T
he Bell P-39 ‘Airacobra’ was an
unusual design concept with a
mid-mounted engine driving a
tractor shaft driven propeller. Armed
with a cannon iring through the
hub two nose mounted machine guns and
four wing mounted machine guns in various
conigurations the ‘Airacobra’ had a venomous
bite. However, due to its non-supercharged
engine it was not suited to the European high-altitude theatre of operations. On the other
hand, it was the perfect machine for the ‘Red
Air Force’ who operated it at lower altitudes
to devastating efect. The most produced
variant was the P-39N/Q and with variations to
the armament and fuselage reinforcement it
became a popular choice for Soviet pilots who
preferred it over Spitires and P-40’s. Getting
on for close to twenty-years old Eduard’s
excellent P-39 kit was a transition from short‘Bella’
James Ashton builds the 1:48 P-39
Dual Combo Limited Edition(^64) P-39 ‘BELLA’ DUAL COMBO WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM