Bell P39 Airacobra

Place Oceania: New Guinea1, Papua New Guinea, Papua, Port Moresby
Accession Number ART28026
Collection type Art
Measurement sheet: 29 x 39 cm
Object type Work on paper
Physical description pencil on paper
Maker Ashton, Richard
Place made New Guinea1: Papua New Guinea, Papua, Port Moresby
Date made 30 May 1942
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright

Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain

Public Domain Mark This item is in the Public Domain

Description

A US Bell Aircobra aircraft is depicted in a Dispersal Bay at Seven-Mile Drome near Port Moresby, New Guinea. The Bell P39 Airacobra fighter aircraft used for aircraft was used in the Second World War for recognition purposes. First flown on 6 April 1939, the design of the aircraft was unconventional in major respects. The design included the unusual arrangement of the engine being fitted behind the pilot with the power being transmitted through an extension shaft to the airscrew. Another radical feature was the incorporation of a tricycle landing gear. The original combat worthy version fought strenuously in the bitter first half of 1942 against the Japanese, notably around Port Moresby, New Guinea, before being replaced by other types of aircraft. Before production of the P39 Airacobra was curtailed and finally stopped in July 1944, some 5000 aircraft were flown via Iran to the Soviet Union where they proved satisfactory in close air support operating from rough dirt and board airstrips. Other important users were the Free French and cobelligerent Italian air forces. In the period July 1942 to October 1943, a small number of P39 aircraft were operated by the RAAF before being returned to the 5th Air Force, United States Army Air Force.