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Bell P-63 Kingcobra

The P-63 inherited the general layout of the P-39 Airacobra, but was totally redesigned. It had an engine with a two-stage supercharger and a laminar flow wing, in an attempt to improve high-altitude performance. Superior fighters were already in service, and the P-63 had a too small combat radius. The USAAF bought few P-63s and never used them in combat. Most production aircraft (2421) were lend-leased to the USSR. The USAAF did buy the bizarre RP-63, a manned aerial target, well-armoured to resist the hits of special, frangible bullets!

General characteristics P-63A
Primary function	Fighter/bomber
Contractor	Bell Aircraft Corp.
Power plant	One Allison V-1710-93 engine
Thrust	1,308 HP		975kW
Wingspan	38.3 ft		11.68 m
Length	32.7 ft		9.96 m
Height	12.6 ft		3.84 m
Wingarea	248 sq ft		23.04 sq m
Weight	empty	6,376 lb	2,892 kg
	max.	10,500 lb	4,763 kg
Max. speed	410 mph		660 km/h
Ceiling	43,000 ft		13,100 m
Max. range	2,575 miles		4,143 km
Armament	1x 37mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm machine guns, 3x 227 kg bombs
Crew	One
First flight	December 7, 1942
Date deployed	1943
Number built	3,303

Jirka Wagner