http://web.mac.com/vizcarraguitars/350th_Fighter_Group_Blog/350th_FG_Blog/350th_FG_Blog.html
 
 Above is the link for the 350th fighter group blog .Lots of P39 pictures in it.Thought you guys would be interested in it if you haven't seen it yet .
 
Tony

Rob        there is a slightly later photo of 167 (about Oct. ) with white wingtips and spinner , sharkmouth and still with " US ARMY "under the wings; the red centre in the insignia must have been painted out pretty quick as per instructions (dating back to May 1942 just before Midway) but was still just visible.
There's a P-39 on that 350FG site with an identical mouth but with an eye added.    
 
The first lend-lease Model 14s  for Britain had a most unusual colour division , evidently mis-interpreted by the Bell factory ; high up the fuselage (later corrected), looked smart though.           Regards   Nick

The first lend-lease Model 14s for Britain had a most unusual colour division , evidently mis-interpreted by the Bell factory ; high up the fuselage (later corrected), looked smart though.

 
Nick those would have been the AH serials, I have seen pictures of this unusual paint scheme. Tony thanks for the link I noticed a couple of pictures like the one Tony mentioned including one taken in the air! Unfortunately no serial number can be assertained. The P-400 as you may have noticed has an interest for me :-).
 
Rob

http://www.geocities.com/raf_112_sqdn/

 No problem Rob.My personal opinion about the P39/P400 was that it was a great ground attack aircraft ((the Russians swore by them in WW2) and it would have been a pretty good dog fighter if they only would have put the supercharger on it in the beginning .

Rob      you may agree( or no ! ) with a few details on some of those P-39s on the web-site---
no.2102  taken at Burtonwood Depot 1943 ( P-400 may be BX187 ? ). RAF camo pattern is visible.
 
no.2101  P-400 at Bassingbourn ( 91BG ) ,may be BX409  1942 pre-Torch.
 
no.563  RAF Airacobras....601 Sqn. Aug .1941 before ops commenced...a press visit at Duxford; UF--O at front of line of 13 Airacobra Is is AH585, all had non-standard exhausts fitted. 601s red winged sword is in the white of the fin flash.
 
no. 523  air-to-air one probably a "K", there are a couple more photos of this wavy pattern on Ks ( this isn't the scheme I meant though, that was a straight division further up ).
 
The Russians used them in air combat as well as ground-attack and scored many victories with them, some aces preferred them to later types; they were certainly more popular than Spitfires, Hurricanes or P-40s and several Guards units had them. Their results were remarkable considering the quality of the opposition.
They seemed to prefer the later models to the first ones ( ex-British Airacobra Is with rifle-calibre guns which they didn't like ). The Soviets called them " Kobras ".                                       Nick
                                                                                         

Hi Guys,
Any information like this you might want to share and can confirm about the photos I have posted on my 350th Blog are greatly appreciated. I have yet to append the data for the P-39 years. The sharkmouth P-39 is an interesting bird that was flown by the 345th. What you see in part are photos taken during various phases of paint jobs and repainting. I will be appending the stories and data as I am able. It is all in another data base right now. There is a link on my page to email me or add comments. For those who like to help with the research, they usually email directly with a file name of the photo to which they are commenting along with a comment. It is fairly easy for me to cut and paste these comments as captions and reload the web page. I am glad you are enjoying the photos. When my father flew the P-400 he told me how there were certain controls which were reversed from the P-39s. If I remember correctly, the most hazardly one was that the flaps and the wheels were switched!

Little Vic II -Keith-345th FS archivist

BX187 I would agree with USAAF 1943
BX409 all I have on it (could not read serial no matter what I did with the photo) Conniff, Eugene F, 29 Aug 44, Homebase Yuma AAF, Yuma, AZ , Forced Landing fuel exhausted, this alone would not eliminate it from England during 1942. They are an elusive group of aircraft to trace with the limited resources I have

http://www.geocities.com/raf_112_sqdn/

I have this : BX409 to USAAF. to reclamation at Luke AAF, AZ Mar 13, 1946
This too does not eliminate it from England. I posted a close up of the tail and serial number on the website. The "9" is a tough call, but likely.

Little Vic II -Keith-345th FS archivist

Some rare photo's in this thread.
Blog looking good Keith!!
Rick

Thanks Rick.

RAF112,
I believe the one in flight you mentioned is 1620 and also shown on the ground in 364. It is named Daytona Beach. Serial number 42-9398. Devilhawk on right side of plane but not on the left.

Little Vic II -Keith-345th FS archivist

Rob-Tom-et al--           this is the Oct. 1940 specified scheme for Lend-Lease Model 14s as it should have been applied by Bell; as mentioned before some early styles of top-bottom demarcation were very different though the colours were the same.
I coloured it in for clarity but please note the colours are approximate. A month later an 18" wide sky band was authorised for the rear fuselage ( not always put on this scheme but usual on the grey-green one ).
On arrival the dark earth was replaced by "mixed grey" pending available supplies of the correct "Ocean Grey".
The Dupont "Sky type S grey" was the standard British Sky , just a different name. In most  photos it looks almost white.
As this was based on the Bell drawings the aircraft has 6 exhausts rather than the usual 12 per side.
 
Regards    Nick

Attached Image(s)

Keith you ask which P-39 I was going to build ,this is the one even though the shark mouth with the 345 FS patch on the side is a good one but beyond my painting talent.
Need to find a good 1/72 P-39 or just go with 1/48 .

[image]local://10483/35F0360CBBAC4402868B0160346E77F4.jpg[/image]

Attached Image(s)

ORIGINAL: buckeyeuk

Rob-Tom-et al--           this is the Oct. 1940 specified scheme for Lend-Lease Model 14s as it should have been applied by Bell; as mentioned before some early styles of top-bottom demarcation were very different though the colours were the same.
I coloured it in for clarity but please note the colours are approximate. A month later an 18" wide sky band was authorised for the rear fuselage ( not always put on this scheme but usual on the grey-green one ).
On arrival the dark earth was replaced by "mixed grey" pending available supplies of the correct "Ocean Grey".
The Dupont "Sky type S grey" was the standard British Sky , just a different name. In most  photos it looks almost white.
As this was based on the Bell drawings the aircraft has 6 exhausts rather than the usual 12 per side.

Regards    Nick

Hi Nick ,
On your attachment it has the stencil non-magnetic armour,were they talking about the wind shield?
Thanks
 
 

I think it was to try and help the compass from going out of whack.
 
Rob

Yes that makes sence .I guess I was thinking to much in to it and it ended up being easier question than I thought at first.
Thanks  

The P-39 regularly gets a pretty bad rap.  Had a chance to talk to a couple guys who flew them recently at the 347th Reunion, and they spoke favorably of the Airacobra.

Fred Smith said the cannon was a joke, it would always jam after 2 or 3 rounds.  Apparently there was a lever at the lower left you could clear jams with, but it never worked.  As far as flying the plane, Fred said he thought it flew real well, as long as you kept it out of a spin.

Ken Thomason also said it was a real sporty plane to fly, although when he was training on it in Thomasville, GA, "people came from miles away to tell me how sorry they were for me I was going to fly it."

Grandson of 1st Lt. Bernell A. "Barney" Forster (1921-2007)
347th Fighter Squadron/350th Fighter Group

Tom,
The more guys you talk to who flew the p-39 - the more guys you will find who liked it. They also know the best songs and nicknames about it. The flying coffin was one of the more common names. They also mention how it was an efficient plane. When it crashed - the prop would dig your grave and the fuselage made for a nice coffin. Actually, in one of my dad's three crashes in a P-39 you can see that the prop was frozen. No grave dug. Somewhere I have one of the pilots singing the P-39 anthem. I will try to post it on the blog if I can. My father thought the P-39 made a better pilot of you if you survived it. My dad actually got one up to angels30 on a scramble after a JU88. He said he really hoped he didn't catch the JU because if he did, he was pretty sure firing the cannon or the guns would knock the 39 out of the air. But, as I mentioned, every pilot that I talk to who actually flew the P-39s really did enjoy them, just not above angels10.

or over water......

That P-39 anthem would be interesting.
I'm sure it has some "nice" words in it .
Ask your dad why it spun so easy ,I'm guessing because the engine was towards the back  so screwing up the center of gravity.

Rick

rickpeck2


That P-39 anthem would be interesting.
I'm sure it has some "nice" words in it .
Ask your dad why it spun so easy ,I'm guessing because the engine was towards the back  so screwing up the center of gravity.

Rick

Exactly what Fred said, Rick: the mid-mount engine made for a "balanced" plane, so when it stalled, it spun flat.  Without the heavy nose, you couldn't just push the stick forward and have gravity work its magic.  Think I recall a Red Ass Screams article where Fighter pulled out of one these somehow, but not after losing a couple pounds in sweat.  I'll have to look that one up...