WWII Bell P-39 Airacobra nose cannon - GIF

[Altair]

WWII Bell P-39 Airacobra nose cannon.




Previously:

WWII P-51 Mustang machine gun test bench - photo
Rheinmetall BK-5 autocannon - photos
Northrop F-5E cannon - photo
Machine gun synchronizer in slow motion - GIF
Convair B-36 twin cannon turrets - GIF

[Duke_of_URL]

The P-39 Bell Aircobra was a pretty advanced concept at the time. A mid-engine fighter with a gearbox allowing a canon to be fired through the propeller-shaft. The Army Air Corps didn't much care for the aircraft, and neither did the British, due to lack of a supercharger for more power and to allow high-altitude operation. As a result, most of the Pennsylvania built Aircobras went to the Soviet Union, where they were used with great efficiency.
Fast forward a few decades and a couple of fishermen in Russia see something in the water, which turns out to be a P-39 that still has the pilot in it. The aircraft was salvaged by a British warbird recovery team who then turn it over to an American museum. It was going to be restored in the same building where it was manufactured by many of the same workers who had built them during the war.

- The recovery video is

.
- More on the pilot, Lt. Ivan Baranovskys is here.