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P-39 AiraCobra

Bell P-39 Airacobra

1. - Development

2. - Serial #'s

3. - Operational History

4. - Variants

XP-39

• XP-39-BE (1 completed). Prototype. Powered by a Allison V-1710-17 (E2) engine (1,150 hp) fitted with a B-5 two-stage turbosupercharger. Provision was made for two .50 cal machine guns in the forward fuselage and one 25 mm cannon but aircraft remained unarmed.

YP-39

• YP-39-BE (12 completed): Service test version, V-1710-37 (E5) engine (1,090 hp). First two aircraft delivered with armament, the remained with a M-4 37mm cannon with 15 rounds, a pair of .50 cal machine guns with 200 rounds per gun, and two .30 cal machine guns with 500 rounds per gun in the nose. wider vertical tail than XP-39B.

• YP-39A-BE (1 completed). Intended to have a high-altitude V-1710-31 engine (1,150 hp) but delivered as a regular YP-39.

XP-39B

• XP-39B-BE (1 conversion). Streamlined XP-39 based on NACA wind tunnel testing resulting in revised canopy and wheel door shape, oil and radiator intakes moved from right fuselage to wing roots, Fuselage increased length (by 1 ft 1 in to 29 ft 9 in) and decreased wingspan (by 1 ft 10 in to 34 ft). Turbosupercharger replaced with single-stage geared supercharger, Allison V-1710-37 (E5) engine (1,090 hp), Carburetor air intake moved to Fuselage behind canopy.

P-39C

• P-39C-BE (20 Produced). First production version, identical to YP-39 except for V-1710-35 engine (1,150 hp). Armed with 1x 37mm cannon, 2x .50 cal and 2x .30 cal machine guns in the nose. Aircraft lacked armor and self-sealing fuel tanks.

Airacobra I

• Airacobra I (3 delivered). Three P-39C sent to England for War Testing.

• Airacobra Ia. P-400 designation indicates British Contract. Briefly called Caribou. V-1710-E4 (1150hp) engine, 20mm cannon with 60 rounds & Two 0.50cal machine guns were mounted nose and four 0.303cal machine guns were mounted in the wings. IFF set removed from behind pilot. note: the designation Ia indicates direct purchase aircraft.

P-39D

• P-39D-BE (60 Produced). P-39C reordered with 245 lb of additional armor, self-sealing fuel tanks. Armament increased to 1x 37mm cannon (30 rounds), 2x .50 cal (200 rounds/gun) and 4x wing mounted .30 cal (1,000 rounds/gun) machine guns.

• P-39D-1BE (336 produced). M1 20mm M1 cannon. Specifically ordered for delivery under Lend-Lease.

• P-39D-2BE (158 produced). V-1710-63 (E6) engine (1,325 hp) restored the 37mm cannon, provisions for a single 145 US gallon drop tank or maximum 500lb bomb under the fuselage.

• P-39D-3BE (26 conversions). P-39D-1's converted to Photo Reconnaissance Configuration. K-24 and K-25 camera in rear fuselage, extra armor for oil coolers

• P-39D-4BE (11 conversions). P-39D-2 converted to Photo Reconnaissance Configuration. Same mods as D-3 aircraft.

XP-39E

• XP-39E-BE (3 ordered): P-39D's modified for ground and flight testing. Intended for Continental I-1430-1 engine with (2,100 hp) actually flown with Allison V-1710-47 (1,325hp) engine. Airframes were used to test various wing and different vertical tail surfaces. Fuselage was lengthened by 1.75 feet. Used in the development of the P-63. Redesignated: Bell XP-76

P-39F

• P-39F-1BE (229 produced). Aeroproducts constant speed propeller, twelve exhaust stacks.

• TP-39F-1BE (1 conversion). Two-seat training version with additional cockpit added in nose - no armament.

• P-39F-2BE (27 conversions). P-39F-1 with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

P-39G

• P-39G-BE. Intended to be a P-39D-2 with an Aeroproducts propeller. Due to modifications during production no P-39G were actually delivered. Instead, these aircraft were designated P-39K, L, M and N.

P-39H

P-39J

• P-39J-BE (25 produced). P-39F with V-1710-59 (1,100 hp) engine with automatic boost control.

P-39K

• P-39K-1 (210 produced). P-39D-2BE with Aeroproducts propeller and V-1710-63 (E6) (1,325 hp) engine. Vents added to nose

• P-39K-2BE (6 conversions). P-39K-1 with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

• P-39K-5BE (1 conversion). V-1710-85 (E19) engine to serve as a P-39N prototype

P-39L

• P-39L-1BE (250 Produced). P-39K with Curtiss Electric propeller, revised nose gear for reduced drag, provision for underwing rockets.

• P-39L-2BE (11 conversions). P-39L-1 with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

P-39M

• P-39M-1BE (240 Produced). 11 ft 1 in Aeroproducts propeller, V-1710-67 (E8) (1,200 hp) engine with improved high-altitude performance at the expense of low-altitude performance, 10 mph faster than P-39L at convert|15000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on. Note: some P-39M-1BE were delivered with the V-1710-83 (E18) engine.

P-39N

• P-39N-BE (500 produced). Originally part of the P-39G order. V-1710-85 (E19) (1,200 hp) engine. Aeroproducts propeller (10 ft 4 in diameter) & different propeller reduction gear ratio. Starting with the 167th aircraft, propellor increased to 11 ft 7 in & internal fuel reduced from 120gal to 87gals.

• P-39N-1BE (900 produced). Internal changes to adjust center of gravity when nose guns were fired.

• P-39N-2BE (128 conversions). P-39N-1 with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

• P-39N-3BE (35 conversions). P-39N with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

• P-39N-5BE (695 produced). Armor reduced from 231 to 193 pounds, Armor plate replaced the bulletproof glass behind the pilot, SCR-695 radio was fitted, and a new oxygen system was installed.

• P-39N-6BE (84 conversions). P-39N-5 with additional belly armor and cameras in rear fuselage.

P-39O

P-39P

P-39Q

• P-39Q-1BE (150 produced). Wing-mounted 0.30cal machine guns replaced with a single 0.50cal with 300 rounds of ammunition in a pod under each wing. Armor increased to the original 231 pounds of armor of the P-39N-1BE.

• P-39Q-2BE (5 conversions). P-39Q-1's modified to carry cameras for photographic reconnaissance by adding K-24 and K-25 cameras in the aft fuselage.

• P-39Q-5BE (950 produced). Reduced armor (193 pounds), fuel capacity increased (110gal). Type A-1 bombsight adapters added.

• TP-39Q-5BE (1 conversions). Two-seat training version with additional cockpit added in nose - no armament. Enlarged tail fillet and an shallow ventral fin added.

• P-39Q-6BE (148 conversions). P-39Q-5's modified to carry cameras for photographic reconnaissance by adding K-24 and K-25 cameras in the aft fuselage.

• P-39Q-10BE (705 produced). Increased armor (228 pounds), fuel capacity increased (120gal). Automatic Boost controls added and Throttle & RPM controls were coordinated. Winterization of oil systems and rubber mounts added to the engines.

• P-39Q-11BE (8 conversions). P-39Q-10's modified to carry cameras for photographic reconnaissance by adding K-24 and K-25 cameras in the aft fuselage.

• P-39Q-15BE (1,000 produced). Reinforced inclined deck to prevent .50cal machine gun tripod mounting cracking, bulkhead reinforcements to prevent rudder pedal wall cracking, a reinforced reduction gearbox bulkhead to prevent cowling former cracking, and repositioning of the battery solenoid. Oxygen system reduced from four bottle to only two.

• P-39Q-20BE (1,000 produced). Minor equipment changes. The underwing 0.50cal machine gun pods were sometimes omitted in this version.

• P-39Q-21BE (109 converted). P-39Q-20 fitted with a four-bladed Aeroproducts propeller.

• RP-39Q-22BE (12 conversions). Two seat trainer conversions of the P-39Q-20.

• P-39Q-25BE (700 produced). Similar to the Q-21 but with a reinforced aft-fuselage and horizontal stabilizer structure.

• P-39Q-30BE (400 produced). Reverted back to the three-bladed propellor

• XTDL-1 (2 acquired). P-39Q's used by the US Navy for use as target drones. Assigned to NAS Cape May for test work. Later redesignated F2L-1K.

Other

• P-45: The P-45 was the initial designation of the P-39C or Model 13.
• XFL-1 Airabonita: One prototype for the U.S. Navy.

5. - Technical Specifications

6. - Operators

7. - Current Squadrons

8. - Links

9. - Markings

10. - References