The General Electric J31 was the first quantity produced jet engine in the United States. It was based on the General Electric I-A, an American version of the original British Whittle W.1 prototype that had been sent to the US in 1941. General Electric had a great deal of experience in turbocharger production and this had made them an obvious choice for the job. Initially, the J31 had used the company name I-16, but later the USAAF standardized their jet engine names, at which point the I-16 became the J31.

Although the I-A powered the initial test flights of the U.S.'s first jet aircraft, the Bell XP-59A Airacomet, the more powerful J31 was adopted for use in production P-59As and P-59Bs. Design of the J-31 began in January 1943, and in July two of the engines powered a fully armed P-59 to an altitude of 46,700 feet. General Electric delivered a total of 241 J31s to the Army Air Forces before production ended in 1945.

U.S. Air Force Museum

 

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