Help indentifying US Plane?

[LutherMoore]

It has '132'on the side and on the tail'228 or 229' It was taken in Cactus,Guadacanal in 1944.I know it is a P-39.
[IMG][/IMG]

[gbalke]

Looks like a P-39 Air Cobra to me; look at the scoop behind the cockpit, the door and the vents just aft of the door. Here's a link for comparison photos. Forward - Military Aircraft Pictures left view of a Bell P-39 Airacobra at rest; color

[Datrus]

gbalke is right. P-39 Air Cobra. Just look at the exhaust behind the cockpit. The engine was behind the pilot. Many pilots did not like this plane. They even made a sarcastic song about it. Maybe that is why it was in the lend-lease program for Soviet union.

[LutherMoore]

Sorry guys I should of been more specific I am trying to find out what US Squad,Airforce etc.Thanks fr the help anyway it's still very interesting.What was the song?

[Walkwolf]

'Make Me Operations'

".....Don't give me a P-39,
With an engine that's mounted behind,
It will tumble and roll and dig a big hole,
Don't give me a P-39....."

[Thanatos]

An interesting P-39 Image



The running gear,Allison to spinner.
The 37mm cannon.
Hope that drive shaft stays attached or it's oo roo manhood.
Not a very popular airframe,Bailing out was near impossible due to the side cockpit door,If you could roll out the tail planes were a big problem (impact).
cheers
Dave

[bikerboyzx6r]

This is off the net

Guadalcanal

The Airacobra arrived on Guadalcanal in the shape of a detachment of P-400s of the 67th “Fighting Cocks” Fighter Squadron, under the command of Captain Dale Brannon. The detachment arrived on Guadalcanal on 22 August 1942, and scored its first victory two days later. Despite this early success the Airacobra was not well suited to the fighting above Guadalcanal. Too many of the Japanese aircraft were flying at heights over 20,000 feet, giving the P-400s little chance of reaching them let alone fighting effectively. The 67th lost ten of its 14 P-400s in just four days of operations, forcing General Vandegrift to order that no more P-400s should be flown unless there was an extreme emergency. This rather well described the situation on the island for some time, and in October 1942 the 339th Fighter Squadron arrived on the island with its Airacobras.

The situation for the Airacobra units improved somewhat when they switched from high level interception to low level ground and sea attack duties, attacking Japanese troops, nearby bases such as Munda or taking part in attacks on Japanese shipping. The pilots on Guadalcanal reported the same problems with the unreliable guns as those on New Guinea, blaming the cables used to charge the guns. The 37mm cannon was seen as especially prone to jam, often after only two or three shots. This combined with the difficult conditions to see aircraft flying with odd combinations of working weapons.

On 13 January 1943 the AAF units on Guadalcanal became part of the Thirteenth Air Force. The situation on Guadalcanal itself was no longer so desperate, and the P-39 was most likely to be used to support attacks on Japanese bases across the Solomon Islands or for low level interceptions, where its problems over 15,000ft were not relevant. This period also saw the first signs of a decline in the quality of the Japanese pilots, as the early losses began to take their toll. This period also saw Lt. William Fiedler score five victories in the P-39, making him the only American air ace to become an ace in the Airacobra.