In mid-1944, the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) had vast numbers of piston-powered bombers on strength. But with the jet age fast approaching, a problem soon appeared on the horizon; the new powerplant would quickly push propeller-driven aircraft into obsolescence. Mindful of this, the US War Department opened a major programme to solicit a jet-bomber blueprint from industry in August that year. At the time, General Electric was developing the TG-180 jet engine. Offering more power than the turboprop options planned for new types, further investigation and tests prompted the project's transferral to the manufacturer's Allison division, which grew it into the J35- During the development phase, it was planned to replace the port-inner engine of a Consolidated B-24J Liberator with the jet for trials. But despite modifying the bomber to receive the unit, it was never fitted. This aspect of the project was eventually abandoned during the second half of 1946.
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