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Les Américains ne voulurent même pas engager au combat sous leurs couleurs le P-63 Kingcobra, successeur très amélioré du P-39

N'oublions pas que le P39 était surtout utilisé pour l'attaque au sol .

Unlike the high-altitude air battles of the strategic bombing campaigns in Western Europe, the majority of air operations over the Eastern Front occurred at low-altitude in support of troops on the ground — a domain in which the P-39’s deficiencies barely mattered.
Furthermore, Soviet airfields were generally close to the frontlines, rendering the Airacobra’s short range irrelevant.

The mission of the Red Air Force was to support the Red Army, and in order to perform this mission air units at division level and above were subordinated to ground formation commanders. The Red Air Force employed the P-39 Airacobra in several roles: the most common role was to cover or protect ground forces.

rollnloop a écrit : ↑

dim. sept. 26, 2021 4:02 pm

C'est du wikipedia je présume ?

A common Western misconception is that the Bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft.

One of the enduring myths regarding the P-39/P-63 in Soviet use is that because of its armament, in particular the 37mm nose cannon, it excelled as a ground-attack aircraft, even a 'tank buster'. In translating and preparing this manuscript for publication, I have had the opportunity to peruse several Russian-language sources. Mentions of the employment of this aircraft in the ground-attack role are so rare in these sources as to be exceptional ... The 'tank buster' myth has its roots in the misunderstanding of the general wartime role of the Red Air Force and in the imprecise translation of specific Russian-Language terms that describe this role.

The latter term as it is understood by many Western military historians and readers, suggests the attacking of ground targets in support of ground troops, also called 'close air support'. Did a Soviet Airacobra pilot ever strafe a German tank? Undoubtedly. But this was never a primary mission or strong suit for this aircraft.

DR_Corse66 a écrit : ↑

jeu. sept. 30, 2021 11:49 am

Je viens de finir l'excellent livre de Jean Lopez sur l'opération Bagration, il y fait mention plusieurs fois de l'intervention des P39 de Pokryshkin en couverture des troupes au sol (et principalement en chasse aux jabo FW 190, stukas et Hs129)

Et pour en revenir au débat j'ai trouvé ca :

A common Western misconception is that the Bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft.

One of the enduring myths regarding the P-39/P-63 in Soviet use is that because of its armament, in particular the 37mm nose cannon, it excelled as a ground-attack aircraft, even a 'tank buster'. In translating and preparing this manuscript for publication, I have had the opportunity to peruse several Russian-language sources. Mentions of the employment of this aircraft in the ground-attack role are so rare in these sources as to be exceptional ... The 'tank buster' myth has its roots in the misunderstanding of the general wartime role of the Red Air Force and in the imprecise translation of specific Russian-Language terms that describe this role.

Sur la page du wiki du kingcobra

The latter term as it is understood by many Western military historians and readers, suggests the attacking of ground targets in support of ground troops, also called 'close air support'. Did a Soviet Airacobra pilot ever strafe a German tank? Undoubtedly. But this was never a primary mission or strong suit for this aircraft.