If you draw a triangle from Houston to Dallas to San Antonio (or even Austin), Milam county is smack in the middle. If there is an American combat airplane that has achieved an ill-deserved reputation, no doubt it would be the much-maligned Bell P-39 Airacobra, a tricycle landing gear single-engine fighter whose reputation was greatly overshadowed by the more famous, and of more recent design, Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, and North American P …

The weight distribution of the P-39 was supposedly the reason for its tendency to enter a dangerous Soon after entering service, pilots began to report that "during flights of the P-39 in certain maneuvers, it tumbled end over end." Jay Frank Dial: The Bell P-39 Airacobra, Aircraft in Profile no.165. Thanks also for the very interesting link, what a neat find. Additionally, about 200 lb (91 kg) of weight was removed, making it lighter than normal (7,466 lb gross).The Airacobras already in the UK, along with the remainder of the first batch being built in the US, were sent to the Soviet Air force, the sole exception being The United States requisitioned 200 of the aircraft being manufactured for the UK, adopting them as P-400s (named for the advertised top speed of 400 mph (644 km/h)).Airacobras first fought Japanese Zeros on 30 April 1942 in a low level action near Lae, New Guinea.

Had they done so, it’s quite likely that they would have ended up at the top of the modeling food chain. I’m glad you like the ol’ girl! That is just what I was looking for! Nadgudunov stated that even in harsh circumstances of combat, Soviet aircraft could go to war in presentable condition! I’m glad to read that about the “feeling” the pics convey. I’ve been trying to recall just when I did build this model. The well-respected Yeager, who later became the first man to break the sound barrier, notes that “most pilots learn when they pin on their wings and go out and get in a fighter, especially, that one of the things you don’t do, you don’t believe anything anybody tells you about an airplane.” Once the fighter pilot was taken out, the Soviets learned that the Ju-88 bomber could be left to fly on and crash on its own.Perhaps two of the more interesting units to use the Airacobra were Squadrons 10 and 12 of the Co-Belligerent Air Force, comprised of Italian pilots from the liberated portions of Italy. 99 Standard camouflage was applied and sanded to remove the edges between the colors. By 1947, 4° The "Cobra II" (Race #84) flown by test pilot "Tex" Johnston, beat racing-modified P-51s, as well as other P-39 racers (which were the favorites), to win the 1946 "I liked the Cobra, especially the Q-5 version. A strong arched bulkhead provided the main structural attachment point for the main spar of the wing. America's Forgotten Fighter Plane: The P-39 Airacobra .

The instrument panel was very ergonomic, with the entire complement of instruments right up to an artificial horizon and radio compass. Congratulations, Gary !And, thanky sir! Compilation of combat reports indicates the Zero was either equal to or close to the P-39 in speed at the altitudes of the various low level encounters. It also incorporated a turnover pylon and a pane of bullet-resistant glass behind the pilot's head. The armor on the back was also thick. The armor on the back was also thick. The system had all the looks of a top performer, armament that could go head-to-head with any contemporary and a design philosophy that could have brought about a whole new era is aircraft engineering. VVS General Dimitri Klekov said Sgt. "We immediately removed the wing machine guns, leaving one cannon and two machine guns," Golodnikov recalled later.The Soviets used the Airacobra primarily for air-to-air combatThe last plane shot down by the Luftwaffe was a Soviet P-39, on May 8 by The United States did not supply M80 armor-piercing rounds for the A total of 4,719 P-39s were sent to the Soviet Union, accounting for more than one-third of all U.S. and UK-supplied fighter aircraft in the VVS, and nearly half of all P-39 production.Airacobras served with the Soviet Air Forces as late as 1949, when two regiments were operating as part of the A total of 23 re-conditioned Airacobras, on loan from the U.S. The oxygen equipment was reliable, although the mask was quite small, only covering the nose and mouth.

The late production N and Q models, 75% of all Airacobras, could maintain a top speed of approximately 375 mph (604 km/h) up to 20,000 ft (6,100 m). Maximum true air speed at sea level, engine mode – Take-off: 539 km/h; Maximum true air speed at 2850 m, engine mode – Take-off: 600 km/h Well done Gary, background images and sky gives off the feeling of some far of aerodrome in the Russian frontier.Thank you Chuck! Concerned, Bell initiated a test program. They were redesignated as ZF-39Qs ("ZF" for "Obsolete Fighter") in June 1948 as part of the new aircraft designation scheme throughout the USAF. A strong arched bulkhead provided the main structural attachment point for the main spar of the wing.