Bell P-63 Kingcobra
| P-63 Kingcobra | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Role | Fighter aircraft |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Bell Aircraft |
| First flight | 7 December 1942 |
| Introduction | October 1943 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users |
United States Army Air Forces Soviet Air Force French Air Force |
| Produced | 1943–1945 |
| Number built | 3,303 |
| Unit cost |
US$65,914 (1945)
|
| Developed from | Bell P-39 Airacobra |
The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft developed by Bell Aircraft in World War II from the Bell P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies. Although the P-63 was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces, it was successfully adopted by the Soviet Air Force.
While the P-39 had originally been introduced as an interceptor, later in its development it was decided to reduce the cost and complexity of the engine by removing the turbocharger. High-altitude performance suffered dramatically as a result, and Bell proposed an experimental series to test out a variety of solutions.
The resulting XP-39E featured two primary changes from the earlier P-39D from which it was developed. One was a redesigned wing. The root airfoil, a NACA 0015 on other models of the P-39, was changed to a NACA 0018, to gain internal volume. The other was a switch to the Continental I-1430 engine, which featured an improved overall design developed from the hyper engine efforts, as well as an improved supercharger.
Three prototypes were ordered in April 1941 with serials 41-19501, 41-19502 and 42-7164. The V-1430 was having continued development problems and could not be delivered in time, so it was replaced by the newer -47 version of the Allison V-1710 that powered the basic P-39. Each of the prototypes tested different wing and tail configurations: 41-19501 had a rounded vertical tail, but the tailplane had squared-off tips, 41-19502 had a squared-off fin and rudder and large wing fillets while 42-7164 had all its flight surfaces squared off. The XP-39E proved to be faster than the standard Airacobra; a maximum speed of 386 mph (621 km/h) being attained at 21,680 ft (6,610 m) during tests. However, the XP-39E was considered to be inferior to the stock P-39 Airacobra in all other respects, so it was not ordered into production.
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