|
Description
| Manufacturer: | Bell |
| |
| Base model: | P-39 | ||
| Designation: | P-39 | ||
| Version: | Q | ||
| Nickname: | Airacobra | ||
| Designation System: | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Designation Period: | 1925-1947 | ||
| Basic role: | Pursuit | ||
| Crew: | Pilot | ||
| See Also: | P-45 | ||
Specifications
| Length: | 30' 2" | 9.1 m | |
| Height: | 12' 5" | 3.7 m | |
| Wingspan: | 34' 0" | 10.3 m | |
| Wingarea: | 213.0 sq ft | 19.7 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 5,680 lb | 2,575 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 7,651 lb | 3,469 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 1 | ||
| Powerplant: | Allison V-1710-85 | ||
| Horsepower (each): | 1200 | ||
Performance
| Range: | 650 miles | 1,046 km | |
| Max Speed: | 382 mph | 615 km/h | 332 kt |
| Ceiling: | 34,790 ft | 10,603 m | |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum | Kalamazoo | Michigan |
| March Field Air Museum | Riverside | California |
| United States Air Force Museum | Wright-Patterson | Ohio |
| Virginia Air and Space Center / Hampton History Center | Hampton | Virginia |
P-39Q on display
Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum | March Field Museum | United States Air Force Museum | Virginia Air and Space Center / Hampton History Center |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Dennis C. Kucera Portland, OR | I realize this response is long overdue according to the date the question was submitted but for more information on the P-39 in the Pacific look for the history of the 35th Pursuit (Fighter) Group. The 31st Pursuit Group's P-39's were given to the 35th Pursuit Group just before it shipped out from San Francisco. The 31st returned to Baer Field in Fort Wayne, IN, and then to New Orleans where they were given P-40's for a time.
The 35th F.G. accounted for itself very well against the Japanese. 11/28/2007 @ 15:11 [ref: 18704] |
| Pat Moore Pflugerville, TX | If anyone is interested in seeing a flying P-39Q, go to the hangar of the Centex Wing of the CAF and see theirs. It's in beautiful condition and is currently flying. 03/15/2007 @ 11:59 [ref: 15902] |
| Alex , CA | I'm curious if the last poster found anything in further searches. I've always been intrigued by war wrecks, but living in California have never been able to see one.
Alex 05/15/2006 @ 15:58 [ref: 13288] |
| Serge Chernysh Simferopol, AK | May 7 2006 I have found remains of P-39Q in mountains near Sebastopol (Crimea)possible shot down during april-may 1944.
There was not so much parts, but I took home Browning MG .50 Cal Ser Num 873101 made by Buffalo Arms Corp.in good condition but without barrel and some other parts. Is it possible to recover serial number of plane by this data? This weekend I will survey nearby slopes by metal detector to find primary pieces of engine and gun. P.S. I am from Crimea, Ukraine but this idiotic form forced me to select wrong adress in order to send comment. 05/11/2006 @ 06:14 [ref: 13257] |
| Jack Williams Waukee, IA | The P-39 has long been one of my favorite aircraft. Had it not been officially interfered with (USAAC mandatory modifications which destroyed much of its performance)I believe it would have been one of the all time outstanding performers of WW II. Certainly it was a great performer for the Russians.
I am seeking information about the P-39's (P-400's) flown by the Army at Guadalcanal. They are mentioned briefly in the histoy of the fight for Guadalcanl but little or no details exist. I'm interested in finding out how the pilots did against the zero and other Japanese combat aircraft and who was high scorer for the Army in the P-39 (P-400) at Guadalcanal along with his score. The P-39 also fought in and around New Guinea and in North Africa. Does anyone have any information on pilots and their scores in those theatres of action? Any information or leads that can be provided are appreciated. By the way, if anyone doubts the performance potential of the P-39, check out the Cleveland air races of 1946 through 1949. The P-39Q and the F2G were the planes to beat not the P-51. If there were as many P-39Q's around today with their laminar flow wings as there are P-51's, I believe they would be one of the dominate airplanes at Reno. Thanks for reading this message. I hope to hear from other Airacobra fans and/or history buffs on Airacobra pilot scores. Jack Williams 01/05/2006 @ 14:22 [ref: 12085] |
| Steve Sheflin , CA | I just discovered your photo of the P-39Q at Kalamazoo and it brought back a lot of memories. In the early 1960s, my uncle owned this aircraft. At the time, it was the only flying example, and was registered as N40A. He traded a T-28A and $1.00 for it. As we looked it over, he quickly discovered that it was once a two-seater conversion. When he got it, it had a non-standard windscreen, ventral and dorsal fins, and when he opened the front cowling, there were still rudder pedals in place! There are many stories about this plane: One involves the installation of a 4-blade P-63 prop, resulting in almost losing it on its first flight. Another time he raced a P-51 from a standing start and easily beating it into the air (don't forget, the P-39 weighed almost nothing without its military equipment). I have collected the complete early history of this aircraft and it was most interesting. Over the years, it was passed from owner to owner about twelve times. We are fortunate, indeed, that it survived. 02/15/2004 @ 18:23 [ref: 6781] |
| James F. Gebhardt Leavenworth, KS | Contrary to popular belief, the Airacobra was an excellent air superiority fighter as employed on the Eastern front by the Red Air Force. The high altitude limitations of the fighter were of little importance in that theater because the Luftwaffe was a tactical support, not a strategic bombing air force and its targets were not Soviet industrial enterprises but Soviet ground troops. Many Soviet pilots became aces in this aircraft, the highest single score for the P-39 (50 kills) belonging to Guards Major Grigoriy Rechkalov, who flew the P-39 from the spring of 1943 to the end of the war as a member of 16th Guards Fighter Regiment, 9th Guards Fighter Division. Read all about it in "Attack of the Airacobras: Soviet Aces, P-39s, and the Air War against Germany" (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002), by Dmitriy Loza. 08/27/2002 @ 21:02 [ref: 5565] |
| William Rinn Hagerstown, MD | The drive shaft from the engine to the propeller gear box was under the pilots cockpit floor boards and did not interfere with the pilots legs or feet. This rear engine design did cause a major problem which was serious out of balance for this long shaft from engine to front gear box. Even before first flight, mechanics would request that the prop gear box be rotated a half or a quarter degrees and then rengage to reduce this serious vibration. All P-39 and P-63 aircraft suffered from this design problem 07/08/2002 @ 19:59 [ref: 5270] |
| Rex Randolph Memphis, TN | The USAF museum in Dayton, Ohio, in its display next to its P-39 exhibit, has a sub-display with the Allison engine, the engine shaft to the reduction gear, and the cannon. To answer a previous question, the pilot straddled the drive shaft being that the engine was behind him, or in the case of some Russian pilots, behind her. 03/03/2002 @ 13:19 [ref: 4435] |
| Everett A. Long Reno, NV | Readers may my web site interesting on Airacobras < http://www.cobrasoverthetundra.com >. My book "Cobras Over The Tundra" is short story and photo collection of the hardships young American and Russian airmen faced in the harsh Arctic.
Everett A. Long Author "Cobras Over The Tundra" 10/06/2001 @ 01:06 [ref: 3336] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
