Design of the de Havilland H-1 Goblin turbojet began in April 1941, and its first test flight, in March 1943, was also the maiden flight of the Gloster Meteor. In early 1943, a British delegation visited U.S. gas turbine manufacturers, revealed details of British research, and discussed the possibility of building the H-1 turbojet in the U.S. Allis-Chalmers was ultimately awarded a contract in 1944 for the construction of 40 H-1 engines, although the first American H-1 engines were imported in July 1943 for Navy development of the Curtiss XF15C airplane, which flew with an H-1 in its tail and a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 in the nose.

The Army Air Forces also used an H-1 engine as the power plant in the prototype XP-80, which first flew in January 1944. However, the P-80's H-1 engine was later replaced by the more powerful GE I-40 (J33) shortly before the end of World War II.