Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
My photo shows the P-400 after being stripped of usable parts and abandoned. FYI - the photo is dated July 1943.Robert Davidson's P-400 was BX385. He had a taxing accident on Jan.19, 1943.
I found this thread relatively late, but here's a small addition. In a site I'm following since ...e-e-eh....long time (RAF 112 squdron) there is a Honour Roll of the 350th FG. with many serials and additional data about the P-400 in the MTO. Interesting are the landings in Portugal, en route to North Africa.
Cheers!Spun in while taxiing?It's a P-400. Anything is possible.
It does, and also resembles that smaller flat tank used on the belly of the P-47. The author said it was a 185 gallon tank, and I'd say the one in that photo looks about right for that size.That tank looks like the 'flat' 150-gallon tank developed for the P-47 in the ETO.
Note that he refers to the "1165 HP unsupercharged engines." This is more traditional BS. The P-400 had a single stage mechanical supercharger, which essentially was invisible to the pilots, since he had no control over it. The earliest models of Spitfire featured the the pilot's ability to engage and disengage the supercharger, so he knew it was there. On the P-39, P-400, P-40, and Mustang Mk I the pilot had no control over the supercharger except by moving the throttle, but they had just as much of a supercharger installed as did the Spitfire I, II and V. Thus the oft repeated old nonsense that "the Air Corps deleted the supercharger from the P-39 in order to emphasize its low altitude performance." In reality the supercharger for the P-39 typically was optimized for 10,000 - 15,000 ft. The turbosupercharger was deleted from the P-39 because the increased drag associated with it made the airplane SLOWER than just the single mechanical supercharger.
How could an aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk 1 with a single speed supercharger have the option to disengage it? And, for what purpose?Note that he refers to the "1165 HP unsupercharged engines." This is more traditional BS. The P-400 had a single stage mechanical supercharger, which essentially was invisible to the pilots, since he had no control over it. The earliest models of Spitfire featured the the pilot's ability to engage and disengage the supercharger, so he knew it was there. On the P-39, P-400, P-40, and Mustang Mk I the pilot had no control over the supercharger except by moving the throttle, but they had just as much of a supercharger installed as did the Spitfire I, II and V. Thus the oft repeated old nonsense that "the Air Corps deleted the supercharger from the P-39 in order to emphasize its low altitude performance." In reality the supercharger for the P-39 typically was optimized for 10,000 - 15,000 ft. The turbosupercharger was deleted from the P-39 because the increased drag associated with it made the airplane SLOWER than just the single mechanical supercharger.
Note that he refers to the "1165 HP unsupercharged engines." This is more traditional BS. The P-400 had a single stage mechanical supercharger, which essentially was invisible to the pilots, since he had no control over it. The earliest models of Spitfire featured the the pilot's ability to engage and disengage the supercharger, so he knew it was there. On the P-39, P-400, P-40, and Mustang Mk I the pilot had no control over the supercharger except by moving the throttle, but they had just as much of a supercharger installed as did the Spitfire I, II and V. Thus the oft repeated old nonsense that "the Air Corps deleted the supercharger from the P-39 in order to emphasize its low altitude performance." In reality the supercharger for the P-39 typically was optimized for 10,000 - 15,000 ft. The turbosupercharger was deleted from the P-39 because the increased drag associated with it made the airplane SLOWER than just the single mechanical supercharger.
Not all the P-400 went to the front via Britain, some were delivered to Britain then exported to the USSR, some were delivered to Britain and transferred to the USAAF, some were retained by the USAAF. Later British Lend Lease P-39 were sent to the USSR but charged to the British Account, "Britain For Russia"One thing I wonder is that if all 675 Airacobra I/P-400 aircraft were delivered to the UK and then dispatched to the USSR and the South Pacific and eventually to North Africa or if some never made it to the UK and were dispatched from the US. 54 were lost at sea during transport and 212 went to the USSR. I suspect that all of the P-400's made it to the UK and were sent elsewhere from there, mainly by sea.
In addition to the 675 aircraft purchased by the UK, another 494 were bought with lend lease funds and equipped with 20MM cannon instead of 37MM for commonality reasons. So there were both P-400's and P-39D-1's with 20MM guns.
Disengaging it is easy. It is a device called a "Clutch" and the F4F, F6F, F4U, and P-61 had the ability to manually engage the supercharger speeds. The Merlin Mustang had the option to manually engage the high speed supercharger, but except for modified airplanes that switch was spring loaded and had to be held in position. As for the Spitfire having that option a friend of mine, who joined the RAF and went to the UK prior to Pearl Harbor, described that. But I have not checked the pilot's manuals.How could an aircraft such as the Spitfire Mk 1 with a single speed supercharger have the option to disengage it? And, for what purpose?
The RAF tested the 37MM equipped P-39 on a gunnery range for an anti-tank test to compare it to the 40MM equipped Hurricane IID. They found:Maybe it was just another rumor that the author (flying 20mm-armed versions) heard from others, without any documentation?
Nikolay Golodnikov talked about the 37mm gun and the reasons why different users had different experiences with them: "The Cobras had interesting reloading and cannon trigger mechanisms -. hydraulic. At first, in the 'English version' of the 'cobras', they had a lot of trouble with them, the 'hydraulics' froze. Apparently, these 'cobras' were intended for Africa, because the slurry thickened and clogged the holes in the hydraulic cylinders. So our craftsmen replaced the slurry with a domestic one and increased the holes in diameter. The recharge started working normally... The M-4 was a very reliable gun. If this gun had failures, it was only through the fault of completely unqualified service." He was no fan of the alternative Hispano-Suiza 20mm: "Hispano demanded an incredible quality of service. The slightest dustiness, thickening of the lubricant or some other trifle, and that's all - a failure. Very unreliable." So like most things, reports on the M-4 gun seem to vary quite a bit between users.The RAF tested the 37MM equipped P-39 on a gunnery range for an anti-tank test to compare it to the 40MM equipped Hurricane IID. They found:
1. The 37MM would not crack a German tank, while the 40MM would.
2. It jammed after a very few shots. They modified the ejector mechanism and then it worked, but that was not for in flight firing.
In the book Cobra Combat the author, who flew a lot of P-39 missions in the Pacific said that the 37MM would jam if you were not very careful to fire with positive G's. It needed gravity to eject the empty shell casings. It worked Okay if you were sure that you were not firing it while starting a dive, which induced positive G's. You pushed the nose over, got it on the target and then fired it without increasing the dive.
All those aircraft had two speed superchargers which could be shifted to high and low blower speeds. What would be the purpose of a single speed supercharger that could be disengaged?Disengaging it is easy. It is a device called a "Clutch" and the F4F, F6F, F4U, and P-61 had the ability to manually engage the supercharger speeds. The Merlin Mustang had the option to manually engage the high speed supercharger, but except for modified airplanes that switch was spring loaded and had to be held in position. As for the Spitfire having that option a friend of mine, who joined the RAF and went to the UK prior to Pearl Harbor, described that. But I have not checked the pilot's manuals.
Actually they didn't. and they did. The F4F, F6F, F4U, and P-61 all had a single speed supercharger that ran at all times, no disengagement.All those aircraft had two speed superchargers which could be shifted to high and low blower speeds. What would be the purpose of a single speed supercharger that could be disengaged?
They weren't impressed with the US M-4.The Soviets seem to have been impressed enough by the 37MM that they used a 37MM in the Mig-15