“Bell P 39Q pacific combat veteran” Bell 1944 Up for auction is a Bell P 39Q 20 BE fighter aircraft.
Item specifics
| Used |
| “Bell P-39Q pacific combat veteran” |
| Make: | Bell | Model Year: | 1944 |
The aircraft had 37 bombing missions painted on the side of the cab but also had an unknown number of Japanese flags symbolizing aircraft kills that were cut out by an unknown person prior to recovery. the Cobra"s serial number is AAF 44-3106 (44 being the fiscal year only as it was made in 42). the panel depicting the kills will be kept and is not included in the project.
The project consists of lots of parts including but not limited to:
The main fuselage from firewall to behind the engine cradle
Complete left hand wing
Right hand wing smashed but fairly complete
Most exterior panels
Air intake scoop
Gearbox
damaged propeller
extra spinner+backing plate
landing gear covers
wing tips
pilots seat
armor glass frames
gun sight, some instruments
37mm cannon mounts
drive shafts
armor plating
exhaust shrouds
a full set of engineering drawings
etc etc way too many parts to list
This project is being sold to help with funding in the restoration of other P-39 aircraft.
New cabin doors and wing flaps are currently being made for my other P-400 / P-39 projects and new / rebuilt parts can be made available to the purchaser of this project.
I currently have every part to make this aircraft airworthy again, including nos center sections, rudders, elevators, electric motors etc and can provide copies of parts if a rebuild progresses to that stage.
The aircraft is located in Australia and i will load in to a container and ship World wide at the buyers expense, rough estimates would be $5000 to the USA, $6000 to the UK etc.
With only two P-39 aircraft airworthy anywhere in the world, this is an extremely rare and valuable aircraft with a documented combat history, so serious bidders only please.
A bit about the P-39 airacobra:
There are a lot of misconceptions about the P-39 in combat, it lacked a high altitude supercharger like later aircraft but below 10,000ft it will run rings around any P-51 or P-40, the rearward CG of the P-39 means its a pure aerobatic aircraft if loaded properly, problems encountered during the war were mainly caused by poor early war maintenance and inexperienced pilots, a common problem was when all of the cannon ammunition was used up the CG would move rearward and the aircraft would flick into a spin if it was aggressively maneuvered in this condition, another myth is that the P-39 would tumble end on end which was proven false:
The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. The P-39 was used with great success by the Soviet Air Force, which scored the highest number of individual kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type. Other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage.[6] Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work. As such it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe and passed over to the USSR where performance at high altitude was less important. Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.
U.S. Army Air ForcesPacific 72nd Tactical Recon Group P-39, c. 1942 Bell 9-39 from the United States requisitioned 200 aircraft of the order destined for the UK, adopting them as P-400s (named for advertised top speed of 400 mph (644 km/h)). After Pearl Harbor, the P-400 was deployed to training units, but some saw combat in the Southwest Pacific including with the Cactus Air Force in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Though outclassed by Japanese fighter aircraft, it performed well in strafing and bombing runs, often proving deadly in ground attacks on Japanese forces trying to retake Henderson Field. Guns salvaged from P-39s were sometimes fitted to Navy PT boats to increase firepower. Pacific pilots often complained about problems of performance and unreliable armament, but by the end of 1942, the P-39 units of the Fifth Air Force had claimed about 80 Japanese aircraft, with a similar number of P-39s lost. By any standard the Airacobra and its pilots held their ground against the Japanese. Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force P-39s did not score more aerial victories in the Solomons due to the aircraft"s limited range and poor high altitude performance. Airacobras first fought Japanese Zeros on 30 April 1942 in a low level action near Lae, New Guinea. From May to August 1942 combat between Airacobras and Zeros took place on a regular basis over New Guinea. 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. From September to November 1942 pilots of the 57th Fighter Squadron flew P-39s and P-38s from an airfield built on land bulldozed into Kuluk Bay on the barren island of Adak in Alaska"s Aleutian Islands. They attacked the Japanese forces which had invaded Attu and Kiska islands in the Aleutians in June 1942. The factor that claimed the most lives was not the Japanese but the weather. The low clouds, heavy mist and fog, driving rain, snow, and high winds made flying dangerous and lives miserable. The 57th remained in Alaska until November 1942, then returned to the United States. USAAF Bell P-400 (P-39) Airacobra (80th Fighter Squadron "Headhunters," 8th FG) Lt. Bill Fiedler became an ace in a P-39, while many U.S. aces scored one or two of their victories in the type. The Airacobra"s low-altitude performance was good and its firepower was impressive, and with air battles in the Pacific fought at intermediate altitudes, the P-39 did well against light and agile Japanese A6Ms and Ki-43s (considering American numerical inferiority and Japanese veteran pilots). It soon became the joke in the Pacific Theatre that a P-400 was a P-40 with a Zero on its tail. Only with its cannon, two .50 and four .30 caliber machine guns could a P-39 face a Japanese fighter.
Racing Mira Slovak"s P-39Q "Mr. Mennen" The Airacobra was raced at the National Air Races in the United States after World War II. Famous versions used for racing included the twin aircraft known as "Cobra I" and "Cobra II," owned jointly between three Bell Aircraft test pilots, Chalmers "Slick" Goodlin, Alvin M. "Tex" Johnston, and Jack Woolams. These aircraft were extensively modified to use the more powerful P-63 engine and had prototype propeller blades from the Bell factory. "Cobra I" with its pilot, Jack Woolams, was lost in 1946 during a test flight over Lake Ontario, late in the afternoon, possibly at speeds of up to 400 mph. The aircraft suddenly and inexplicably crashed into the water, breaking apart upon impact. 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 Thompson Trophy race. Cobra II competed again in the 1947 Thompson Trophy, finishing 3rd. In the 1948 Thompson trophy, she was unable to finish due to engine difficulties. Cobra II did not race again and was destroyed on 10 August 1968 during a test flight prior to an attempt at the world piston-engine air speed record, when owner-pilot Mike Carroll lost control and crashed. Carroll died and the highly modified P-39 was destroyed. Mira Slovak"s P-39Q "Mr. Mennen" (Race #21, former USAAC serial no. 44-3908, civil registry NX40A) was a very fast unlimited racer; a late arrival in 1972 kept the 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) racer out of the Reno races, and she was never entered again. Her color scheme was all white with "Mennen" green and bronze trim. She is now owned and displayed by the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, in the color scheme of P-400 "Whistlin" Britches."P-39Q-20Production variant with minor equipment changes. The underwing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine gun pods were sometimes omitted in this version; 1,000 built.Specifications (P-39Q) Bell P-39Q Airacobra at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
General characteristics Crew: One Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.2 m) Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.4 m) Height: 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m) Wing area: 213 sq ft (19.8 m²) Empty weight: 5,347 lb (2,425 kg) Loaded weight: 7,379 lb (3,347 kg) Max. takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,800 kg) Powerplant: 1 × Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW) Performance Maximum speed: 376 mph (605 km/h) (Redline dive speed was 525 mph) Range: 525 miles on internal fuel (840 km) Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,700 m) Rate of climb: 3,750 ft/min (19 m/s) Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
Time to climb: 15,000 in 4.5 min at 160 mph (260 km/h). Armament
Guns:
1 x 37 mm M4 cannon in nose (firing through the propeller hub). 30 rounds of HE-T ammunition gun.2 x .50 cal (12.7 mm) synchronized Browning M2 machine guns, nose-mounted. 200 rounds per gun2 x .50 cal (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns, wing mounted. 300 rounds per gun Bombs: Up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs under wings and belly
Current date: 2015-06-14