real P-39 vs ingame p-39

[horseback]

The P-39's reputation among the western air forces was colored by a number of things.

First, and greatest, was that it had limited range and like all Allison powered fighters without a turbosupercharger system, it quickly lost performance above 12,000 to 15,000 ft. Above those alts, it was generally thought to be nearly useless, and couldn't climb even as well as the overweight and lumbering F4F-4 Wildcat (which needed the better part of an hour to get up to 25,000 ft and still have enough fuel for combat over Guadalcanal). Tactically, it was limited in an air war that demanded range and better high altitude performance.

Second, it was rushed into the Southwest Pacific theater with undertrained pilots and support personnel, in many cases without the most basic technical documentation. Since this rush delivery to New Guinea and the Solomons included various early versions of the Airacobra, including the types originally intended for British Lend Lease, there was an extra measure of uncertainty and unreliability for the type in its initial combats. Remember that the aircraft were shipped in crates and then had to be re-assembled by personnel who had been working on other fighters like the P-35 or P-40, which were the primary types in the Philippines; the P-39 was a very new type in the inventory and had been flown primarily in the continental US.

Third, it had a reputation for being 'touchy' and unforgiving; the tendency it had for getting into a flat spin made it particularly unsuited for the novice pilots who flew it in the early combats. Pilots either loved it or (mostly) hated it, primarily because it was so sensitive. The smooth natural pilots liked it, and the heavier handed average pilots didn't, especially when they could see aircraft better suited to their skills being flown by other combat units.

Finally, it got a bad reputation early due to it being forced into roles it wasn't designed for and bad tactics ordered by senior officers who were clueless about its limitations. By the time that the pilots flying it had recognized its strengths and how to make best use of them, it was replaced by aircraft considered more reliable and longer ranged, like the P-40 and P-38.

The P-39s that flew in the Southwest Pacific rarely performed to the 'book' levels due to various combinations of the factors mentioned above, especially in the first year of American involvement; compared to the standard American taildraggers, it was small and weird looking, even when it could be flown to its limits. It was a good thing that the Russians liked them so much more than the P-40.

cheers

horseback