The I-A engine led directly to the first production US jet engine, the General Electric J31 which powered the first US jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet. Seen here with the short-lived red outlined National markings (June 1943 to September 1943). The General Electric I-A was the first working jet engine in the United States, manufactured by General Electric (GE) and achieving its first run on April 18, 1942. The engine was the result of receiving an imported Power Jets W.1X that was flown to the US from Britain in 1941, and the I-A itself was based on the design of the improved Power Jets W.2B, the plans of which were also received. Like these designs, the I-A engine was also of centrifugal design. The I-A engine led directly to the first production US jet engine, the General Electric J31 which powered the first US jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet. Design and Development During the late 1930s/early 1940s, a small company in England, known as Power Jets, had been ...