P39 Airacobra history

[TBO]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/americas-worst-world-war-ii-fighter-was-the-star-the-russian-22152

 

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[Dric902]

The P51 didn’t come into its own until the Merlin engine was added

the p38 wasn’t nearly as good without the superchargers

the p39 would have been developed a lot more if there had been a war on at the time. With the coming of the jet age, they just didn’t have the determination to further the design.

 

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[Paul53]

Thanks for the post.

[pipedreams]

Quite interesting story how the Russians loved the plane.

[Paul53]

2 hours ago, pipedreams said:

Quite interesting story how the Russians loved the plane.

Well there's your problem! If all the instruments are in Russian, of course English speaking pilots would dislike the plane!

[TBO]

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[TBO]

Soviet pilots appreciated the cannon-armed P-39 primarily for its air-to-air capability. A common Western misconception is that the Bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft. This is because the Soviet term for the mission of the P-39, prikrytiye sukhoputnykh voysk (coverage of ground forces) is commonly translated ground support, which is often taken to mean close air support. In Soviet usage, it has a broader meaning. Soviet-operated P-39s did make strafing attacks, but it was "never a primary mission or strong suit for this aircraft".[53] The Soviets developed successful group aerial fighting tactics for the Bell fighters and scored a surprising number of aerial victories over a variety of German aircraft. Soviet P-39s had no trouble dispatching Junkers Ju 87 Stukas or German twin-engine bombers and matched, and in some areas surpassed, early and mid-war Messerschmitt Bf 109s. The usual nickname for the Airacobra in the VVSwas Kobrushka ("little cobra") or Kobrastochka, a blend of Kobra and Lastochka (swallow), "dear little cobra".[54][55]

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