| Original caption: “Airacobra Poison to the Axis…and a fighter the Army Air Forces praise.” A Bell P-39 Airacobra is depicted shooting a Luftwaffe (“Nazi German Air Force”) Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighter. The American aircraft’s armament of 34 caliber (7.62 millimeter) M1919 Browning machine guns, 52 caliber (12.7 millimeter) M2 Browning machine guns firing through the propeller, and a single 37 millimeter (1.47 inch) cannon firing through the propeller hub, are firing all at once for maximum public relations effect. In combat, the pilot could select which weaponry to use, and rarely fired all guns at once. The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a fighter produced for the United States Army Air Forces, the Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily Soyuza Sovetskih Sotsialisticheskih Respublik (“Soviet Red Army Air Force”) and the Free French in Buffalo, New York, during World War II. It was 1 of the principal American fighter jets in service when the United States entered combat. The Soviets nicknamed it Kobruksha (“Little Cobra”). The engine in the P-39 aircraft was equipped with a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, which limited its use to lower altitudes. This played to the P-39’s strengths, including sturdy construction, reliable radio gear, and adequate firepower, making it suitable for the low-speed, low-altitude nature of most air combat on the Eastern Front. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0982.jpg |
| Image Size | 29.12 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 11060 x 15621 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Washington |
| State or Province | District of Columbia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-44-PA-325 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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