraft included use as static displays,
> instructional aids in military training, and as static targets. While
> the P-59 was not a great success, the type did give the USAAF
> experience with the operation of jet aircraft, in preparation for the
> more advanced types that would shortly become available.
>
> Specifications (P-59B)
>
> General characteristics
> Crew: one
> Length: 38 ft 10 in (11.84 m)
> Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m)
> Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
> Empty weight: 8,165 lb (3,704 kg)
> Loaded weight: 11,040 lb (5,008 kg)
> Max. takeoff weight: 13,700 lb (6,214 kg)
> kN) each
>
> Performance
> Maximum speed: 413 mph (359 knots, 665 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,140 m)
> Cruise speed: 375 mph (326 knots, 604 km/h)
> Range: 375 mi (326 nm, 604 km)
> Service ceiling: 46,200 ft (14,080 m)
> Climb to 30,000 ft (9,140 m): 15 min 30 s
>
> Armament
>
> Guns:
> 1x 37 mm cannon
> 3x .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns
>
> Bombs: 2,000 lb (910 kg) bombs
>
>
>
>
>
> *
>
some ended up as targets, photos of one at Aberdeen proving grounds
and one 42-108783 served as a drone controller with a second seat in the
nose (open cockpit) and later served as a ground target at Edwards.
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