XP-39 II - The Groundhog Day Thread

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Those may not have been typos. The report is dated October 1941. Both the P-39C and the D would have been available, along with the P-38D. The P-38E only began production in September '41 so may not have been available, the F model began production in March '42 so it was definitely not available.
 

Read the report.
 
Please see above.
 
So, where exactly did that pic come from? I've seen the pic before, but never that caption.

The link above the pic.

Here it is again:

LiTOT: P-39 index

Look for the link, "XP-39 seen on the ground from 11 o'clock" near the bottom of the page.

General contents for that site:

LiTOT: Content

I had forgotten about the site. Glad I re-found it. A lot of information on many types there.
 
The basis for removing the turbo from the XP-39 were the results of the Full-Scale testing done by NACA in 1939. The attached figure is from page 38 of that report and is also shown in context in Vee's For Victory, page 85.
The goal was to exceed 400 mph, which could be done by removing the turbo installation, cleaning up the airframe, and fitting the altitude rated V-1710-31(E2A) with 8.8:1 supercharger gears and a larger carburetor, rated for 1,090 bhp at 13,200 feet.
 

Gee, it looks like NACA was full of it.
 
AAF had to remove the turbo if they were going to get a plane in production by 1941. Which they did and produced a good airplane, except that they let the weight get too high.
 
AAF had to remove the turbo if they were going to get a plane in production by 1941. Which they did and produced a good airplane, except that they let the weight get too high.
You cant really complain about the weight increase when it was caused by stuff needed by a war plane. They all increased in weight.
 
You cant really complain about the weight increase when it was caused by stuff needed by a war plane. They all increased in weight.
They could have been a lot more judicious about what they put into the plane in the early models D/F/K/L/P-400. The later models with the uprated engine were fine as they were. The basic airframe was light enough. They didn't need the .30cal wing guns, after all they had a 37mm cannon and two .50cal MGs. And the 100lb nose armor plate was redundant, no other planes had their nose reduction gear armored. Those items total around 300-500lbs, depending on the amount of .30cal ammunition carried. A fully equipped P-39D without those items weighed about 7150lbs versus up to 7850lbs normal gross weight. Russians deleted the wing guns and the IFF radio and did really well with it.
 
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But that was the "thing" and we have been through it before. Whatever the theoretical advantages of a mid engine design the practical disadvantages were against it. The Spitfire and Hurricane just had to put the stuff in. There are few sleeker designs than the early Bf109s but by the end of the war they were like a soccer player who took up steroids and bodybuilding with lumps bumps and blisters all over the place.
 
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