My article about the P-39 Airacobra in Soviet service in Issue 30 of The Aviation Historian

[Dan History]

I am pleased to announce that my article reviewing the importance of the American P-39 Airacobra fighter to the Soviet air force during the Second World War has been published in The Aviation Historian. I have been able to use information from a variety of archival documents and secondary sources to demonstrate that the Airacobra was a vital ingredient in the rebirth of Soviet air power in the later years of the war. Issue 30 is out now, see theaviationhistorian.com

My article benefited from the able assistance of Dr. Valeriy Romanenko, who is the head of research at the Ukraine State Aviation Museum in Kyiv. The text is illustrated with images from Valeriy's extensive collection.
I am also grateful to the editor, Nick Stroud, for publishing my piece and appending additional illustrations, including one provided by Philip Jarrett.

The kindness of several fellow researchers who kindly shared the fruit of their own labours has considerably enhanced my text. I thank forum members Andrew Arthy, Brian J. Bines, Johannes Matthews and Matti Salonen, as well as Gordon R. Birkett, Michael J. Claringbould, John B. Lundstrom and Steven J. Zaloga.

An image of an RAF Airacobra Mk. I appears on the magazine cover, together with a reference to my article in the header:

theaviationhistorian.com/images/shared/issue30-cover.jpg

To purchase the issue, go to theaviationhistorian.com/shop-europe.htm

The contents page for Issue 30 is available at theaviationhistorian.com/public-downloads/content-PDFs/tah30_contentspage.pdf

[Edward]

Congratulations Dan. I look forward to reading this.

"Charming the Snake". Who came up with this perfect title for the cover?

Edward

[Håkan]

Nice article!

The use of the Airacobra in the VVS is interesting.

It's fascinating that two of the fighters (Buffalo and Airacobra) that's regarded as the "worst" in the west was quite successful in the east!

//Håkan

[Dan History]

Originally Posted by Edward

Congratulations Dan. I look forward to reading this.

"Charming the Snake". Who came up with this perfect title for the cover?

Edward

Thank you, Edward!

The cover was entirely created by Nick. We had some disagreements concerning the article title and sub-headings, I prevailed in some cases and he in others, but I am glad he independently thought of a cover title which readers like!

In case any reader of this thread would like to have an alternative to purchasing the magazine as a hard copy, I should mention that The Aviation Historian is available digitally, the online purchase link is pocketmags.com/the-aviation-historian-magazine

Dan

[Dan History]

Originally Posted by Håkan

It's fascinating that two of the fighters (Buffalo and Airacobra) that's regarded as the "worst" in the west was quite successful in the east!

Thank you, Håkan!

It is interesting that you mentioned the Finnish air force use of the American Buffalo fighter in the context of Soviet employment of the Airacobra. The common thread is that both types were considered inferior by their country of origin, and for good reason, their performance was limited when compared with later fighters. However, their histories are very different.

The story of the four dozen Buffaloes in Finnish service is one of a triumph of a small group of very experienced pilots flying an inferior aircraft against largely superior types, but ones flown by under-trained opponents and often employing inferior tactics. By comparison, the story of the more than four thousand Airacobras which served with the air arms of the Soviet Union is one of a technical revolution, when the technically inferior Soviet military received an aircraft with powerful armament and good radio equipment, and hence obtained capabilities which it did not have. These capabilities were then put to good use in air combat both by experienced veterans, the most famous of whom is Alexander Pokryshkin; but also by novice pilots, a few among whom became famous aces exclusively flying the Airacobra. The stories of the Buffalo and the Airacobra both reflect in different ways the great weight of U.S. technology and productive capacity in the Second World War, especially in the relatively low-technology context of the air war on the Eastern front.

Dan

[Larry deZeng]

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S, Dan!

L.

[Dan History]

Thank you, Larry! I stand on the shoulders of giants