In the 'Little Known Facts' Department...

[Spoons - SimHQ]

Wasn't the P-63/P-39 the one that they slapped a lot of armor on and a big light on and used for target practice?

They'd have some poor slob fly the thing and let bomber gunners shoot at it.  Everytime they got a hit, the light would go off.

Anyone else heard this story?

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John Sponauer
Senior Editor, SimHQ.com
jsponauer@simhq.com

[Andy Bush]

Spoons

That's right. The ammo was 'frangible', meaning it was supposed to disintegrate when it hit the P-63 target. If I was the P-63 pilot, that would give me a real warm and fuzzy!!

[easymo]

 Now THAT is the ugliest airplane I ever saw.
There motorcycles arent anything to write home about either

[This message has been edited by easymo (edited 05-18-2000).]

[Citabria]

they lost quite a few p63 live targets when the p63 rolled away, the newbie gunners would nail the p63 as it was disengaging in the underbelly where there was no armor against the rubber bullets  

true story

[Jekyll]

Ah yes, the P-63 'Pinball', so named because a red light on the spinner used to flash whenever a hit was scored.

And also known as 'The Lend-Lease Fighter', as 2,421  out of a production run of 3,303 were sent to the USSR.  A further 300 P-63Cs went to the Free French.

Hmmm.. 7.3 minutes climb to 25,000 feet, top speed of 408 mph at 25k, 37mm nose cannon and two .50s in the wings.

Let's have one  

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C.O. Phoenix Squadron
http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/phoenix
'feel the heat .......'

[Vermillion]

Actually Sorrow I do  

Well, lets say I read it the other day in an article about the Soviets and their use of the P-39 and the P-63, but I would have to search around to find it again.

If no one comes up with it by the end of the day I will try to post the article I saw.

The P-63C would be a great little addition to the planeset   Actually I would prefer the D model, with the improved engines, wings, and a bubble canopy. But the war was ending and the production was canceled after only a couple were made. Lots of C models produced though.

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Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure
"Real Men fly Radials, Nancy Boys fly Spitfires"

[Vermillion]

Ok here is the article on the Russian P-39's and P-63's, its quite and interesting read.

 http://www.aerohistorian.com/p39.htm

What follows is just a small part of the article:
 

Since the Airacobra was such a success in Russia, naturally the Soviets would be a major recipient of its bigger brother, the P-63. They were sent 2456 Kingcobras, flown across the Al-Sib ferry route, of which 2421 actually arrived, including both major variants, the P-63A and P-63C. However, contrary to Dorr and other western authors, it did not prove to be a potent tank-buster. It never got a chance. Only in September 1944 did the first P-63 begin it's long journey across two continents, from Buffalo, New York to Russia. By May 1945 there were only 51 P-63As in service, assigned to PVO air defense regiments, which by that stage of the war had little real chance of combat. Consequently, the P-63 never got to show its stuff against either a panzer or a "messer". However, the P-63 did see brief combat in Russian service. Soviet units continued reequipping after the German surrender. Many P-63s went to Soviet units assigned to the Far East and Transbaikal Fronts preparing for war against Japan. The 12th Air Army of the Trasnbaikal Front equipped its 245 IAD, consisting of the 940 and 781 IAPS. This Air Army was reinforced after the German surrender by the transfer from the west of the 190 IAD which included the 17 IAP and 21 IAP, both of which replaced their P-39Q and La-5 fighters with the Kingcobra. One of the pilots of the 17 IAP was Captain Viacheslav Sirotin, HSU, a 21 victory ace. On August 15, he and his wingman, Junior Lieutenant Miroshnichenko caught 2 Japanese fighters (either Ki-27 or Ki-43, the records are unclear), and shot down one of them. This was the Kingcobra's only aerial victory - ever.

So yes it was a kind of trick question  

Not zero, but simply One.

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Vermillion
**MOL**, Men of Leisure
"Real Men fly Radials, Nancy Boys fly Spitfires"

[This message has been edited by Vermillion (edited 05-18-2000).]

[Wanker]

I will hug him, and squeeze him, and call him "George".