P-39 Airacobra Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces S., #36)

by John Stanaway and George Mellinger

Jim Laurier (Illustrator), Iain Wyllie (Illustrator), and Mark Styling (Illustrator)

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Book cover for P-39 Airacobra Aces of World War 2

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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.
  • ISBN10 1841762040
  • ISBN13 9781841762043
  • Publish Date 25 July 2001
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
  • Imprint Osprey Publishing
  • Format Paperback
  • Pages 96
  • Language English