Alot of it was tactics - back then, and getting the bugs worked out - and being up against the japanese when they were at their absolutely awesome best and had tactical superiority. Along with new planes came new tactics. P39 was in fact a pretty decent climber once it got sorted out.
In the simm there is no question. When I get frustrated in the 38 or 190 I just climb into a 39 for a few runs![]()
both allison engines , the one of P-39 and of P-40, had a single stage& single speed supercharger ! it was just not rated to higher alt.
the prototype of P-39 , that had a very good alt perfomance , had a turbosupercharger. but thre USAAC thought they would not need high alt (for that time) interceptors. so, the torbo was deleted.
and not all P-39s used 1942 in NG&Cactus had the M4 gun , the P-400 had 20mm Hispanos.
its funny that all early Cobras in gaâ´me has the hispano as default. espacially the P-39D-2 shuold have the M4, and most poropably no hispano option at all.
Bud Anderson on the P-39
Bud Anderson first flew the P-39 in late 1942, from Hamilton Field in Novato California while training with the 328th Fighter Group. As he relates in To Fly and Fight:
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But the Airacobra was mincemeat above 15,000 feet, and useless in Western Europe, where virtually all of the flying and fighting was at double that altitude. ...
But in October of 1942, I was thrilled to be flying it. It was unique, with its engine behind the cockpit, and the propeller drive shaft running between the pilot's legs. It had a tricycle landing gear, unlike anything in our arsenal except the P-38. And the cockpit was more like a car's, with a door instead of a swing-up or sliding canopy, and windows that actually rolled up and down with a crank. You could taxi the thing while resting your elbows on the sill, like cruising the boulevard on a Saturday night.
In RL, the USAAF P-39/400 was possibly the single worst fighter of WW2 for the types of missions it flew. In PF it is pretty good but by no means superior to the Ki-43 or A6M2. While the P-39 is faster and dives faster, it can't climb anywhere near as fast as the Ki-43 or A6M2. The A6M2's advantage stops there because its superior turn rate at low speed is hampered by poor roll rate and terrible high speed handling. But the Ki-43 has other advantages as well, such as superior roll rate and superior turn rate at most speeds. The Ki-43 vs P-400 setup is comperable to putting a Yak-3 against an Fw-190A9. It is a fair fight, the Yak-3 or Ki-43 must use superior agility and climb rate to gain the advantage either in energy or position. The Fw-190A9 or P-400 must simply kill the enemy before they can do so or flee before the enemy gets the advantage.
the most annoying "feature" of the Ki43-I is for me the realy bad rearview !
and that is because its missing the "normal" gunsight view , where your head is more forward and the headrest is not direct in front of your nose
so, i like the View system of the F2A-2 much better - i dodnt need that "mega" telesopview of the Oscar- zooming in the F2A-2 sight is enough for me if i want to looke that close
btw, offline, its realy no proplem to kill engines of P-39s and P-40s in a Ic ( came december 42 to NewGuinea)
killing Hurricane MkIIb and F2A-2 (instead of B-339) in Ia & Ib (main version) is harder , but not much.
1.) In early 1942, the 'Cobra was not a well-known quantity with the groups in the Southwest Pacific, particularly for the groundcrewmen tasked with its care. In some cases, units that had been flying P-40s until they had been run out of the Phillippines and Java were shipped P-39s or rejected Airacobra Mk Is (P-400s), often both types in the same shipments, without manuals or useful documentation of any kind. It was simply the only fighter type available for rushing halfway around the world at the time; missing manuals doesn't necessarily mean there hadn't originally been some sent, but that they never got there with the aircraft. The P-39 in the Pacific theater never got over the 'hard to maintain' reputation.
2.) Pilots used to P-40s weren't likely to fly a P-39 any differently, especially if they weren't 'old hands' at flying different types. The P-39 was quite different from the P-40 in some critical ways; it wasn't quite as torque-y, but that stall and flat spin thing could put you off a bit, especially in combat. The other problem was that USAAF pilots in the Pacific at the beginning of the war had little appreciation for the outstanding maneuverability of the Japanese fighters--flying fighters in a dogfight meant whirling around in circles and loops until you got the other guy in your sights. The survivers learned different tactics. Below 12,000 ft, the Cobra was competitive with or superior to almost everything out there, but the climb was nothing special (especially after passing 12,000ft), and if the enemy came to you at 15-20,000 ft and you had to climb up to him, well...
3.) Part of the Soviet preference for the Airacobra may well have its roots in the fact that while it's design was a bit unorthodox in some ways, it was the 'right size' for a fighter. A P-40 must have seemed like a truck to a guy used to I-16s or LaGGs, no matter how well it turned or how fast it (eventually) could be flown. Conversely, to most Yanks, it must have seemed a little cramped and puny by contrast to the P-38 or P-40.
4.) The first Cobras received by the Soviets were ex-British Mk Is, and it was almost love at first sight. The only modification these first aircraft received was the addition of an oil drain c o c k, so that oil could be drained completely and not freeze in and burst the oil lines in the winter.
cheers
horseback
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JG53Frankyboy:
the most annoying "feature" of the Ki43-I is for me the realy bad rearview !
and that is because its missing the "normal" gunsight view , where your head is more forward and the headrest is not direct in front of your nose
so, i like the View system of the F2A-2 much better - i dodnt need that "mega" telesopview of the Oscar- zooming in the F2A-2 sight is enough for me if i want to looke that close
btw, offline, its realy no proplem to kill engines of P-39s and P-40s in a Ic ( came december 42 to NewGuinea)
killing Hurricane MkIIb and F2A-2 (instead of B-339) in Ia & Ib (main version) is harder , but not much. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
The armament of the Ki-43-I's is poor, no debate there but that super gunsight is what makes up for it. It allows good marksmens to place those few bullets you get with extreme accuracy. You may not be able to use that gunsight effectively, but it is my favorite gunsight in PF. Agility is not the Ki-43's only advantage as I've already said, it climbs like a rocket too. Sure the P-39 can outrun it in a flat run, but the Ki-43 can soundly outclimb the P-39. With the Ki-43's gunsight and gun accuracy, simply running flat out is a good way to get shot by a Ki-43 cause if he knows what he is doing then he can shoot you from 800m with reasonable consistancy.