Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>P-39>HA1711

General Background

The P-39 Aircobra was one of the principal American land based fighters during the beginning of WWII. It first saw action in April 1942 but had not been successful against the Japanese “Zero” due to the lack of turbo-supercharger for high altitude operations.

The aircraft saw its real success in the hands of the Soviet Union. The Soviets liked the low altitude speed and maneuverability, excellent structural integrity, and heavy armament, everything they needed to fight the type of war on the Eastern Front. They were so pleased by these attributes that they nicknamed it “The Iron Dog”. There were 9,585 P-39s of all variants built with about 4,500 going to the Soviets.

The Aircraft

In 1942 the RAAF found themselves with a lack of British-designed interceptors and P- 40s. Without a way to fight the Japanese bombing raids on Northern Australia towns so as a stop-gap measure the RAAF had to resort to using older P-39Ds that the USAAF 5th AF had damaged and repaired. Eventually the RAAF 24th Squadron located in Townsville received seven new P-39F-1BEs on July 27, 1942. As it turned out adequate supplies of the P-39F-1BE weren’t available either so the seven that were supplied never did see combat. By November 1943 RAAF squadrons were being supplied with adequate numbers of Vultee Vengeance aircraft so the remaining P-39s were returned to the 5th AF except for three P-39F-1BEs and one P-39D that had been written off due to accidents.

Specifications :

Aircraft role:	Ground attack fighter
Crew:	1
Dimensions:
Length:	30 ft. 2 in.
Wing area:	213 sq. ft.
Wingspan:	34 ft.
Height:	12 ft. 5 in.
Performance:
Powerplant:	1 X Allison V-1710-85 1,200 hp
Speed:	cruising 330 mph at 5,000 ft.
	maximum 376 mph at 15,000 ft.
Climb rate:	2,600 ft/min to 5,000 ft. - to 15,000 ft. in 6 min 6 seconds
Service Ceiling:	38,270 ft. with best performance below 20,000 ft.
Range:	300 miles because of smaller fuel tanks in this version
Weight:
Empty:	5,645 lbs.