Placing the Bell P39 Aircobra.

[Juha]

Hello
what I have read the Russians liked P-39's radio, so I doubt that it was usual to remove it. And I have never read before that the two .5 mgs in the nose were removed. On the other hand wing mgs were rather often removed to lighten the plane and maybe also to improve the rate of roll. This can be seen from many photos. In about ½ of the photos on Russian P-39s which I have seen and from which it have been possible to see the area were wing guns are/should be the wing mgs were removed.

A good interview of a Soviet ex-P-39 pilot can be seen here http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/englis...ikov/part3.htm

Juha

[Empiricist]

Hi Juha,

You know, war = no rules. Theoretically Kingfisher was armed with flexible gun at radioman position. Theoretically. Try to find its typical AN M2 machine gun behind the pilot in the rear-based Kingfishers when the life rafts replaced the guns in radiomen's cockpits.

When it comes to the Russian P-39s -- theoretically perhaps you are right. The Russian manual of 1944 I mentioned shows P-39 cutaway with complete set of two guns per wing. Heaven knows what the units did in the field however...

Regards

E.