CAF-Centex Bell P-39 earned its place in history

How the Bell P-39 helped turn the tide of battle in Russia, England and Europe.

The important utilization of The over 7,900 P-39s by the Soviet Air Force in WWII.

The Lend-Lease Act of 1941-helped Russia fight the Germans even before the United States entered WWII.
Link to quick overview of only regularly flying P-39 in the world.

President Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act with the Allies in March 1941. The Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease was conceived, partially, as a way to avoid shipping war equipment through the range of Axis submarines in the Pacific Ocean. Between 1942 and 1945, the program shuttled supplies and almost 8,000 aircraft from Great Falls, Mont., through Canada and Alaska, to the Soviet Union.

U.S. pilots would shuttle planes from Great Falls to Ladd Field (Fort Wainwright) in Fairbanks. Soviet pilots flew the planes to Galena and Nome, and across the Bering Sea to the Soviet Union. At the peak of the Lend-Lease program, according to the Alaska-Siberia Research Center's Web site, there were roughly 600 Soviet pilots and crew members at Ladd Field.

The WASP's played large role as ferry pilots in Lend-Lease transport.

A WASP pilot in front of a P-63, the P-39's updated model.

Air Transport Command ferry pilots, including U.S. women pilots of the WASP program, picked up the planes at the Bell factory at Niagara Falls, New York, and flew them to Great Falls, Montana and then onward via the Northwest Staging Route through Canada to Alaska, where Russian ferry pilots, many of them women, would take delivery of the aircraft at Nome [12] and fly them to the Soviet Union over the Bering Strait via the Alaska-Siberia route (ALSIB).

Recent memorial sculpture has P-39 a central element.

The recently completed Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease Memorial, is situated along the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks. The project was funded by the federal and state governments, as well as the Juneau-based Alaska-Siberia Research Project. 

"The Alaska-Siberia Lend-Lease program is not about a battlefield," said Alexander Dolitsky, chairman of the center. "It's not about military strategy. It is about common people doing the work, doing the job during the war and helping soldiers and generals in the front line to win the war."

This vintage 1940 newsreel shows The RAF deploying the P-39's against the Germans. 
Great actual newsreel. worth watching! In 1940, the British were desperate for combat aircraft and were willing to consider just about anything that had wings, irrespective of how poor its performance might be. Consequently, when Bell submitted specifications to the British Direct Purchase Commission for a fighter with a top speed of 400 mph, a ceiling of 36,000 feet, and a range of 1000 miles, the Commission literally salivated on the spot and ordered 675 Bell Model 14s sight unseen on April 13, 1940. (2 minutes)

The Bell P-39, powerful armament and a very capable flying machine.

Our P-39 the"Miss Connie"

The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed by Bell in World War II. Although the aircraft was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces, it was successfully adopted by the Soviet Air Force.

Designed by Bell Aircraft, it had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage.[5] Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work. Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra, the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell.

The amazing story of the 7,983 P-39 delivered to the Soviets in Alaska as part of the 1941 Lend-Lease Act.

 P-63s, the P-39's updated model line up at a WWII Soviet Airfield.

With the outbreak of war, American lines of communication with Alaska by sea were seriously threatened and alternative routes had to be opened. The string of airports through the lonely tundra and forests of northwest Canada provided an air route to Alaska which was practically invulnerable to attack, and it seemed to be in the best interests of international defense to develop them and open a highway which would at once be a service road for the airports and a means for transporting essential supplies to the Alaskan outposts. In response to this need, United States Army engaged in the Alaskan Highway project.[1]

Neither the Eleventh Air Force and United States Army military installations could wait for the Alaska Highway to be completed. Nor could Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union. The long route though the Caribbean to Brazil and across Africa to Iran was unworkable, nor could aircraft be flown via Greenland or Iceland. A huge program of airport construction and road making, therefore, was undertaken.

Two routes were developed from the United States, which met at Edmonton, Alberta, from which the aircraft were ferried to Ladd Field, near Fairbanks, Alaska where the American-built aircraft were to be turned over to Russian flight crews. Marks Army Airfield, near Nome, Alaska was 500 miles closer to Russia, but was ruled out because the United States feared it was too vulnerable to Japanese attack. One route originated at Great Falls Army Air Base, Montana, where aircraft bound for Russia were ferried from their manufacturing plants in Southern California.

The other route originated at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Wold-Chamberlain Airport was used as an aircraft staging point for aircraft manufactured in the Midwest and northeastern United States.[1] The Minneapolis-Edmonton route, however was turned into a transport route only by the end of 1943, with aircraft ferrying operations being shifted to Great Falls. [3] In addition to the Lend-Lease aircraft, Alaskan Eleventh Air Force aircraft were also ferried up the NSR, with the aircraft being flown to Elmendorf Field, near Anchorage from RCAF Station Whitehorse upon their arrival.

Three main types of combat aircraft were ferried to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. Fighter aircraft were Bell P-39 Airacobras, and later its successor, the Bell P-63 Kingcobra, which were favored by the Red Air Force who used the two types with great success. The majority of the P-39s shipped to the Soviet Union were the definitive Q-models. Bombers included the Douglas A-20 Havoc light attack bomber and North American B-25 Mitchell medium bombers that were also sent to the Red Air Force. Transport aircraft were made up of predominantly, the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, also supplied in great numbers.

Possibly because of strict Soviet inspection standards, and also in spite of the Russian methods of flying them, there were remarkably few aircraft accidents. During the 21 months of the program, 7,983 aircraft were delivered to the Russians with only 133 lost to weather or pilot error.[5]Thirteen Red Air Force pilots were buried in the Fort Richardson cemetery.

The P-39's place in Soviet history

The most successful and numerous use of the P-39 was by the Red Air Force (Военно-воздушные силы, Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily, VVS). They received the considerably improved N and Q models via the Alaska-Siberia ferry route. The tactical environment of the Eastern Front did not demand the high-altitude performance RAF and AAF did. The comparatively low-speed, low-altitude nature of most air combat on the Russian Front suited the P-39's strengths: sturdy construction, reliable radio gear, and adequate firepower.

Soviet pilots appreciated the cannon-armed P-39 primarily for its air-to-air capability. A common Western misconception is that the Bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft.

"One of the enduring myths regarding the P-39/P-63 in Soviet use is that because of its armament, in particular the 37mm nose cannon, it excelled as a ground-attack aircraft, even a 'tank buster.' In translating and preparing this manuscript for publication, I have had the opportunity to peruse several Russian-language sources. Mentions of the employment of this aircraft in the ground-attack role are so rare in these sources as to be exceptional ... The 'tank buster' myth has its roots in the misunderstanding of the general wartime role of the Red Air Force and in the imprecise translation of specific Russian-language terms that describe this role. The specific Russian-Language term most often used to describe the mission and role of the Airacobra-equipped Red Air Force fighter units, in this manuscript and other Russian-language sources , as prikrytiye sukhoputnykh voysk [coverage of ground forces]... Frequent misunderstanding in this country as to the combat role of the P-39 in Soviet use is based in part on imprecise translation of the term prikrytiye sukhoputnykh voysk to 'ground support'. The latter term as it is understood by many Western military historians and readers, suggests the attacking of ground targets in support of ground troops, also called "close air support." Soviet Airacobra pilot ever strafe a German tank? Undoubtedly. But this was never a primary mission or strong suit for this aircraft."

—Soviet Army Colonel Dmitriy Loza, Loza and Gebhardt 2002, pp. 15–16.

The Soviets developed successful group aerial fighting tactics for the Bell fighters and scored a surprising number of aerial victories over a variety of German aircraft. Soviet P-39s had no trouble dispatching Junkers Ju 87 Stukas or German twin-engine bombers and matched, and in some areas surpassed, early and mid-war Messerschmitt Bf 109s. The usual nickname for the Airacobra in the VVS was Kobrushka ("little cobra") or Kobrastochka, a portmanteau of Kobra and Lastochka (swallow), "dear little cobra".[52][53]

Mediterranean theater and the Tuskegee Airmen.

In North Africa, the 99th Fighter Squadron (also known as the Tuskegee Airmen) transitioned quickly from the P-40 and were assigned P-39s in February 1944, but only flew the type for a few weeks. The 99th carried out their duties including supporting Operation Shingle over Anzio as well as missions over the Gulf of Naples in the Airacobra but achieved few aerial victories.[51]

The major MTO P-39 operators included the 81st and 350th Fighter Groups, both flying the maritime patrol mission from North Africa and on through Italy. The 81st transferred to the China Burma India Theater by March 1944 and the 350th began transition to the P-47D in August 1944, remaining in Italy with the 12th Air Force.

For Professional pilots, an historic training film.

Historic and very comprehensive 1942 government training film for military pilots of the Bell P-39 Airacobra pursuit aircraft, examining flight techniques, cockpit layout, and armament (mostly of interest to professionals pilots - 37 minutes.) 

For More in formation on The Central Texas Wing of The Commemorative Air Force 

Please visit our website.