Talk:Bell P-39 Airacobra/@comment-2601:646:8B00:8DCA:E43A:B36B:7DC6:BBA0-20190130221835

The Cobras had flaws that could be addressed.

The Eastern Front is where it excelled. It's short combat endurance and low combat ceiling were not an issue compared to elsewhere.

For air to air combat it reportedly included Russian guns in it's arsenal: UBS, UBK, ShVAK, B-20, and VYa-23. This solved the ballistic disharmony of the standard P-39.

For tank-busting the Browning 37mm M9 was the answer, but was not produced. It was in the XP-63D. It was a high velocity heavy cannon, finally. This turbo prototype was the fastest Cobra at 437 mph/30,000'. It had increased span for 255 SF W/A. It had the best range of the Cobras and a bubblle top. It should have been mass produced.

The fatal spin and poor maintenance accessability were addressed in the P-63. It had competant speed and altitude over the P-39. And yes, it did fight the Luftwaffe successfully.