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  • Please see the most recent updates in the "Where did the .com name go?" thread. Posts number 16 and 17.

    Post 16 Update

    Post 17 Warning

P36 exclusive screenshots

Yeah thats right Pam I'm sure they just used them as tank killers, although I wouldn't be supprised if they did have a dogfight or two with the Germans, they probably didn't come off that well though!
 
i may be incorrect, and i hope someone corrects me if i am, but if i recall, the P-39 was used by the russians mostly as ground support and anti tank (?) operations.. That big canon sticking out its nose was pretty effective..

You are correct.

The Russians really loved that 30mm and 20mm it would carry.

It was kind of like a mini-version of the IL-2. However, the Russian cannon on the IL-2 was a lot better than any US manufactured cannon in World War II. The Russian cannon had better mussle velocity, faster rate of fire, and jammed a lot less frequently. In fact, the Russians made the best aerial cannons in the whole war.

However, several Russian aces flew the P-39 so it wasn't entirely inept as an interceptor or fighter. Though a highly experienced Me-109 pilot had hisay with the P-39 if he fought it properly.

Ken
 
not sure i'd go that far Dean, Bud Anderson ripped the thing to pieces in his book. The Russians certainly knew some secret of how to use them though as it wasnt like they were up against inferior aircraft, those Luft aces were riding some top notch kit.
 
i may be incorrect, and i hope someone corrects me if i am, but if i recall, the P-39 was used by the russians mostly as ground support and anti tank (?) operations.. That big canon sticking out its nose was pretty effective..

I believe this is a common myth. From what I've heard, the muzzle velocity of the 37mm cannon was actually too low to make it an effective anti-tank weapon.
 
I know you should always be very careful with non verified internet sources, but here I found an interesting read about the Russian P-30 aces (look at the scores!)

http://www.acepilots.com/planes/soviet_p39_airacobra.html

Cheers
Huub

Ground attack is the better description. But, the 30mm equipped P-39 could take out one of the Mark IV Panzers with it thinner armour platting. However, it had little chance of taking out, or even damaging, one of the Panthers, Tigers, or Elephants.

However, most ground attack was against trucks, artillery, and troops. In this respect, the P-39 was excellent. It had the cannon, two .50 cal MG's on the nose, and up to four additional MG's in the wings. That's a heck of a lot of firepower. Combined with the small size of the aircraft, the firepower was heavily concentrated.

Also, the mid-mounted engine proved a bit more protected to ground fire since from the ground, the fire mostly had to penetrate the wings first.

Cheers,

Ken
 
not sure i'd go that far Dean, Bud Anderson ripped the thing to pieces in his book. The Russians certainly knew some secret of how to use them though as it wasnt like they were up against inferior aircraft, those Luft aces were riding some top notch kit.

Altitude.

The P-39 had a weak turbocharger. In the PTO, the Zero flew faster, higher, and farther. And the Zero was a master of dogfighting over the P-39. Also, the USAAF used poor tactics in the first year of the war, which is a shame because Claire Chennault had already figured out how to beat the Zero, but no one in the USAAF wanted to listen to him!

Chennault was still shunned because of his advocacy against the primacy of the bomber mania. He was shoved out the back door with a contrived medical report and went to China to become the truly great air leader he became.

The P-40 could climb higher and could dive faster. This advantage meant that using the right tactics, P-40's could kill Zeros when P-39 with their altitude limits could not.

Even Sakai in his book wrote how frequently he felt sorry for the Americans flying the P-39. Some of his most poignant stories were told of P-39 pilots he fought over New Guinea. He admired their spirit and skill, but he killed them anyway!

Ken
 
So she was a nice plane after all woohooo..

Of course it is a nice plane and in FS we don't have to take it in combat, but we just enjoy the flight. ;) Due to the odd lay-out it should be something special to fly! (Like Piglet's SAAB J-21).

Russian pilots flew the Airacobra as "air superiority fighters," and at the low to medium altitudes of air combat on the Eastern Front, they did so with considerable success, against German Fw 190s and Bf 109s. The 216th Fighter Division (later 9th Guards Fighter Division) flew Airacobras from August, 1942 to the end of the war in May, 1945 and counted 28 aces with at least 15 victories.

Above a quote from the web-site which link I posted. Obviously the P-39 performed quite reasonable as fighter as well. So perhaps the Russians did know a secret the other P-39 users didn't (or they just used better tactics) :d

(At least) 28 x 15 victories 420 victories!!! Not bad for a unit equipped with fighter which are not considered "top notch".

Cheers,
Huub
 
it aint the equipment ( though thats a help ) its the person using it.. people forget, the P-36 shot down the first two planes of the war.. they were zero's..
good pilots..
 
Of course it is a nice plane and in FS we don't have to take it in combat, but we just enjoy the flight. ;) Due to the odd lay-out it should be something special to fly! (Like Piglet's SAAB J-21).



Above a quote from the web-site which link I posted. Obviously the P-39 performed quite reasonable as fighter as well. So perhaps the Russians did know a secret the other P-39 users didn't (or they just used better tactics) :d

(At least) 28 x 15 victories 420 victories!!! Not bad for a unit equipped with fighter which are not considered "top notch".

Cheers,
Huub

Altitude Huub, altitude.

All things must be considered in context.

If you didn't put armour plate, a heavy radio, and self-sealing fuel tanks in a Brewster Buffalo, it would turn with a Zero. But, that's not how the US Navy and Marine Corps equipped there's in the war. And, so they were death traps. On the other hand, the Fins did fly there's that way and they chopped up the Russians with them.

Ken
 
Welll, i'm trying really hard to make the P-36 real enough so that, if there WAS a combat situation, you could fly it and it would perform faithfully.. You all will be the judges of whether i've succeeded or not. right now, i'm in math way over my head, so please bear with me.. I will give you all, my very very best..
 
A few screenshots show casing the liveries that will be shipped with the Initial release of the P36 then another 6 liveries released with the expansion pack.

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-22.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-23.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-24.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-25.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-26.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-27.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-28.jpg" />

<img src="http://www.vertigostudios.co.uk/files/P36_pics/P36-29.jpg" />
 
additional liveries and full real aircraft management with failures included. This will be our first real expansion pack with damage models etc..
 
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