Brewster F2A Buffalo or P-39 Airacobra?

[P38 Pilot]

P-39 for me. Wasn't there a Russian Ace who got most of his kills with the P-39?

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Alexander Pokryshkin was he.

Here is a painting of his fighter.

In early 1937, Bell Aircraft presented a revolutionary fighter design to the USAAC, the P-39 Airacobra. Incorporating machine guns and the most powerful cannon available, the new design by Robert Woods, utilized many revolutionary design features. The all-metal, low wing, monoplane design utilized a centrally located engine in the fuselage, a feature which enhanced maneuverability. A nine foot shaft ran through the cockpit to drive the propeller. Wood's design was the first fighter to incorporate a forward tricycle landing gear, which gave the P-39 pilot great visibility while on the ground. The first prototype flew in 1938. Equipped with a supercharged Allison water-cooled V-12 rated at 1,150-HP, the prototype performed admirably. It exhibited a top speed of 390-MPH, and an amazingly quick rate of climb. Unfortunately for the Airacobra, the USAAC decided to eliminate the supercharged engine from the project, a move which would relegate the Airacobra to the distinction of being America's forgotten fighter of WW II. Without the supercharger the P-39's performance at altitude was inferior to most of the adversaries it would face. In 1941 lend-leased Airacobras went into battle with the RAF, but were quickly withdrawn from front line duty. Many of these, and many others eventually found service with the Red Air Force. In fact the Soviets ultimately received more than half of the 9,500 aircraft produced. Alexander Pokryshkin was the second highest scoring Soviet ace of WW II with fifty-nine victories. Forty-eight of these were achieved why flying the Aircacobra. Pokryshkin was a great leader who inspired others who flew under his command. He joined the Red Air Force in 1933 and attained his first victory (over a Bf-109E) in June of 1941 while piloting a Mig-3. He was a great tactician, and a student of fighter tactics. On one occasion his unit attacked a flight of sixteen Ju-87s, and Pokryshkin bagged four. While flying in the Caucasus region he became well known to his German adversaries, who would radio, "Achtung! Der *** Pokryshkin in der luft!" when they realized he was airborne. Shot down on 4 occasions, he was made squadron commander of the elite 16th Guards IAP. Considered the father of Soviet fighter tactics, thirty pilots under his command would go on to be awarded the coveted "Hero of the Soviet Union" medal. The P-39 also was in service with several units in the Pacific early in the War. Lacking sufficient range to be used for many escort missions, and deficient in dog fighting against the superior Japanese aircraft they faced, the P-39s were relegated by the USAAC to ground attack missions. The aircraft was withdrawn from front line service as more capable P-38s, P-47s, and P-51s became available. In spite of the deficiencies of the P-39, a derivative design, the P-63 Kingcobra, was one of only nine designs evaluated by the USAAF in 1942-43 to be put into production. Although similar in appearance the P-63 was actually a totally new design. It was not produced in any great quantity, and two hundred of these aircraft were modified into "Flying Pinballs," and were used to train B-17 gunners.

[P38 Pilot]

Wow. How many kills did Alexander Pokryshkin get?

[MacArther]

Alexander Pokryshkin was the second highest scoring Soviet ace of WW II with fifty-nine victories

There ya go, seems ya might have missed it (I know I did 2 times).

[P38 Pilot]

How many kills did he get with the P-39?

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by P38 Pilot

How many kills did he get with the P-39?

59

WW II ACE STORIES

[P38 Pilot]

Thats amazing.

[MacArther]

I found a cool paint scheme for the buffalo just recently, and decided that this would be the only topic that it would fit into, so here it is...

[Wildcat]

I reckon I've seen that before. Do you have any info about it Mac?

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I'd use the P-39 on ground attack missions, just like the russians did, and if there were any stukas I could have a field day.

[MacArther]

From what I remember, it was a Stateside plane...beyond that, I don't know.
I THINK I got the picture fromWINGS PALETTE - Brewster B-239/339/F2A Buffalo

[Le Stuka]

P-39 purely because of the 37mm cannon and the looks. In the ground attack role I would use it any day!

[JF3D]

P-39 with the 20MM and 4 fifty's. the 37MM wasn't that good a gun. the 20 had better ballistics, better ROF and more rounds. The 39's used to fly over the mountain range (Stanley's?) in PNG and come screaming down on the JAF on the north side of the island. When they had the height and speed, they did OK. It's when they got caught low and out of energy is when they got clobbered. The guy who ordered them without turbo/supercharger's should have been made to walk naked covered in honey through grizzly bears during mating season.

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

[Marcel]

My choice is the buffalo, but more because of the de-navalised, heavier armed B-239, which the Fins used. They showed that with some small modifications, the small plane could match anything the Russians could throw at it, agains overwhelming odds. I always wonder how the Fins could do so well with planes that were, eh, not so good in other theatres. Not only the Brewster, also with the ms406, Fokker DXXI, Bleheim, Fiat G50 etc. Maybe if they had some P39, they would have put it in good use as well.