[Llarry]

The first U.S. jet: The Bell P-59 Airacomet.

The P-59 was a true fighter, with armament included, but had significant drawbacks: slow acceleration, very short lifetime of the engines between overhauls, limited endurance, etc. But the 66 P-59s built gave many pilots their first taste of the future as improved jets were on the way.

The Army Air Forces loaned a couple of P-59s to the Navy during World War II. After the war, in 1947, my Dad did a tour at the Naval Air Test Center and one of the first orders of business is to get a few flights in the NATC's P-59B. He went on to fly the FH-1 Phantom, FJ-1 Fury, F9F-2 Panther, F2H Banshee and the TO-1 (USAF F-80C) during his three-year tour as a test pilot. Many of these aircraft had significant problems in common with the P-59 but progress was being made -- so much so that after his test pilot tour he went to VF-61 "Jolly Rogers" flying the Grumman F9F-2 Panther from a carrier deck. By the time the Korean War broke out in 1950, the U.S. had capable jets ready for combat.