I don't think she's a Kingcobra as the '63 has a squarer base to the fin not that nice curve. The serial number would of course tell you if she's a '39 or '400 (pretty low number too). The P-400 had a different cannon for the RAF but the USAAF got them all. One of the aircraft for which I have great admiration for (and their pilots)as they, along with P-40s, were the USAAF fighters that bore the brunt of the Japanese advance, the Allied withdrawal, towards Australia. The only book I have read so far on this period that gives a personal account of going up again and again against a superior enemy is James Morehead's In My Sights. Admittedly, it's P-40s but amazing stuff. Rambled and gone off topic again. Sorry!
Gotthard gets it. It is a P-39 Airacobra. One of the most interesting things of the aircraft is the swept-wing-like wing and the 37mm cannon. Name this aircraft..... to me, it looks similar to the P-38.
Waiting patiently for the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's Black Widow restoration to fly. Be worth the wait.
Gotthard gets it. It is a P-39 Airacobra. One of the most interesting things of the aircraft is the swept-wing-like wing and the 37mm cannon. Name this aircraft..... to me, it looks similar to the P-38. I never understood why the P38 was so disliked (in Europe anyway) on paper it looks like a good deal, its power to weight must be fantastic, its got a loads od scope for development, why was it no like. Im off the pount now but what brings me to it is Ive just finish Yeagers book and he has nothing but priase for P-39 which was also not liked. ??? Kev
Kev, I don't think I've ever read anything about the P-38 not being liked. Perhaps those who didn't like it wanted to get into glamourous P-51s?
Yeah. The P-38 wasn't used in the US 8th Air Force and they used P-51Ds instead.....But it was still sucessful in the Pacific theatre.
The 8th AF did use P-38s. Check out the 479th FG. However, the 8th was pretty keen on the Mustang as you say! The range and extra security of a second engine would have been quite sought after in the Pacific.
Charles Lindbergh, I heard, was a Lockheed test-pilot when he shot down a Japanese Aircraft. Some notable P-38 Pilots was Dick Bong, where he scored more of his 40 kills before he fell to his death. Charles Macdonald also flew a P-38 before he was killed in air-combat here in the Philippines.
Tom McGuire was another high scoring ace in '38s with 38 kills before himself being lost in combat (stalled at low level apparently). Both he and Richard Bong were recipients of the Medal of Honour. Bong bailed out of a failing P-80 jet he was testing in 1945 but was too low. Wasn't Lindbergh officially not allowed to fly on ops? I think we're hijacking the thread Arlo so perhaps we should start posting in The War in the Air? Love talking about this stuff.
Tom McGuire was another high scoring ace in '38s with 38 kills before himself being lost in combat (stalled at low level apparently). Both he and Richard Bong were recipients of the Medal of Honour. Bong bailed out of a failing P-80 jet he was testing in 1945 but was too low. Wasn't Lindbergh officially not allowed to fly on ops? I think we're hijacking the thread Arlo so perhaps we should start posting in The War in the Air? Love talking about this stuff. Now on Wikipedia it said the P38 had great stall charecteristics? Unusual for a fight aircraft , tend to be on the edge on instability to begin with. May be too good. Kev
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachments/air/5278d1177523224t-name-aircraft-test1-jpg Yo, threadjackers, I said SIAI Marchetti SM 92!!
