Why Britain’s Airacobra Never Became Popular

The Bell P-400, originally dubbed the “Caribou” but better known as the Airacobra I, was a major disappointment to its first buyer, the Royal Air Force, which quickly wrote it off as a dud. But once those same aircraft were handed over to the Soviets, the story took a surprising turn, and so did the P-400’s legacy.

Roots

In April 1938, Bell had flown the prototype for their new and innovative aircraft, the XP-39. This was designed to achieve speeds of 400 mph and featured a comparatively novel arrangement, utilizing the Allison V12 engine in a mid-mounted position behind the cockpit. This allowed the plane to fit a 37 mm cannon in the nose, a very powerful weapon at the time when most fighters were equipped with rifle-caliber machine guns.

The novel aircraft, with its promise of both exceptional performance and heavy armament, was rapidly a subject of interest for foreign buyers. In April 1940, the British ordered the Bell 14. This variant, initially named Caribou, was equipped with a 20 mm cannon in the nose, along with an armament of six machine guns. With Allison V1710 E4 12-cylinder engines rated at 1,150 hp on takeoff, the Caribou looked like a winner.

A Dilemma

As soon as French orders were taken over by the Brits after the fall of France in June 1940, the total order from the British came to 675 aircraft. However, when the orders arrived, the Airacobra had many issues; it had a slow turnaround rate and also needed longer runways than its contemporary British fighters. It also had a host of other issues that the RAF testing showed needed redressing, one of which was that the aircraft would never be able to compete at high altitudes.

Although gravely disappointed with the Airacobra, the RAF was saddled with a large order for the aircraft that were now starting to be delivered and needed to find a role for them. Fortunately, by late 1941 and early 1942, there were a number of countries in dire need of fighter aircraft. The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought the US into the conflict, and the US was desperate for fighters, so 200 of the British aircraft in the factory were requisitioned by the US for their use. This is where the P-400 designation originated.

The P-400

Several P-400s were dispatched to the Pacific, where, in their British camouflage, they fought during the Guadalcanal campaign. Here, they had mixed fortunes, and the British concern about their high-altitude performance is definitely listed as an issue during the campaign.

Several P-400s seemed to have broadly held their own against Japanese fighters, including the fearsome Mitsubishi Zero, once they were able to be used as low-level attackers. In their favor was their tough construction and heavy firepower. However, as soon as better aircraft were available, the P-400s were replaced.

P-400s were also used in North Africa, serving alongside American P-39s with the 81st and 350th fighter groups. Although the performance of this aircraft seems to have been merged in the unit’s historic records, they made a reasonable enough account for themselves. They were often used in lower altitudes and often served as fighter bombers. This meant that when they tangled with enemy fighters, they weren’t so disadvantaged by their poor high-altitude performance.

Serving in the Soviet Union

It was with the Soviet Union that the P-39 really made its mark. The P-400s were the first of the type that the Soviets would receive, with the 212 being supplied by the British, and the Soviet pilots loved them.

But why did the Soviet opinion differ so much from the RAF? This is because the P-400s were operating in a more fluid and less controlled environment than RAF operations. This meant that the P-400s generally operated at lower altitudes since they were aiming to attack German tactical aircraft, specifically bombers. These operated at lower altitudes to identify and attack their targets at a tactical level. Moreover, escorting fighters had to generally do likewise.

This not just negated the P-400’s altitude disadvantage; it put them firmly in the zone they operated at peak efficiency, especially against contemporary German aircraft. This shows that the P-400 had a greater role and influence on the aerial war of WWII than is generally appreciated.