The original Airacobra

"Don't give me a P-39
  With an engine that's mounted behind
  It will tumble and roll
  And dig a big hole -
  Don't give me a P-39"

According to Chuck Yeager, this is what the American pilots sang about the Airacobra during W.W.II, although Chuck liked the aircraft. He made his basic fighter-pilot training in it, and according to himself he made a lot of tricks with it.

Fighter-bomber
Bell developed the P-39 just before the outbreak of W.W.II, and put a lot of extraordinary solutions into it. The engine was placed behind the pilot, who had to sit with one leg on either side of the propeller-shaft! P-39 was one of the first operational fighters with a nose-wheel. It also had a 37mm cannon which shot through the propeller-hub. The RAF tested it for a short time, but didn't like it and returned their aircraft to the USAAF, who used them in the Pacific's and the Mediterranean's.
	The biggest user of the P-39 was the USSR, who was given these machines by the US. The Russians liked the aircraft, which had formidable low-altitude performance. At height though, it was no match for the Luftwaffe fighters, and was therefore used as a close support fighter-bomber.

The successor
The P-39 got a successor in the P-63 Kingcobra, which amongst other things had a longer fuselage, bigger wingspan and a stronger engine. Unfortunately the air war developed so fast that the P-63 was outclassed before it reached the squadrons. Instead almost all aircraft was shipped to the USSR.

Martin Elmberg
