This aircraft was based at caroline island through much of 1943. It was manufactured as a result of a proposed purchase order for a fighter aircraft. The pilot who scored the most aerial victories was grigori rechkalov of the soviet air force. The p39 had a poor reputation amongst british and american pilots, and dorr examines the reasons why, as well as looking at why the same aircraft was so much more popular in soviet service. Bell p39 airacobra restoration that pioneer is on the verge of completing for jerry yagens warbirds aviation museum in virginia beach usa. Founded in 1935, the bell aircraft corporation was known for. A detailed looked at the development and service history of this controversial american fighter aircraft. Air force, or the department of defense, of the external website, or the information. They got separated and made forced landings in various locations. Though modellers might probably prefer the osprey p39 airacobra aces of world war 2. The airacuda was marked by bold design advances and considerable flaws that eventually grounded the aircraft. The bell aircraft corporation was an aircraft manufacturer of the united states, a builder of several types of fighter aircraft for world war ii but most famous for the bell x1, the first supersonic aircraft, and for the development and production of many important civilian and military helicopters.
Lets look at what was right, and what was wrong with the little bell. Bell p39 airacobra images gallery military factory. In this video paul mcsweeny, the director of the company, discusses the bell p39 airacobra restoration that pioneer is on the verge of completing. Pilots, in this two part historical spotlight, were going to take a look at one of the most maligned and misunderstood aircraft of the second world war. Designed as an interceptor, when the bell p39 airacobra appeared in 1. Small, sleek and fast, with a midmounted engine and tricycle gear, the airacobra, designed in 1937, was ahead of its time, but it was hampered by too little wingspan and the lack of a. The p39 airacobra soldiered on in us service into 1943, long after it was obvious it wasnt the best fighter for most jobs. All p39 models from the d forward were really quite similar. Americas worst world war ii fighter was the star of the russian air. As world war ii had begun in europe, the usaac began to assess combat conditions and realized that these were needed to ensure survivability. Although the bell p39 is often thought of as a premier fighter in the hands of.
His squadronmate aleksandr pokryshkin had 59 victories, of which 47 were with airacobra. Bell aircraft p39 airacobra specifications technical. The late production n and q models, 75% of all airacobras, could maintain a top speed of approximately 375 mph 604 kmh up to 20,000 ft 6,100. Elegantly designed and innovatively engineered it featured the engine mid aircraft like a racing car, it experienced mixed operational fortunes but was especially successful in the soviet air force.
It was the first military aircraft produced by bell. The bell aircraft corporation always searched for the ways of improving aircraft characteristics based on feedback from the pilots who flew various modifications of the p39 airacobra. Originally designated the bell model 1, the airacuda first flew on 1 september 1937. A bell airacobra in russian colors from the great patriot war. Bell p39 airacobra singleseat, singleengine fighter fighter. The bell xfl airabonita was a us experimental shipboard interceptor developed for the us navy in 1939. Most of the warbirds on view around the country today never made it into combat. The p39 airacobra may be the least loved american fighter plane of world war ii, deemed inadequate by military planners at the outset of hostilities and written off as nearly useless by many historians. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
There are other books out there on the airacobra, for example, attack of the. This added weight further hampered the aircraft s performance. To use this banner, please see the full instructions c. The bell p39 airacobra production line at wheatfield, near niagara falls, new york. In comparison to the best fighters of the day such as the p51, p38, p47, bf 109, spitfire and zero, it got a bad rap because of its poor showing in the early european theater. Bell p39q airacobra in the world war ii gallery at the national museum of the u. Other known aircraft p39 piloted by dannacher force landed july 14, 1943 at wau airfield p39 pilot glazier mia december 14, 1942, 1 missing. The bell p39 airacobra was one of the principal american fighter aircraft in service when the united states entered world war ii. Small, sleek and fast, with a midmounted engine and tricycle gear, the airacobra, designed in 1937, was ahead of its time, but it was hampered by too little wingspan and the lack of a proper. Embraced by the soviet union, shunned by the western allies and hounded by myths and falsehoods that distort historys judgement.
The p39 was dismissed as hardly suitable for combat both by the us and england, who turned it over in large numbers to the ussr. The p39 was dismissed as hardly suitable for combat both by the us and. All aircraft models are designed to have flight characteristics and some elements of artistic design realistically replicating world war ii era aircraft. Bell p39 airacobra in american service military history. P39 airacobra one of the rarest ww2 warbirds youtube. In 1938 bell aircraft produced the airacobra singleseat fighter featuring a tricycle landing gear, a single allison engine located behind and below the pilot and driving the propeller by means of an extension shaft, and a cannon firing through the hollow propeller shaft in addition to. This decision proved fatal to the airacobra s prospects as a frontline fighter, as aircraft without the turbochargers handled like a brick above altitudes over 15,000 feet. Bell p39 airacobra simple english wikipedia, the free.
If there is an american combat airplane that has achieved an illdeserved reputation, no doubt it would be the muchmaligned bell p39 airacobra. The modellers guide to the bell p39 airacobra by gary. Lease agreement with the us during wwii, the soviet union received large quantities of war materiel, including many aircraft. Click through the available thumbnails to enlarge the. When the airacobra type was rejected by the raf, ah574 was transferred to the royal navy for test work. One of the principal american planes in service the united states air force from 19421944. Image used to illustrate the details of the bell airacobra singleseat, singleengine fighter fighterbomber aircraft side rear left view of a bell airacobra at rest. Bell p39q10be airacobra archives this day in aviation. Ministry of defense ussr, the soviet air force in world war ii, translated by l. Soviet aces, american p39s, and the air war against. Bell engineers continued improving the airplane and the xp39e was.
Designed as an interceptor, when the bell p39 airacobra appeared in 1941 it was acclaimed as one of the most advanced combat planes of the time. A significant number of the p39 airacobra were supplied to the u. We are aware of 10 similar reference publications related to bell p39 airacobra. The bell p39 airacobra is yet another in the long line aircraft studies stemming from world war 2 in the whatmighthave been category. The p39 airacobra was the favorite american aircraft received by the ussr. This is a bell p39q20be fighter aircraft from the second world war, this aircraft was delivered to the us army air forces in the pacific in 1942 and was mainly used for combat patrols, armed for sale.
The initial twenty aircraft were built without armor or selfsealing fuel tanks. Bell p39 airacobra images gallery detailing the singleseat, singleengine fighter fighterbomber aircraft below are images of the bell p39 airacobra singleseat, singleengine fighter fighterbomber aircraft. The system had all the looks of a top performer, armament that could go headtohead with any contemporary and a design philosophy that could have brought about a whole new era is aircraft engineering. The bell p39 airacobra was one of the principal american fighter aircraft in service when the. I made balsawood models of those machines without ever suspecting how bad some of them were. This article is within the scope of the military history wikiproject. As a result, the remaining 60 aircraft of the order, designated p39d, were built with armor, selfsealing tanks, and enhanced armament. On 17th of june 1944 a group of four airacobras got lost in bad weather on karelian isthmus.
If there is an american combat airplane that has achieved an illdeserved reputation, no doubt it would be the muchmaligned bell p39 airacobra, a tricycle landing gear singleengine fighter. Bell p39 airacobra, built around an oldsmobile aircraft. The p39 airacobra may be the least loved american fighter plane of world war ii. Basically, my impression of the p39 from this book is it was not a bad aircraft but the. Americas worst world war ii fighter was the star of the russian air force. A common western misconception is that the bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft. In september 1940, the british direct purchase commission ordered 675 of the aircraft under the name bell model 14 caribou. The bell p39 airacobra was the most unusual and controversial yet successful fighter of world war ii. The bell p39 airacobra was the least well regarded fighter aircraft to serve in large numbers with the usaaf during the second world war, but despite this it did perform some useful services on new guinea and guadalcanal early in the war in the pacific, as well as serving as a training aircraft used by the majority of american fighter pilots. After a troubled development cycle and rough career start, the p39 gained a stigma thats lasted for nearly 70 years. The p39 airacobra made by bell aircraft corporation was produced from 1939 until 1944. Many women worked in the plant building p39s and p63s during the war. Under the lendlease agreement with the us during wwii, the soviet union received large quantities of war materiel, including many aircraft. Soviet air force lend lease aircraft q model p39q 442485 pilot carpenter force landed december 6, 1943 p39q 442911 aka miss lend lease recovered 2004, displayed niagra aerospace museum.
Media in category bell p39 airacobra the following 33 files are in this category, out of 33 total. Bell was rescued by the largest military contract, involving supply of airacobra for the red army air force. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the national museum of the usaf, the u. Ah574 was initially ordered in 1940 for the royal air force raf as part of the airacobra i serial number block ah570 ah739 no. Bell p39 airacobra fighter planescourtesy of americas lendlease program. Bell airacobra i in british service military history. The p39 was used by the soviet air force, and enabled individual soviet pilots to collect the highest number of kills attributed to any u. The complete story of bell aircraft corporations p39 pursuit fighter plane paperback one of the unsung workhorses of the second world war was bell s p39 airacobra, and the disasterous experiences of this aircraft in british service could be the main reason for this, for very few of this aircraft served in the prestigious european theatre of. The very stylish, but underachieving airacobra was the second most numerous american fighter at the start of the war. One of the enduring myths regarding the p39p63 in soviet use is that because of its armament, in particular the 37mm nose cannon, it excelled as a groundattack aircraft, even a tank buster. Bell p39 airacobra on bell aircraft corporationin valmistama yksipaikkainen ja. Bell p39 airacobra singleseat, singleengine fighter.