The first American fighter fitted with a tricyle undercarriage and mid-mounted engine, the P-39 proved less than successful in the hands of its launch customer, the US Army Air Force (AAF). Hampered by unreliabilty and poor engine performance at high altitude, the P-39 nevertheless served alongside the P-40 and P-38 in the bitter struggle to capture Guadalcanal in 1942/43, as well as seeing much action over the jungles of New Guinea. Around a dozen AAF aces scored five kills with the P-39, although this total was far outstripped by the Soviet Red Air Force, whose pilots rated the Airacobra as one of the best lend-lease fighters of the war.
| ISBN: | 9781841762043 |
| Publication date: | 25th July 2001 |
| Author: | John Stanaway, George Mellinger |
| Illustrator: | Jim Illustrator Laurier |
| Publisher: | Osprey Publishing an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 96 pages |
| Series: | Aircraft of the Aces |
| Genres: |
Air forces and warfare European history Second World War Modern warfare |