Bell Helicopters
Bell P-63 Kingcobra WW2
First flight 7 December 1942 
Produced 1943–1945

The Bell P-63 Kingcobra is an American fighter aircraft that was developed by Bell Aircraft during World War II. Based on the preceding Bell P-39 Airacobra, the P-63's design incorporated suggestions from P-39 pilots and was superior to its predecessor in virtually all respects. The P-63 was not accepted for combat use by the United States Army Air Forces. However, it was used during World War II by the Soviet Air Force,[1] which had also been the most prolific user of the P-39.

Design and development

XP-39E

While the P-39 had been introduced as an interceptor, later in its development it was decided to reduce the cost and complexity of the engine by removing the turbocharger. High-altitude performance suffered dramatically as a result, and Bell proposed an experimental series to test out a variety of solutions.

The resulting XP-39E featured two primary changes from the earlier P-39D from which it was developed. One was a redesigned wing. The root airfoil, a NACA 0015 on other models of the P-39, was changed to a NACA 0018, to gain internal volume. The other was a switch to the Continental I-1430 engine, which featured an improved overall design developed from the hyper engine efforts, as well as an improved supercharger.

Bell RP-63C racer Tipsy Miss wearing No. 28 at Oshkosh Wisconsin in 1974..