#p39

Happy 39th Birthday Phil!

P-39 13x21cm 2024 michael pontieri

Long before the A-10 became known for being designed around the massive GAU-8/A Avenger cannon, Bell took the same approach in 1939, designing the P-39 Airacobra around the 37mm M4 auto cannon which fired through the propeller hub, necessitating the moving of the engine to the mid-fuselage behind the pilot. ⠀ ⠀ Designed originally as a high speed interceptor, it was envisioned that the Airacobra would only need one or two 37mm rounds to down enemy aircraft. Design changes during the flight test program ended up hobbling the performance of the P-39, like the removal of the turbosupercharger which made the Airacobra handle like a pallet of bricks above 15,000 feet. ⠀ ⠀ The M4 was unpopular with pilots as rounds had a drooping trajectory (it dropped harshly over distance) thanks to its low muzzle veloicity that made the gun mostly impractical in dogfights. ⠀ ⠀ During the Solomon Islands campaign in the Southwest Pacific, enterprising PT boat crews salvaged M4 cannons from crashed and damaged P-39s at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal and mounted them on pedestals on the bow of their patrol boats. On the PT boats, the M4 cannons were lethal to Japanese landing barges used to move supplies. Pedestal mounts were progressively improved and by early 1944, the M4 cannon was mounted as the standard bow gun on PT boats coming from American shipyards. ⠀ ⠀ P-39s supplied to the Soviets under Lend-Lease did not include armor piercing shells for the M4- only HE shells were delivered. Contrary to common belief, Soviet pilots didn’t use the M4 cannon for tank busting, that role was left to the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmoviks. ⠀ ⠀ November Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1119planes | “WW2" | Day 24⠀ ⠀ #avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KRBD #RBD #Dallas #airport #texas #igtexas #Bell #P39 #Airacobra ##CommemorativeAirForce #USAAF #WW2 #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekNation #WingsOverDallas2016 #WoD2016 #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at Dallas Executive Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QpNj5BK8j/?igshid=1c69lichb52l9

P-39 Aircobra