In 1941 General Hap Arnold asked Britain for the plans to their Whittle turbo jet engine. Britain sent an engine and the plans for the new more powerful Whittle turbo jet, plus a small team of engineers. These were put in the hands of Bell Aircraft and General Electric to produce. The Bell XP59 was the result. The aircraft was the first U.S. jet, but had very poor performance, however the U.S. jet aircraft program was born. The aircraft in the rear is the only one built and sent to Britain for evaluation. Consequently failing due to poor performance.
A total of 66 were built.
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