Frederick A. Johnsen

The growth in size, lethality, and technology of the German Luftwaffe was of concern to some defense planners in the United States before American entry into the war. Learning about the Luftwaffe became a significant effort once the conflict broke out in Europe. From defectors with German aircraft to battlefield trophies and combat crew reports, the race to understand German aero technology took on sometimes heroic proportions. After the war, German technology infused American aerospace developments in many ways: German ribbon parachutes were evaluated for high-speed bailouts; sweptwing leading edge slat technology benefited the F-86 Sabre; overall comprehension of sweptwing benefits to fast jet aircraft was validated; pulse jet V1s and supersonic V2 rockets boosted American drone weapon, ballistic missile, and space exploration efforts. In this volume Frederick A. Johnsen traces that path of discovery.… (meer)

A concise history of the P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra. It has plenty of illustrations from official manuals relating to internal layouts, but surprisingly no detailed cockpit views save for two contemporary photographs which only show the left-hand side of the cockpit. There are no colour profiles, but a section of colour photographs was inserted into the book at a late stage in its production - to the extent that it separates an illustration from its caption by four pages!

The text is quite detailed, though it is a little disjointed, with little snippets of information given in separate paragraphs. I actually didn't mind this so much. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the role of the P-39 and P-63 examined in a wider context; discussing the strengths of the initial marks of the P-39 leads to the inevitable conclusion that although the aircraft was actually at its best in the low-level combat arena, this was not what the RAF were looking for at the time, which is why they rapidly found the P-39 wanting. The aircraft came into its own with air forces who were able to employ its qualities at low level.

Later marks of the P-39 and the P-63 were superior in performance at altitude; however, by that time its initial rejection by the RAF and a series of accidents caused as much by its unconventionality and pilots' inability to make allowances for that had tarnished the reputation of the aircraft, possibly quite unfairly. Johnsen goes into this in some level of detail. He also points out that the Bell Aircraft Corporation might not have survived on orders from the US military alone, as they were comparatively small compared to the numbers of P-39s ordered by the French and British in 1940. The size of those orders and subsequent ones ensured the survival of the company into the post-war era and gave them the expertise to design the record-breaking X-1. Certainly, a suggestion of some of the advanced thinking and production techniques that went into the P-39 can be found in the account of its design and construction.

This is an American book, so the detail is fairly comprehensive about US units operating the P-39 in particular, but quite sparse on foreign operators. However, all are listed; but for operational histories of the Airacobra and Kingcobra in, say, British, French or Italian service, the reader will have to look elsewhere. Howeever, as a straightforward introduction to the type, its history and construction, this book is a good starter.… (meer)