Every country except the Soviet Union disliked the P-39. All wanted it to perform well
above 20,000 feet but it didn’t because of a supercharger instead of a turbo-charger and
weight. The Soviets liked the low altitude speed and maneuverability, excellent structural
integrity, and heavy armament, everything they needed to fight the type of war on the
Eastern Front. They were so pleased by these attributes that they nicknamed it “The Iron
Dog”. There were 9,585 P-39s of all variants built with about 4,500 going to the Soviets.

When Ivan Babak was placed in charge of the 16th GIAP in February 1945 his P-39N
42-9033 was given to Grigorii Ustinovich Dol'nikov of the 100th GIAP. On April 18, 1945
Ace Petya Guchyak was shot down so Dol'nikov had Barak’s Angel on the right side
painted over and an inscription added that read “For Petya Guchyak. When Ivan Babak
was shot down on April 22, 1945 Dol'nikov had the inscription “For Vanya Babak” added
to the left side. Dol'nikov accumulated 15 confirmed victories and 1 probable.

Specifications for the Bell P-39N Airacobra

Aircraft role:
Fighter – Ground attack fighter

Production:
2,095 with first delivery November 1942

Crew:
1

Dimensions:
Length: 30 ft. 2 in.
Wingspan: 34 ft.
Wing area: 213 sq. ft.
Height: 12 ft. 5 in.

Performance:
Powerplant: 1 X Allison V-1710-85 1,200 hp
Speed: cruising 330 mph at 5,000 ft. – maximum 376 mph at 15,000 ft.
Climb rate: 2,600 ft/min to 5,000 ft. - to 15,000 ft. in 6 min 6 seconds
Service Ceiling: 38,270 ft. with best performance below 20,000 ft.
Range: 300 miles because of smaller fuel tanks in this version
Extended range: 1,000 miles with extra fuel tanks
Fuel capacity
Internal
72.4 imp. Gallons (87 US gallons)
External
62.45 imp. Gallons (75 US gallons) in one drop tank

Weight:
Empty: 5,645 lbs.
Operational weight: with weapons: 8,300 lbs.
Maximum: 8,300 lbs.

Armament:
Machine guns: 2 X 0,50 in. fixed forward-firing in the upper side of the nose 200 rounds
each,
4 X 0.3 in. fixed forward-firing in the wings with 1,000 rounds each,
Cannons: 1 X 37 mm M4 fixed forward firing in a Moteur-cannon installation (able to fire
through the propeller) 30 rounds
Bomb load: up to 500lb on one hard-point with 1 X 500lb. bomb
Or
1 X 325 lb. bomb
Or
1 X 250 lb. bomb

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