Bell XP-59A Airacomet in flight. This was the US military's first jet fighter aircraft. It was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II
Bell XP-59A Airacomet in flight. This was the US military's first jet fighter aircraft. It was designed and built by Bell Aircraft during World War II, and first flew in October 1942. It was extensively flight-tested in secrecy at the Muroc Flight Test Base (North Base), now Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA. However, the US Army Air Force (the predecessor of the US Air Force) was not satisfied with the performance of the aircraft and cancelled the contract. This aircraft had a single pilot, a wingspan of 14 metres, and a range of 600 kilometres. It was armed with a cannon, three machine guns, and rockets and bombs. Photographed in 1942.
Size: 4744px × 3735px
Photo credit: © LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/US AIR FORCE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1, 1900s, 1940s, 2, 1942, 20th, 210, 2nd, 8774, aeronautics, aeroplane, air, airacomet, aircraft, airplane, america, american, army, aviation, base, bell, black--white, buildings, california, cancelled, century, edwards, engineering, fighter, flight, flying, force, habs, haer, hals, historic, historical, history, ii, jet, landscapes, military, monochrome, muroc, north, plane, prototype, record, single, sky, states, survey, technological, technology, test, testing, transport, transportation, turbojet, united, usa, war, warfare, world, ww2, wwii, xp-59a
