recovered WWII Bell P-39 Aircobra

[Black_Sheep]

This is a fantastic video to watch. After 60 years, a Bell P-39 Aircobra was found intact in a remote Russian lake. It's currently being restored in the same building where it was produced. Did you know that the girls, like Rosie the Riveter, who built these planes wrote their names and addresses on the plane's bulkheads? They're still there!

P-39 Video

[ditrina]

Thank you for posting.... GREAT video...

[papajohn428]

That was really cool.................I love watching the restorations take shape!

[DeathGrip]

I did airframe in the service. Let me tell you I'd love to lay my hands on that one. Even if it was to fabricate one piece or buck a couple of rivets. The guys that get to do it have gotta be the best.

[Muddyboot]

Great post, thank you.

[charlie sherrill]

I love this kind of stuff.

[Will Carry]

That is great! The Airacobra was a cool plane. The engine was behind the pilot. It had roll down windows like a car. American pilots hated it but the Russians did well. One of their leading aces got most of his kills in the P-39. Bell's theory was that if the engine was in the center of the plane, it would be better balanced and a better dog fighter. This proved to be false. It would flat spin like a frizbee it you lost control.

[Cyrano]

Great piece of history; wonderful story. I'd love to see the plane once they get it finished.

[Sebago Son]

First models had a 37mm Cannon that fired through the prop spinner.... later changed to a 20mm.

Wanna fly a Aircobra? Here's a training film...

Introduction To The P-39 (1942) - YouTube

[neorebel]

One of the most underated planes...not great for dogfighting but found its niche in ground attack! That's what happens when you take the turbo charger out..go figure!

[JamesArthur60]

I've seen film and read reports of war planes being located with no signs of crew bodies inside and the aircraft was restored. So, I wonder why it wasn't considered the airman's grave, since his body was in the cockpit. Not unlike a ship that is considered a sailors tomb and left untouched under the sea. In those cases bodies are never seen, just assumed to be lost with the ship and out of respect it is left as found.

[loknload]

Great story.......

[DeathGrip]

Originally Posted by JamesArthur60

I've seen film and read reports of war planes being located with no signs of crew bodies inside and the aircraft was restored. So, I wonder why it wasn't considered the airman's grave, since his body was in the cockpit. Not unlike a ship that is considered a sailors tomb and left untouched under the sea. In those cases bodies are never seen, just assumed to be lost with the ship and out of respect it is left as found.

Interesting and I can kinda see where your coming from. Hopefully the remains were returned to family or buried with honors in a military grave site.

[feralmerril]

Useing the same thinking, when someone gets killed in a car, why not just leave the stiff in the car and bury the car? On that note this black guy left instructions he wanted to be buried in his cadillac. The cad was being lowered in a large hole in the ground by a crane. He was sitting in it all dressed up and wearing a derby hat, had a stoggie planted in his mouth and a bottle of booze on the seat. A couple of his bro`s were watching and one said to the other, now dat`s liveing!

[pawncop]

What a great story. Thank you for sharing.

[jkc]

I'm not much for aviation history, but noted with interest the trusses supporting the roof of the fabrication plant --- not clear in pix, but probably the ingenious Bowman Truss design, characterized by a radiused, turtle-back roof profile, able to span great widths, but built with comparatively short lengths of dimension lumber --- a boon for big buildings requiring clear spans and floor space unencumbered by support columns. Common in WWII era hangars and similar construction, now rendered obsolete by fabricated steel trusses.

[moosedog]

Thanks for posting that. Very cool.

[310Pilot]

Thanks for posting that, it was a very well done piece, especially since it seems to have been done for TV (they rarely seem to cover anything historical or positive, especially for more than 30 seconds). I was always intrigued by the P-39. One sat on the north side of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport for many years during the early 1960s, I was never able to find out who owned it. It was later sold to one of the early Reno racers, was rebuilt, and based in Southern California for several years, but later wrecked. In 1976, I was in San Antonio (last active duty station, Ft Sam Houston), and became friends with some of the members of the local CAF squadron. One of them owned two restored P-51s and a P-39, and he invited me to fly one of the 51s so he could "rat-race" while he flew his other 51 (I had previous time in a 51, and his insurance would approve me). I never got a chance to fly the P-39, though (it was always down for maintenance, usually engine or gearcase problems). In fact, it never flew while I was there. I don't know what happened to that P-39, although I do know the subsequent history of the two P-51s. Several years after I left, the gentleman who owned them apparently suffered some business reversals, and sold them. The 51 I used to fly was sold to a retired USAF General, who had a mishap in it and pretty much rolled it up in a ball (fortunately, he wasn't hurt too badly). It was completely rebuilt and restored, and is still flying. The other 51, which had undergone an incredible restoration and was an absolute delight to fly, was totalled in an accident in Southern California (near Santa Monica, if I remember correctly) - killed the pilot and the plane was completely destroyed. None of those old fighters were very forgiving.

Anyway, I'm glad that P-39 is back at its birthplace, and I am assuming it will be properly restored. Sure hope they save the signatures of the ladies who signed their work, that shows the spirit of America which was prevalent then, and which, sadly, we appear to have lost.

[Shooting Padre]

Great story, thanks so much for posting this. My mother was a Rosie riveter during WWII. She worked at Holman Field, St Paul, MN, modifying B-24 Liberator bombers. I have to wonder now if she also wrote her name in any of the aircraft she worked on.