the pic source:
AirHistory.net - Harlingen - Valley International (KHRL / HRL) aircraft photos
Also from the mentioned in the previous post , site...
" Originally Posted by dweeb7944
Just thought you guys might find this interesting. I did a little research on the 'Mr. Mennon' racer that Stuntflyr had mention in a few threads prior. It turns our Mr.Mennen was originally built as RP-39Q-22-BE, also known as a TP-39,(Two Place). The TP-39 were airacobras that were converted into two place trainers by adding a canopy in front of the original. The tail fillet was enlarged and an additional shallow fin was fitted under the rear fuselage. These modifications made it more stable for training new pilots. It was later passed through a succession of civilian owners and restored to a single-seat configuration.
1946 - Sold to civilian, W.H. Ostenberg, as registration #NX4829N and flew as Bendix racer #15.
1950 - Paul Addy of Fosturia, OH
1954 - Archie Baldocchi, Registered as N40A.
1957 - E.D. Weiner of Hayward, CA.
1971 - Mira Slovak "The Flying Czech" -Restored as race #21/Mr. Mennen
1975 - Confederate Airforce TX - flew in early P-400 style markings. Enlarged tail fillet and underfuse fin removed.
1981 - Present - Sold to Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum - Was damaged when car struck building causing wall collapse. Repaired 2001
In 1971, Mira Slovak bought N40A from E.D. Weiner's estate. They restored it with financial help from George Mennen with the intent of racing it at Reno. The planes name was changed to "Mr.Mennen", and marked as racer#21. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, they arrived late and were not allowed to run the race in Reno. Mira never came back. George Mennen was family member who once owned "The Mennon Company", who was well known for the "Mennen Speed Stick" deodorant, as well as the Mennen skin care products for babies in the 1950's. The Mennen company was the first to create the 'Ladies' speed stick, the first of its kind that allowed others to follow. Not sure but perhaps the "Speed stick" was created from George's competative steak for racing. I can still remember the Mennen TV commercials. "By Mennen" was a successful marketing slogan considering its simplicity. The associated jingle, written by Doug Katsaros, contained just three notes, and ended each television commercial for Mennen products (Here). In 1992 the company was sold to Colgate. Today, none of the Mennen family is involved with in the company, or its company parent.
"Mr.Mennen" photos show that after so many owners, after being converted to a single seater, and after several restorations, the plane still retained the tail fillet as well as the underbody fin. However, these were removed once the plane was sold to the Confederate Air Force. CAF also changed the paint scheme to a P-400 style marking, and flew the plane for several years in the late 1970's. Previous to them owning the plane, Mira Slovak replaced a custom made wrap around windscreen with flat-fronted structure from a P-63.
In 1981, the CAF sold the plane to the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum. In the late 1990's, the plane was damaged when a car hit the building and a wall collapsed on it. The repairs were completed in 2001. The Kalamazoo museum has had 2 different style markings since it has owned the plane. They had changed the scheme from the P-400 markings to the markings of the 67th FS of the 347 FG, which was based out to New Guinea and Guadalcanal's henderson Field (1942 Era). The squadron's sharkmouth was carried on all aircraft. In fact, Walt Disney designed the "Fighting Cock" which was it's official markings.
One thing is for sure, Airacobra #44-3908 has had an incredible journey.
(P.S. Stuntflyr, now that I know the history, I'm considering Mr.Mennen for a paint scheme. I would make the tail & underbody fillet modifications, of course.)"