Bell P-63 Kingcobra - American Aircraft & Warplanes - Fighters (2024)

Time Period: World War II
Country of Origin: United States
Type: Fighter Aircraft
Manufacturer: Bell Aircraft

The Bell P-63 Kingcobra was a fighter aircraft developed by Bell Aircraft Corporation during World War II. It was an improved version of the Bell P-39 Airacobra and was designed to provide better performance and armament than its predecessor.

The P-63 was a single-engine, single-seat aircraft with a low-wing design. It was powered by an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine and was armed with a combination of .50 caliber machine guns and 37mm cannon. The aircraft also featured a laminar flow wing design for improved performance at high speeds.

One of the unique features of the P-63 was its engine-mounted supercharger, which provided improved performance at high altitudes. The aircraft also had a tricycle landing gear, which was relatively uncommon at the time.

The P-63 saw service with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II, primarily in the European and Pacific theaters. It was used for a variety of roles, including air superiority, ground attack, and reconnaissance. The P-63 was also supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program, where it was used for both combat and training missions.

After the end of World War II, the P-63 was used by a number of countries, including France, which used the aircraft during the First Indochina War. The P-63 was eventually retired from service in the 1950s.

Today, several P-63s are preserved in museums and private collections around the world, serving as a reminder of this important aircraft’s role in World War II and beyond.

• Guns:
  
  • 1 ×37mm (1.5in)M4 cannonfiring through the propeller hub. From the A-9 version of the aircraft onward, the M4 gun was replaced with the slightly improved M10 37 mm cannon, which used adisintegrating link ammunition belt, increasing the ammo capacity to 58 rounds; the M10 also had a slightly higher rate of fire.
  • 4 ×0.50in (12.7mm)M2 Browning machine guns(twosynchronizedin the nose, two in the wings)
• Bombs: 1,500lb (680kg) bomb load on wing and fuselage.