In 1944 the army began gunnery trials in Nevada with the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, a combat aircraft that promised to revolutionize warfare.
The P-80 was the first fully operational jet in the U.S.--an innovation already familiar to German and British scientists.
The U.S. rushed four P-80s to Europe, two each to England and Italy.
They were hours from entering combat when World War II ended.
That's the story, so GregP you were partially correct in saying that they were deployed to Italy.