The Bell P-59 Airacomet is famous as the first U.S. jet fighter.
Far less known is the aircraft it spawned, the XYP-59SW Super Airacomet.
Late in W.W. II, allied spies had managed to steal top-secret German swept-wing research.
Bell Aircraft was approached to implement the new technology and they decided the fastest way to do this was to tweak an existing design. Using their P-59 Airacomet jet as a starting point, soon the swept-wing XYP-59SW Super Airacomet took flight.
While the production version ended out sharing only 63% commonality, one could almost be forgiven for mistaking the XYP-59SW for its older brother, so close was the resemblance at some angles.
By 1946, a service-test batch of Super Airacomets had been been delivered to the U.S. Army Air Forces for evaluation.
The timing couldn't have been better because starting in mid-1945, the allied air effort was under grave threat.
Many allied squadrons reported being attacked by strange, glowing unidentified flying objects that seemed to have impossible flight characteristics. This odd phenomenon would become known as
the Foo Fighter.
While it may seem silly in hind-sight, the U.S. military took it very seriously at the time. Even the U.S. Navy looked into physiological causes of visual illusions experienced by aviators under the auspices of their Bureau of Marine Medicine (BUMMED).
Despite the best research efforts, the U.F.O. attacks increased as the air war over Europe ground on. Clearly something had to be done. What was desperately needed was a Foo Fighter fighter.
Fortunately, the XYP-59SW Super Airacomet was available and thought to be able to go high and fast enough to deal with this other-worldly foe. The 40356th Composite Squadron was soon flying aggressive interdiction missions.
While the tail code letters may appear to be a sly way of giving the enemy the finger, they actually designate that this aircraft was part of the top-secret Foo Unit created to counter these attacks.
The U.F.O. onslaughts tapered off as the war in Europe ended and the source of these mysterious aircraft was never determined.
The XYP-59SW Super Airacomet Foo Fighter fighter and the Foo Fighters themselves would soon be forgotten except as a small footnote. Music fans who are also students of history are understandably confused.
To this day, few know about the XYP-59SW Super Airacomet Foo Fighter fighter and the so-called "experts" just say "Fooey!" about the whole thing.
Brian da Basher
