29 November 1943 is when the 412th Fighter Group was activated at Muroc Army Air Field, California. Testing of the Bell P-59 Airacomet jet fighter was being conducted at a site on the north shore of Rogers Dry Lakebed, about six miles away from the training base at Muroc.
The group remained a headquarters only until 11 March 1944 when the 445th Fighter Squadron was assigned to begin flying the Airacomet for operational testing. In June, the group moved to Palmdale Army Air Field, California and was brought up to full strength in the summer, when the 29th and 31st Fighter Squadrons were assigned. Its original mission was to conduct tests and engage in experimental aircraft work as part of IV Fighter Command.
The 412th was the first American jet fighter group to be activated. The P-59A was shortly joined by a second jet fighter, the Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star. As with virtually all of the test programs conducted during the war years, most of the initial flight test work on the XP-59 had been conducted by the contractor. The group developed training programs and trained aircrew and ground personnel as cadres for newly formed jet aircraft-equipped units. Problems with the planes' Allison J33 engines kept the group's Shooting Stars grounded through part of 1945, and the plan's accident rate was twice that of any other fighter in the Army Air Forces inventory.
In November 1945, the group moved to March Field, California, where the 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was attached to it to begin testing the P-80 as a reconnaissance aircraft. The group was inactivated on 3 July 1946 and its mission, personnel and jet aircraft were transferred to the 1st Fighter Group
The 445th Fighter Squadron, 412th Fighter Group extensively evaluated the Airacomet, matching it against the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star once it became available in late 1944. The squadron developed training programs and trained aircrew and ground personnel as cadres for newly formed jet aircraft-equipped units. Also flight tested the captured Mitsubishi A6M Zero (Zeke-52); the XR-3 (Autogyro) and Sikorsky R-4 (Helicopter).
The P-59 Operational service
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.[citation needed]) 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; deliveries of P-59As took place in the fall of 1944. 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.
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