Top USAAF P-400 pilot ?

[Alfred.MONZAT]

All P-400s had the Hispano-Suiza 20 mm cannon but not all the P-39s had the Oldsmobile 37 mm cannon. For example, the D-1 variant (almost identical to the P-400, only the caliber of the wing MGs change slightly) had the 20 mm cannon. And also there was field modification in Russia but maybe by the Americans too as the Hispano was more reliable and less prone to jam than the Oldsmobile.

[bearoutwest]

Hello Frank.

Donald Green - 39 FS - unfortunately doesn't appear in the Aces-bio section or the 4-victory appendix section of your book Stars & Bars. I presume because he only scored/claimed 3 victories.

I don't supposed you'd like to tease us with some more details of his P-400 claims?

Regards,
...geoff

PS. If you ever make a searchable pdf version of your book available ....there will be a lot of forumites in factophile heaven.

[Stig Jarlevik]

1/Lt Donald Green 39FS

9 June 1942, 10.40H, Zero over Morobe, New Guinea in a P-400
18 June 1942, 11.57H, Zero x 2 over Rorona, Port Moresby in a P-400

Courtesy Frank Olynyk's Victory list No 3

Cheers
Stig

[bearoutwest]

Thanks Stig.
You are as fast as your namesake on that motoring show.

...geoff

[Stig Jarlevik]

He, he, he Geoff

Just wondered when anyone would notice
Not much for motor shows, but those three guys were just great!

Cheers
Stig

[knusel]

Good afternoon Gentlemen,

I suppose the RAF didn't shoot anything down in the three days of Airacobra service ?

Cheers,

Michael

[bearoutwest]

6 RAF operational Airacobra sorties by 601 Sqn over the space of 3-4 days, together with 3 Hurricane sorties by another flight of 601 Sqn. All were ground attack "rhubarbs". No aircraft claims but a number of barges and trawlers were shot up.

You can do a preview of Phil Listemann's bookazine "Forgotten Fighters" via google-books. If you're lucky you get part of the Airacobra chapter to read.

...geoff

[knusel]

Good afternoon Geoff,

according to Jon Guttman, the RAF Airacobras flew missions on three consecutive days only: 9th, 10th and 11th October 1941.
As a mothertongue-speaker, can you tell me the story behind the second "a" within the word "Airacobra" ? Wouldn't "Aircobra" be a more straightforward word ?

Michael

[bearoutwest]

Hello Michael,
I read through my references on the RAF operations quickly, so you are most likely correct that it was only over 3 days.

As for the name Air-a-cobra....I've never given it much thought. There is never any necessity to apply too much logic to names which are meant to rhyme or are a fun twist on another name. I had a quick look at the Air Vectors website - they seem to say that the previous Bell designed aircraft was named Airacuda which was itself a play on words of Barracuda. In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a great deal of popularity with word alliterations and other plays on words. Hence the popularity of British aircraft names Gloster Grebe/Gamecock/Gauntlet/Gladiator, the Hawker Harts/Hinds/Henley/Hurricane, Bristol Blenheim/Beaufort/Beaufighter, etc. On the other side of the Atlantic, it seemed less popular in aircraft names, but Bell was supposed to have named the Airacobra to rhyme with the sing-song style of the Airacuda name. Didn't seem as popular in the 1940s with the P-63 being known as the Kingcobra not the King-a-cobra.

Food for thought anyway.
...geoff

[knusel]

Good afternoon Geoff,

thanks for your elaborate post which answers my linguistic question completely :-)
I wish you a good start into a delightful new week,

Michael