187-633: The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II . It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the Soviet Air Force , which used it to score the highest number of kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type flown by any air force in any conflict. Other major users of
374-728: A 1968 report concluded that "there seems to be no reason to attribute [the unexplained sightings] to an extraterrestrial source without much more convincing evidence." The FTD sent all of its case files to the USAF Historical Research Center , which transferred them in 1976 to the National Archives and Records Service in Washington, DC, which became the permanent repository of the Project Sign/Grudge/Blue Book records. In
561-403: A 1988 interview, Senator Barry Goldwater claimed he had asked Gen. Curtis LeMay for access to a secret UFO room at WPAFB and an angry LeMay said, "Not only can't you get into it but don't you ever mention it to me again." The Army Air Forces Technical Base ( Air Force Technical Base before being designated a USAF base) was formed on 15 December 1945, under Brig Gen Joseph T. Morris, during
748-538: A 37 mm cannon and six .30 caliber guns. The RAF eventually ordered 675 P-39s. However, after the first Airacobras arrived at 601 Squadron RAF in September 1941, they were found to have an inadequate rate of climb and performance at altitude for Western European conditions. Only 80 were operated, all by 601 Squadron. Britain transferred about 200 P-39s to the Soviet Union. Another 200 examples intended for
935-493: A COVID-19 vaccination site in support of the Federal Emergency Management whole-of-government COVID response. The base sent medical Air Force professionals to New York City after airmen from the 445th Airlift Wing were deployed to aid the city's response . In addition to the command headquarters, major units formerly assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base include: Located adjacent to
1122-738: A P-39. The last plane shot down by the Luftwaffe was a Soviet P-39, on 8 May by Oblt. Fritz Stehle of 2./JG 7 flying a Me 262 over the Ore Mountains . Also, the last Soviet air victory was in a P-39 on 9 May when Kapitan Vasily Pshenichikov scored against a Focke-Wulf Fw 189 over Prague . Five of the 10 highest scoring Soviet aces logged the majority of their kills in P-39s. Grigoriy Rechkalov scored 44 victories in Airacobras. Pokryshkin scored 47 of his 59 victories in P-39s, making him
1309-498: A P-39. He goes on to say that in hindsight, he was actually performing a Lomcovak , a now-common airshow maneuver, which he was also able to do in a Curtiss P-40 . A study of its spinning characteristics was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center 20-foot (6 m) Free-Spinning Tunnel during the 1970s. A study of old reports showed that during earlier tests the aircraft never tumbled. However, it
1496-584: A by now mediocre performance. The first Eindecker victory came on 1 July 1915, when Leutnant Kurt Wintgens , of Feldflieger Abteilung 6 on the Western Front, downed a Morane-Saulnier Type L. His was one of five Fokker M.5 K/MG prototypes for the Eindecker , and was armed with a synchronized aviation version of the Parabellum MG14 machine gun. The success of the Eindecker kicked off
1683-470: A cadre of exceptional pilots. In the United Kingdom, at the behest of Neville Chamberlain (more famous for his 'peace in our time' speech), the entire British aviation industry was retooled, allowing it to change quickly from fabric covered metal framed biplanes to cantilever stressed skin monoplanes in time for the war with Germany, a process that France attempted to emulate, but too late to counter
1870-635: A campaign that raised $ 425,000 in two days and purchased 4,520.47 acres (18.2937 km ) northeast of Dayton, including Wilbur Wright Field and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field. In 1924, the committee presented the deeds to President Calvin Coolidge for the construction of a new aviation engineering center. The entire acreage (including the Fairfield Air Depot) was designated Wright Field, which had units such as
2057-514: A climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) within six minutes. This was the most demanding set of fighter specifications the USAAC had presented to that date. Although Bell's limited fighter design work had previously resulted in the unusual Bell YFM-1 Airacuda , the Model 12 proposal adopted an equally original configuration with an Allison V-12 engine mounted in the middle of the fuselage , just behind
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#17327798076022244-435: A competitive cycle of improvement among the combatants, both sides striving to build ever more capable single-seat fighters. The Albatros D.I and Sopwith Pup of 1916 set the classic pattern followed by fighters for about twenty years. Most were biplanes and only rarely monoplanes or triplanes . The strong box structure of the biplane provided a rigid wing that allowed the accurate control essential for dogfighting. They had
2431-525: A crash landing than with an engine located forward of the cockpit. There were no problems with propeller shaft failure. The XP-39 made its maiden flight on 6 April 1938. at Wright Field , Ohio, achieving 390 mph (630 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m), reaching this altitude in only five minutes. However, the XP-39 was found to be short on performance at altitude. Flight testing had found its top speed at 20,000 ft (6,100 m) to be lower than
2618-540: A critical altitude (above which performance declined) of about 12,000 ft (3,700 m). As a result, the aircraft was simpler to produce and maintain. However, the removal of the turbo destroyed any chance that the P-39 could serve as a high-altitude front-line fighter. When deficiencies were noticed in 1940 and 1941, the lack of a turbo made it nearly impossible to improve upon the Airacobra's performance. The removal of
2805-443: A difficult deflection shot. The first step in finding a real solution was to mount the weapon on the aircraft, but the propeller remained a problem since the best direction to shoot is straight ahead. Numerous solutions were tried. A second crew member behind the pilot could aim and fire a swivel-mounted machine gun at enemy airplanes; however, this limited the area of coverage chiefly to the rear hemisphere, and effective coordination of
2992-552: A form that would replace all others in the 1930s. As collective combat experience grew, the more successful pilots such as Oswald Boelcke , Max Immelmann , and Edward Mannock developed innovative tactical formations and maneuvers to enhance their air units' combat effectiveness. Allied and – before 1918 – German pilots of World War I were not equipped with parachutes , so in-flight fires or structural failures were often fatal. Parachutes were well-developed by 1918 having previously been used by balloonists, and were adopted by
3179-664: A great deal of ground-attack work. In World War II, the USAAF and RAF often favored fighters over dedicated light bombers or dive bombers , and types such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Hawker Hurricane that were no longer competitive as aerial combat fighters were relegated to ground attack. Several aircraft, such as the F-111 and F-117, have received fighter designations though they had no fighter capability due to political or other reasons. The F-111B variant
3366-893: A long history of flight tests spanning from the Wright Brothers into the Space Age . It is the headquarters of the Air Force Materiel Command , one of the major commands of the Air Force. "Wright-Patt" (as the base is colloquially called) is also the location of a major USAF Medical Center (hospital), the Air Force Institute of Technology , and the National Museum of the United States Air Force , formerly known as
3553-419: A need to ballast the front ammunition compartment to achieve a reasonable center of gravity . High-speed controls were light, consequently high-speed turns and pull-outs were possible. The P-39 had to be held in a dive since it tended to level out and the recommended never-exceed dive speed limit ( Vne ) was 475 mph (764 km/h). Soon after entering service, pilots began to report that "during flights of
3740-431: A number of twin-engine fighters were built; however they were found to be outmatched against single-engine fighters and were relegated to other tasks, such as night fighters equipped with radar sets. By the end of the war, turbojet engines were replacing piston engines as the means of propulsion, further increasing aircraft speed. Since the weight of the turbojet engine was far less than a piston engine, having two engines
3927-550: A part of military nomenclature, a letter is often assigned to various types of aircraft to indicate their use, along with a number to indicate the specific aircraft. The letters used to designate a fighter differ in various countries. In the English-speaking world, "F" is often now used to indicate a fighter (e.g. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II or Supermarine Spitfire F.22 ), though "P" used to be used in
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#17327798076024114-638: A range of specialized aircraft types. Some of the most expensive fighters such as the US Grumman F-14 Tomcat , McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Russian Sukhoi Su-27 were employed as all-weather interceptors as well as air superiority fighter aircraft, while commonly developing air-to-ground roles late in their careers. An interceptor is generally an aircraft intended to target (or intercept) bombers and so often trades maneuverability for climb rate. As
4301-518: A regular basis over New Guinea. Compilation of combat reports indicates the Zero was either equal to or close to the P-39 in speed at the altitudes of the various low level encounters. From September to November 1942, pilots of the 57th Fighter Squadron flew P-39s and P-38s from an airfield built on land bulldozed into Kuluk Bay on the barren island of Adak in Alaska's Aleutian Islands . They attacked
4488-399: A relief tube in the shape of a funnel. The armored glass was very strong, extremely thick. The armor on the back was also thick. The oxygen equipment was reliable, although the mask was quite small, only covering the nose and mouth. We wore that mask only at high altitude. The HF radio set was powerful, reliable and clear." Soviet pilot Nikolai G. Golodnikov, recalling his experiences of
4675-742: A result, during the early months of these campaigns, Axis air forces destroyed large numbers of Red Air Force aircraft on the ground and in one-sided dogfights. In the later stages on the Eastern Front, Soviet training and leadership improved, as did their equipment. By 1942 Soviet designs such as the Yakovlev Yak-9 and Lavochkin La-5 had performance comparable to the German Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 . Also, significant numbers of British, and later U.S., fighter aircraft were supplied to aid
4862-643: A separate (and vulnerable) radiator, but had increased drag. Inline engines often had a better power-to-weight ratio . Some air forces experimented with " heavy fighters " (called "destroyers" by the Germans). These were larger, usually twin-engined aircraft, sometimes adaptations of light or medium bomber types. Such designs typically had greater internal fuel capacity (thus longer range) and heavier armament than their single-engine counterparts. In combat, they proved vulnerable to more agile single-engine fighters. The primary driver of fighter innovation, right up to
5049-399: A short central shaft. The gearbox was provided with its own lubrication system, separate from the engine; in later versions of the Airacobra the gearbox was provided with some armor protection. The glycol -cooled radiator was fitted in the wing center section, immediately beneath the engine; this was flanked on either side by a single drum-shaped oil cooler. Air for the radiator and oil coolers
5236-420: A single operator, who flew the aircraft and also controlled its armament. They were armed with one or two Maxim or Vickers machine guns, which were easier to synchronize than other types, firing through the propeller arc. Gun breeches were in front of the pilot, with obvious implications in case of accidents, but jams could be cleared in flight, while aiming was simplified. The use of metal aircraft structures
5423-519: A single-stage, single-speed supercharger. At a pivotal meeting with the USAAC and NACA in August 1939, Larry Bell proposed that the production P-39 aircraft be configured without the turbocharger. Some historians have questioned Bell's true motivation in reconfiguring the aircraft. The strongest hypothesis is that Bell's factory did not have an active production program and he was desperate for cash flow. Other historians mention that wind tunnel tests made
5610-493: A speed of 391 mph (629 km/h) at 14,400 ft (4,400 m) in flight test. As this speed was within 1% of the guarantee, the aircraft was declared to have satisfied contractual obligations. Despite the success of these modifications, none were applied to other production P-39s. Later testing of a standard production P-400 by the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) revealed
5797-456: A strong central keel that incorporated the armament, cockpit, and engine. Two strong fuselage beams to port and starboard formed the basis of the structure. These angled upwards fore and aft to create mounting points for the T9 cannon and propeller reduction gearbox and for the engine and accessories respectively. A strong arched bulkhead provided the main structural attachment point for the main spar of
Bell P-39 Airacobra - Misplaced Pages Continue
5984-413: A top speed of 375 mph (604 km/h) up to 20,000 ft (6,100 m). Weight distribution could result in it entering a dangerous flat spin , a characteristic Soviet test pilots demonstrated to the skeptical manufacturer, which had been unable to reproduce the effect. It was determined the spin could only be induced if the aircraft was flown with no ammunition in the nose. The flight manual noted
6171-404: A top speed of only 359 mph (578 km/h). The British export models were renamed Airacobra in 1941. A further 150 were specified for delivery under Lend-Lease in 1941 but these were not supplied. The Royal Air Force (RAF) took delivery in mid-1941 and found that performance of the non-turbo-supercharged production aircraft differed markedly from what they were expecting. In some areas,
6358-466: A tricycle undercarriage and an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine mounted in the central fuselage, directly behind the cockpit. The Airacobra was one of the first production fighters to be conceived as a "weapons system"; in this case the aircraft (known originally as the Bell Model 4) was designed to provide a platform for the 37 mm T9 cannon . This weapon, which was designed in 1934 by
6545-402: Is a fast, heavily armed and long-range type, able to act as an escort fighter protecting bombers , to carry out offensive sorties of its own as a penetration fighter and maintain standing patrols at significant distance from its home base. Bombers are vulnerable due to their low speed, large size and poor maneuvrability. The escort fighter was developed during World War II to come between
6732-549: Is able to defend itself while conducting attack sorties. The word "fighter" was first used to describe a two-seat aircraft carrying a machine gun (mounted on a pedestal) and its operator as well as the pilot . Although the term was coined in the United Kingdom, the first examples were the French Voisin pushers beginning in 1910, and a Voisin III would be the first to shoot down another aircraft, on 5 October 1914. However at
6919-757: Is approximately 16 kilometres (10 mi) northeast of Dayton ; Wright Field is approximately 8.0 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of Dayton. The host unit at Wright-Patterson AFB is the 88th Air Base Wing (88 ABW), assigned to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and Air Force Materiel Command . The 88 ABW operates the airfield, maintains all infrastructure and provides security, communications, medical, legal, personnel, contracting, finance, transportation, air traffic control, weather forecasting, public affairs, recreation and chaplain services for more than 60 associate units. The Air Force's National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC)
7106-623: Is known as an interceptor . Recognized classes of fighter include: Of these, the Fighter-bomber , reconnaissance fighter and strike fighter classes are dual-role, possessing qualities of the fighter alongside some other battlefield role. Some fighter designs may be developed in variants performing other roles entirely, such as ground attack or unarmed reconnaissance . This may be for political or national security reasons, for advertising purposes, or other reasons. The Sopwith Camel and other "fighting scouts" of World War I performed
7293-556: The 137th Aero Squadron , were killed at Wright Field in the crash of their de Havilland DH.4 after its wings collapsed during a dive while firing at ground targets with a new synchronized-through–the–propeller machine gun. Patterson's grave and memorial arch is at Woodland Cemetery and Aborateum in Dayton, Ohio. The area's World War II Army Air Fields had employment increase from approximately 3,700 in December 1939 to over 50,000 at
7480-667: The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) began analysis of crashed Soviet aircraft from the Korean war. In March 1952, ATIC established an Aerial Phenomena Group to study reported UFO sightings, including those in Washington, DC, in 1952. By 1969, the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) and its predecessor organizations had studied 12,618 reported sightings: 701 remained unexplained when the Air Force closed its UFO investigations, and
7667-608: The Bosnian War were held at the base, resulting in the Dayton Agreement , ending the war. The 88th Air Base Wing is commanded by Col. Travis W. Pond on an interim basis due to the removal of Col. Christopher B. Meeker who was relieved due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Lloyd E. Morales. The base had a total of 27,406 military, civilian and contract employees in 2010. The Greene County portion of
Bell P-39 Airacobra - Misplaced Pages Continue
7854-807: The C-17 Globemaster heavy airlifter . Wright-Patterson is also the headquarters of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Air Force Research Laboratory . Wright-Patterson is the host of the annual United States Air Force Marathon which occurs the weekend closest to the Air Force's anniversary. The base conducts neurotechnology research. Flying and notable non-flying units based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Wright-Patterson, are subordinate to
8041-792: The China Burma India Theater by March 1944 and the 350th began transition to the P-47D in August 1944, remaining in Italy with the 12th Air Force. The most successful and numerous use of the P-39 was by the Soviet Air Forces . They received the considerably improved N and Q models via the Alaska-Siberia ferry route . The tactical environment of the Eastern Front did not demand the high-altitude performance
8228-562: The Combined Bomber Offensive . Unescorted Consolidated B-24 Liberators and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, however, proved unable to fend off German interceptors (primarily Bf 109s and Fw 190s). With the later arrival of long range fighters, particularly the North American P-51 Mustang , American fighters were able to escort far into Germany on daylight raids and by ranging ahead attrited
8415-585: The Junkers D.I , made with corrugated duralumin , all based on his experience in creating the pioneering Junkers J 1 all-metal airframe technology demonstration aircraft of late 1915. While Fokker would pursue steel tube fuselages with wooden wings until the late 1930s, and Junkers would focus on corrugated sheet metal, Dornier was the first to build a fighter (the Dornier-Zeppelin D.I ) made with pre-stressed sheet aluminum and having cantilevered wings,
8602-592: The Lend-Lease program . There were numerous minor variations in engine, propeller, and armament, but no major structural changes in production types, excepting a few two-seat TP-39F and RP-39Q trainers. In addition, seven went to the U.S. Navy as radio-controlled drones . Trials of a laminar flow wing (in the XP-39E) and Continental IV-1430 engine (the P-76) were unsuccessful. The mid-engine, gun-through-hub concept
8789-577: The Mad River at the northeast boundary of the base, near the former location of the village of Osborn , were purchased for a Strategic Air Command dispersal site. Area D structures were demolished in 1957 (donated to the state in 1963 for Wright State University ). In February 1958 the Wright Field (Area B) runways were closed to all jet traffic (1959 Area C operations included 139,276 takeoffs and landings, Area B had 44,699.) The West Ramp complex
8976-624: The Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, while the post-war Operation Paperclip brought German scientists and technicians to Wright Field, e.g., Ernst R. G. Eckert (most of the scientists eventually went to work in the various Wright Field labs.) Project Sign ( Project Grudge in 1949, Project Blue Book in March 1952) was WPAFB's T-2 Intelligence investigations of unidentified flying objects (UFO) reports that began in July 1947. In 1951,
9163-573: The President of Bosnia and Herzegovina ; Franjo Tuđman , the President of Croatia ; and Slobodan Milošević , the President of Serbia , arrived at Wright-Patterson AFB to commence negotiations to end the Bosnian War , an ethnic conflict that by 1995 was between the Bosnia and Herzegovina's Bosniaks and the Croats (who had put aside their differences) on one side versus Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serbs on
9350-453: The RAF and the USAAF against German industry intended to wear down the Luftwaffe. Axis fighter aircraft focused on defending against Allied bombers while Allied fighters' main role was as bomber escorts. The RAF raided German cities at night, and both sides developed radar-equipped night fighters for these battles. The Americans, in contrast, flew daylight bombing raids into Germany delivering
9537-598: The Robot Blitz , Wright Field fired a reconstructed German pulse-jet engine (an entire V-1 flying bomb was " reversed engineered " [ sic ] by 8 September at Republic Aviation .) The first German and Japanese aircraft arrived in 1943, and captured equipment soon filled six buildings, a large outdoor storage area, and part of a flight-line hangar for Technical Data Lab study (TDL closed its Army Aeronautical Museum). The World War II Operation Lusty returned 86 German aircraft to Wright Field for study, e.g.,
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#17327798076029724-588: The Sopwith Tabloid and Bristol Scout . The French and the Germans didn't have an equivalent as they used two seaters for reconnaissance, such as the Morane-Saulnier L , but would later modify pre-war racing aircraft into armed single seaters. It was quickly found that these were of little use since the pilot couldn't record what he saw while also flying, while military leaders usually ignored what
9911-792: The Stangensteuerung in German, for "pushrod control system") devised by the engineers of Anthony Fokker 's firm was the first system to enter service. It would usher in what the British called the " Fokker scourge " and a period of air superiority for the German forces, making the Fokker Eindecker monoplane a feared name over the Western Front , despite its being an adaptation of an obsolete pre-war French Morane-Saulnier racing airplane, with poor flight characteristics and
10098-622: The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), and Captain Gordon P. Saville , fighter tactics instructor at the Air Corps Tactical School , issued a specification for a new fighter via Circular Proposal X-609 . It was a request for a single-engine high-altitude " interceptor " having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude". Despite being called an interceptor,
10285-411: The Wright Flyer III . Their flight exhibition company and the Wright Company School of Aviation returned 1910–1916 to use the flying field. World War I transfers of land that later became WPAFB include 2,075-acre (8.40 km ) (including the Huffman Prairie Flying Field ) along the Mad River leased to the Army by the Miami Conservancy District , the adjacent 40 acres (160,000 m ) purchased by
10472-564: The "Dayton Peace Accords" held at WPAFB created the " Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina " signed in Paris on 14 December. Huffman Prairie was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990 and named part of the 1992 Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park . The West Ramp facility switched from the 4950th Test Wing to AFRC's 445th Airlift Wing with C-17 Globemaster III transports. The permanent party work force at WPAFB as of 30 September 2005, numbered 5,517 military and 8,102 civilian. In 1995, Alija Izetbegović ,
10659-652: The 1965–77 Celestial Guidance Research Site.) WPAFB also had an Army Air Defense Command Post for nearby Project Nike surface-to-air missile sites of the Cincinnati-Dayton Defense Area were at Wilmington (CD-27, 39°24′03″N 083°52′54″W / 39.40083°N 83.88167°W / 39.40083; -83.88167 ); Felicity (CD-46, 38°50′37″N 084°08′33″W / 38.84361°N 84.14250°W / 38.84361; -84.14250 ); Dillsboro (CD-63), and Oxford (CD-78, 39°33′30″N 084°47′31″W / 39.55833°N 84.79194°W / 39.55833; -84.79194 ). The AADCP activated in
10846-431: The 400 mph (640 km/h) of the original proposal. As originally specified by Kelsey and Saville, the XP-39 had a turbo-supercharger to augment its high-altitude performance. Bell cooled the turbo with a scoop on the left side of the fuselage. Kelsey wished to shepherd the XP-39 through its early engineering teething troubles, but he was ordered to England. The XP-39 project was handed over to others, and in June 1939
11033-487: The Airacobra in the VVS was Kobrushka ("little cobra") or Kobrastochka , a blend of Kobra and Lastochka (swallow), "dear little cobra". "I liked the Cobra, especially the Q-5 version. It was the lightest version of all Cobras and was the best fighter I ever flew. The cockpit was very comfortable, and visibility was outstanding. The instrument panel was very ergonomic, with the entire complement of instruments right up to an artificial horizon and radio compass. It even had
11220-442: The Airacobra was inferior to existing aircraft such as the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire and its performance at altitude suffered drastically. Tests by the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Boscombe Down showed the Airacobra reached 355 mph (571 km/h) at 13,000 ft (4,000 m). The cockpit layout was criticized, and it was noted that the pilot would have difficulty in bailing out in an emergency because
11407-439: The Allison engine with only a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, limited high-altitude performance, which was markedly inferior to contemporary European fighters and, as a result, the first USAAF fighter units in the European Theater were equipped with the Spitfire V . However, the P-39D's roll rate was 75°/s at 235 mph (378 km/h) – better than the A6M2 , F4F , or P-38 up to 265 mph (426 km/h). Above
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#173277980760211594-416: The American Armament Corporation, a division of Oldsmobile , fired a 1.3 lb (0.59 kg) projectile capable of piercing .8 in (20 mm) of armor at 500 yd (460 m) with armor-piercing rounds. The 90-inch-long (2.3 m), 200 lb (90 kg) weapon had to be rigidly mounted and fire parallel to and close to the centerline of the new fighter. It would have been impossible to mount
11781-500: The Army from the District for the Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot , and a 254-acre (1.03 km ) complex for McCook Field just north of downtown Dayton between Keowee Street and the Great Miami River. In 1918, Wilbur Wright Field agreed to let McCook Field use hangar and shop space as well as its enlisted mechanics to assemble and maintain airplanes and engines under the direction of Chief of Air Service Mason Patrick . After World War I , 347 German aircraft were brought to
11968-411: The Brick Quarters (including the command headquarters in Building 10262) at the south end of Patterson Field along Route 4 was administratively reassigned from Patterson Field to Wright Field. To avoid confusing the two areas of Wright Field, the south end of the former Patterson Field portion was designated "Area A", the original Wright Field became "Area B", and the north end of Patterson Field, including
12155-462: The British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force referred to them as " scouts " until the early 1920s, while the U.S. Army called them "pursuit" aircraft until the late 1940s (using the designation P, as in Curtiss P-40 Warhawk , Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Bell P-63 Kingcobra ). The UK changed to calling them fighters in the 1920s , while the US Army did so in the 1940s. A short-range fighter designed to defend against incoming enemy aircraft
12342-460: The British, the Americans, the Spanish (in the Spanish civil war) and the Germans. Given limited budgets, air forces were conservative in aircraft design, and biplanes remained popular with pilots for their agility, and remained in service long after they ceased to be competitive. Designs such as the Gloster Gladiator , Fiat CR.42 Falco , and Polikarpov I-15 were common even in the late 1930s, and many were still in service as late as 1942. Up until
12529-669: The European battlefield, played a crucial role in the eventual defeat of the Axis, which Reichmarshal Hermann Göring , commander of the German Luftwaffe summed up when he said: "When I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I knew the jig was up." Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base ( WPAFB ) ( IATA : FFO , ICAO : KFFO , FAA LID : FFO ) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio , in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur Wright Field and Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot. Patterson Field
12716-483: The German flying services during the course of that year. The well known and feared Manfred von Richthofen , the "Red Baron", was wearing one when he was killed, but the allied command continued to oppose their use on various grounds. In April 1917, during a brief period of German aerial supremacy a British pilot's average life expectancy was calculated to average 93 flying hours, or about three weeks of active service. More than 50,000 airmen from both sides died during
12903-500: The German invasion. The period of improving the same biplane design over and over was now coming to an end, and the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire started to supplant the Gloster Gladiator and Hawker Fury biplanes but many biplanes remained in front-line service well past the start of World War II. While not a combatant in Spain, they too absorbed many of the lessons in time to use them. The Spanish Civil War also provided an opportunity for updating fighter tactics. One of
13090-411: The Headquarters, 5th Division Air Service (redesignated 5th Division Aviation in 1928), and its 88th Observation Squadron and 7th Photo Section. New facilities were built 1925–27 on the portion of Wright Field west of Huffman Dam to house all of the McCook Field functions being relocated. Wright Field was "formally dedicated" on 12 October 1927 when "the Materiel Division moved from McCook Field to
13277-414: The Italians developed several monoplanes such as the Fiat G.50 Freccia , but being short on funds, were forced to continue operating obsolete Fiat CR.42 Falco biplanes. From the early 1930s the Japanese were at war against both the Chinese Nationalists and the Russians in China, and used the experience to improve both training and aircraft, replacing biplanes with modern cantilever monoplanes and creating
13464-907: The Japanese Nakajima Ki-27 , Nakajima Ki-43 and Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the Italian Fiat G.50 Freccia and Macchi MC.200 . In contrast, designers in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States believed that the increased speed of fighter aircraft would create g -forces unbearable to pilots who attempted maneuvering dogfights typical of the First World War, and their fighters were instead optimized for speed and firepower. In practice, while light, highly maneuverable aircraft did possess some advantages in fighter-versus-fighter combat, those could usually be overcome by sound tactical doctrine, and
13651-563: The Japanese forces that had invaded Attu and Kiska islands in the Aleutians in June 1942. The factor that claimed the most lives was not the Japanese but the weather. The low clouds, heavy mist and fog, driving rain, snow, and high winds made flying dangerous and lives miserable. The 57th remained in Alaska until November 1942, then returned to the United States. While Lieutenant Bill Fiedler
13838-750: The July 1992 merging of WPAFB labs , the base's Wright Laboratory included a Flight Dynamics Directorate. Superfund sites (39 initial areas) of WPAFB were found to be contaminated with chlorinated volatile organic compounds and benzene compounds (soils and groundwater), and an EPA/USAF Federal Facilities Agreement was signed in 1981 for remediation and continued investigation (the Installation Restoration Program for WPAFB identified 65 areas, including 13 landfills, 12 earth fill disposal zones, 9 fuel or chemical spill sites, 6 coal storage piles, 5 fire-training areas, 4 chemical burial sites, and 2 underground storage tanks). In November 1995,
14025-562: The Luftwaffe to establish control of the skies over Western Europe. By the time of Operation Overlord in June 1944, the Allies had gained near complete air superiority over the Western Front. This cleared the way both for intensified strategic bombing of German cities and industries, and for the tactical bombing of battlefield targets. With the Luftwaffe largely cleared from the skies, Allied fighters increasingly served as ground attack aircraft. Allied fighters, by gaining air superiority over
14212-662: The Luftwaffe, and while the Luftwaffe maintained a qualitative edge over the Red Air Force for much of the war, the increasing numbers and efficacy of the Soviet Air Force were critical to the Red Army's efforts at turning back and eventually annihilating the Wehrmacht . Meanwhile, air combat on the Western Front had a much different character. Much of this combat focused on the strategic bombing campaigns of
14399-613: The M4 cannon with its powerful rounds and the reliable action but complained about the low rate of fire (three rounds per second) and inadequate ammunition storage (only 30 rounds). The Soviets used the Airacobra primarily for air-to-air combat against a variety of German aircraft, including Bf 109s, Focke-Wulf Fw 190s , Ju 87s, and Ju 88s . During the battle of Kuban River, VVS relied on P-39s much more than Spitfires and P-40s. Aleksandr Pokryshkin , from 16. Gv.IAP ( 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment ), claimed 20 victories in that campaign in
14586-531: The P-39 The first Soviet Cobras had a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon and two heavy Browning machine guns, synchronized and mounted in the nose. Later, Cobras arrived with the M4 37 mm cannon and four machine guns, two synchronized and two wing-mounted. "We immediately removed the wing machine guns, leaving one cannon and two machine guns," Golodnikov recalled later. That modification improved roll rate by reducing rotational inertia . Soviet airmen appreciated
14773-463: The P-39 for tank-busting duties. Fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also pursuit aircraft ) are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat . In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace . Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent
14960-407: The P-39 in certain maneuvers, it tumbled end over end." Most of these events happened after the aircraft was stalled in a nose high attitude with considerable power applied. Bell pilots made 86 separate efforts to reproduce the reported tumbling characteristics. In no case were they able to tumble it. In his autobiography veteran test and airshow pilot R.A. "Bob" Hoover provides an account of tumbling
15147-587: The P-39D (Model 15), which also introduced self-sealing tanks and shackles (and piping) for a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb or drop tank. Because of the unconventional layout, there was no space in the fuselage to place a fuel tank. Although drop tanks were implemented to extend its range, the standard fuel load was carried in the wings, with limitations on range. A heavy structure, and around 256 lb (116 kg) of armor, were characteristic of this aircraft as well. The production P-39's heavier weight combined with
15334-616: The P-40 and were assigned P-39s in February 1944, but only flew the type for a few weeks. The 99th carried out their duties including supporting Operation Shingle over Anzio as well as missions over the Gulf of Naples in the Airacobra but achieved few aerial victories. The major MTO P-39 operators included the 81st and 350th Fighter Groups , both flying the maritime patrol mission from North Africa and on through Italy. The 81st transferred to
15521-501: The RAF and AAF did. The comparatively low-speed, low-altitude nature of most air combat on the Eastern Front suited the P-39's strengths: sturdy construction, reliable radio gear, and good firepower. Soviet pilots appreciated the cannon-armed P-39 primarily for its air-to-air capability. A common Western misconception is that the Bell fighters were used as ground attack aircraft. This is because
15708-692: The RAF rejecting the type after one combat mission. In March 1942, the unit re-equipped with Spitfires. The Airacobras already in the UK, along with the remainder of the first batch being built in the US, were sent to the Soviet Air force, the sole exception being AH574 , which was passed to the Royal Navy and used for experimental work, including the first carrier landing by a tricycle undercarriage aircraft, on 4 April 1945 on HMS Pretoria Castle , until it
15895-730: The RAF were taken up by the USAAF after the attack on Pearl Harbor as the P-400 , and were sent to the Fifth Air Force in Australia, for service in the South West Pacific Theatre . By the date of the Pearl Harbor attack, nearly 600 P-39s had been built. When P-39 production ended in August 1944, Bell had built 9,558 Airacobras, of which 4,773 (mostly −39Ns and −39Qs) were sent to the Soviet Union through
16082-555: The Soviet Polikarpov I-16 . The later German design was earlier in its design cycle, and had more room for development and the lessons learned led to greatly improved models in World War II. The Russians failed to keep up and despite newer models coming into service, I-16s remaining the most common Soviet front-line fighter into 1942 despite being outclassed by the improved Bf 109s in World War II. For their part,
16269-466: The Soviet term for the mission of the P-39, prikrytiye sukhoputnykh voysk (coverage of ground forces) has been mistaken as meaning close air support . In Soviet usage, it has a broader meaning including protection of the airspace above army operations. Soviet-operated P-39s did make strafing attacks, but it was "never a primary mission or strong suit for this aircraft". To satisfy the strafing requirement,
16456-545: The Soviet war effort as part of Lend-Lease , with the Bell P-39 Airacobra proving particularly effective in the lower-altitude combat typical of the Eastern Front. The Soviets were also helped indirectly by the American and British bombing campaigns, which forced the Luftwaffe to shift many of its fighters away from the Eastern Front in defense against these raids. The Soviets increasingly were able to challenge
16643-554: The Soviets built thousands of heavily armored Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft. For the Bell fighters, the Soviets developed successful group aerial fighting tactics, and scored a surprising number of aerial victories over a variety of German aircraft. Soviet P-39s had no trouble dispatching Junkers Ju 87 Stuka s or German twin-engine bombers and matched, and in some areas surpassed, early and mid-war Messerschmitt Bf 109s . The usual nickname for
16830-674: The Space Force's National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC) are also garrisoned there and are the Intelligence Community's primary organizations for strategic air and space threat analysis. The base's origin begins with the establishment of Wilbur Wright Field on 22 May 1917 and McCook Field in November 1917, both established by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps as World War I installations. McCook
17017-609: The U.S. Air Force Museum. The 88th Air Base Wing consists of more than 5,000 officers, enlisted Air Force, civilian and contractor employees responsible for three primary mission areas: operating the installation; deploying expeditionary Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism; and defending the base and its people. It is also the home base of the 445th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command , an Air Mobility Command -gained unit which flies
17204-505: The U.S. was looking for combat aircraft; they ordered 675 of the export version Bell Model 14 as the Caribou on the strength of the company's representations on 13 April 1940. The British armament was two nose-mounted .50 caliber machine guns and four .303 caliber Browning machine guns in the wings. The 37 mm gun was replaced by a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon . British expectations had been set by performance figures established by
17391-557: The US for pursuit (e.g. Curtiss P-40 Warhawk ), a translation of the French "C" ( Dewoitine D.520 C.1 ) for Chasseur while in Russia "I" was used for Istrebitel , or exterminator ( Polikarpov I-16 ). As fighter types have proliferated, the air superiority fighter emerged as a specific role at the pinnacle of speed, maneuverability, and air-to-air weapon systems – able to hold its own against all other fighters and establish its dominance in
17578-529: The United States, Russia, India and China. The first step was to find ways to reduce the aircraft's reflectivity to radar waves by burying the engines, eliminating sharp corners and diverting any reflections away from the radar sets of opposing forces. Various materials were found to absorb the energy from radar waves, and were incorporated into special finishes that have since found widespread application. Composite structures have become widespread, including major structural components, and have helped to counterbalance
17765-777: The United States—some were incorporated into the Army Aeronautical Museum (in 1923 the Engineering Division at McCook Field "first collected technical artifacts for preservation"). The training school at Wilbur Wright Field was discontinued. Wilbur Wright Field and the depot merged after World War I to form the Fairfield Air Depot. The Patterson family formed the Dayton Air Service Committee, Inc which held
17952-476: The World War II drawdown by merging Wright Field, Patterson Field, Dayton Army Air Field, and—acquired by Wright Field for 1942 glider testing—Clinton Army Air Field. The Jamestown Radar Annex became a leased installation of the Technical Base in 1946, and the "custodial units at Dayton and Clinton County AAFlds were discontinued in 1946". An 8000-foot concrete runway with 1000-foot runoffs at each end
18139-497: The ability to gather information by reconnaissance over the battlefield. Early fighters were very small and lightly armed by later standards, and most were biplanes built with a wooden frame covered with fabric, and a maximum airspeed of about 100 mph (160 km/h). A successful German biplane, the Albatross, however, was built with a plywood shell, rather than fabric, which created a stronger, faster airplane. As control of
18326-527: The advantages of fighting above Britain's home territory allowed the RAF to deny Germany air superiority, saving the UK from possible German invasion and dealing the Axis a major defeat early in the Second World War. On the Eastern Front , Soviet fighter forces were overwhelmed during the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa . This was a result of the tactical surprise at the outset of the campaign,
18513-534: The airspace over armies became increasingly important, all of the major powers developed fighters to support their military operations. Between the wars, wood was largely replaced in part or whole by metal tubing, and finally aluminum stressed skin structures (monocoque) began to predominate. By World War II , most fighters were all-metal monoplanes armed with batteries of machine guns or cannons and some were capable of speeds approaching 400 mph (640 km/h). Most fighters up to this point had one engine, but
18700-614: The base is a census-designated place (CDP), with a resident population of 1,821 at the 2010 census . Prehistoric Indian mounds of the Adena culture at Wright-Patterson are along P Street and, at the Wright Brothers Memorial, a hilltop mound group . Aircraft operations on land now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base began in 1904–1905 when Wilbur and Orville Wright used an 84-acre (340,000 m ) plot of Huffman Prairie for experimental test flights with
18887-486: The base proper is the National Museum of the United States Air Force . The oldest and largest military aircraft museum in the world, it houses such aircraft as the only XB-70 Valkyrie in existence, an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter , and the World War II B-17 bomber , Memphis Belle . Wright-Patterson AFB is "one of the largest, most diverse, and organizationally complex bases in the Air Force" with
19074-502: The basis for an effective "fighter" in the modern sense of the word. It was based on small fast aircraft developed before the war for air racing such with the Gordon Bennett Cup and Schneider Trophy . The military scout airplane was not expected to carry serious armament, but rather to rely on speed to "scout" a location, and return quickly to report, making it a flying horse. British scout aircraft, in this sense, included
19261-414: The bombers and enemy attackers as a protective shield. The primary requirement was for long range, with several heavy fighters given the role. However they too proved unwieldy and vulnerable, so as the war progressed techniques such as drop tanks were developed to extend the range of more nimble conventional fighters. The penetration fighter is typically also fitted for the ground-attack role, and so
19448-441: The center fuselage, directly behind the pilot's seat. The tractor propeller was driven with a 10-foot-long (3.0 m) drive shaft made in two sections, incorporating a self-aligning bearing to accommodate fuselage deflection during violent maneuvers. This shaft ran through a tunnel in the cockpit floor and was connected to a gearbox in the nose of the fuselage which, in turn, drove the three- or (later) four-bladed propeller by way of
19635-461: The central core of Patterson Field and developed almost self-sufficient community status. (Wood City was acquired in 1924 as part of the original donation of land to the government but was used primarily as just a radio range until World War II. Skyway Park was acquired in 1943.) They supported the vast numbers of recruits who enlisted and were trained at the two fields as well as thousands of civilian laborers, especially single women recruited to work at
19822-472: The cockpit roof could not be jettisoned. The lack of a clear vision panel on the windscreen assembly meant that in the event of heavy rain the pilot's forward view would be obliterated; the pilot's notes advised that in this case the door windows would have to be lowered and the speed reduced to 150 mph (240 km/h) On the other hand, it was considered effective for low level fighter and ground attack work. Problems with gun- and exhaust-flash suppression and
20009-413: The cockpit, and a propeller driven by a shaft passing beneath the pilot's feet under the cockpit floor. The main purpose of this configuration was to free up space for a 37 mm Browning Arms Company T9 cannon , later produced by Oldsmobile , firing through the center of the propeller hub for optimum accuracy and stability. This happened because H.M. Poyer, designer for project leader Robert Woods,
20196-453: The compass could be fixed. No. 601 Squadron RAF was the only British unit to use the Airacobra operationally, receiving their first two examples on 6 August 1941. On 9 October, four Airacobras attacked enemy barges near Dunkirk, in the type's only operational action with the RAF. The squadron continued to train with the Airacobra during the winter, but a combination of poor serviceability and deep distrust of this unfamiliar fighter resulted in
20383-610: The defense budgets of modern armed forces. The global combat aircraft market was worth $ 45.75 billion in 2017 and is projected by Frost & Sullivan at $ 47.2 billion in 2026: 35% modernization programs and 65% aircraft purchases, dominated by the Lockheed Martin F-35 with 3,000 deliveries over 20 years. A fighter aircraft is primarily designed for air-to-air combat . A given type may be designed for specific combat conditions, and in some cases for additional roles such as air-to-ground fighting. Historically
20570-499: The depot. Skyway Park was demolished after the war. Wood City was eventually transformed into Kittyhawk Center, the base's modern commercial and recreation center. In the fall of 1942, the first twelve "Air Force" officers to receive ATI field collection training were assigned to Wright Field for training in the technical aspects of "crash" intelligence (RAF Squadron Leader Colley identified how to obtain information from equipment marking plates and squadron markings. In July 1944 during
20757-724: The design approach of the Italians and Japanese made their fighters ill-suited as interceptors or attack aircraft. During the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France , Luftwaffe fighters—primarily the Messerschmitt Bf 109 —held air superiority, and the Luftwaffe played a major role in German victories in these campaigns. During the Battle of Britain , however, British Hurricanes and Spitfires proved roughly equal to Luftwaffe fighters. Additionally Britain's radar-based Dowding system directing fighters onto German attacks and
20944-406: The designers believe the turbocharger installation was so aerodynamically cluttered that it had more disadvantages than advantages. The Army ordered 12 YP-39s (with only single-stage, single-speed superchargers) for service evaluation and one YP-39A. After these trials were complete, which resulted in detail changes including deletion of the external radiator, and on advice from NACA , the prototype
21131-522: The early 1960s since both were believed unusable at the speeds being attained, however the Vietnam War showed that guns still had a role to play, and most fighters built since then are fitted with cannon (typically between 20 and 30 mm (0.79 and 1.18 in) in caliber) in addition to missiles. Most modern combat aircraft can carry at least a pair of air-to-air missiles. In the 1970s, turbofans replaced turbojets, improving fuel economy enough that
21318-404: The elevator and rudder were reduced by 14.2% and 25.2% respectively. Modified fillets were installed in the tail area. The canopy glass was faired to its frame with putty. The gun access doors on the wing had been seen to bulge in flight, so they were replaced with thicker aluminum sheet. Similarly, the landing gear doors deflected open by as much as two inches at maximum speed, so a stronger linkage
21505-589: The end of 1942, the P-39 units of the Fifth Air Force had claimed about 80 Japanese aircraft, with a similar number of P-39s lost. Fifth and Thirteenth air force P-39s did not score more aerial victories in the Solomons due to the aircraft's limited range and poor high altitude performance. Airacobras first fought Japanese Zeros on 30 April 1942 in a low level action near Lae, New Guinea. From May to August 1942 combat between Airacobras and Zeros took place on
21692-586: The enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers , are designed from
21879-513: The fighter. Rifle-caliber .30 and .303 in (7.62 and 7.70 mm) calibre guns remained the norm, with larger weapons either being too heavy and cumbersome or deemed unnecessary against such lightly built aircraft. It was not considered unreasonable to use World War I-style armament to counter enemy fighters as there was insufficient air-to-air combat during most of the period to disprove this notion. The rotary engine , popular during World War I, quickly disappeared, its development having reached
22066-609: The final selection of the Mercury astronauts were started" at the Aerospace Medical Laboratory (Wright-Patt test pilots Neil Armstrong and Ed White became NASA astronauts.) From 6 March 1950 to 1 December 1951, Clinton County Air Force Base was assigned as a sub-base of WPAFB, and from 1950 to 1955, Wright-Patt had two Central Air Defense Force fighter-interceptor squadrons (1 from 1955 to 1960). In 1954, 188 hectares (465 acres) of land adjacent to
22253-783: The flying field, "Area C." In February 1940 at Wright Field, the Army Air Corps established the Technical Data Branch (Technical Data Section in July 1941, Technical Data Laboratory in 1942). After Air Corps Ferrying Command was established on 29 May 1941, on 21 June an installation point of the command opened at Patterson Field. The Flight Test Training unit of Air Technical Command was established at Wright Field on 9 September 1944 (moved to Patterson Field in 1946, Edwards AFB on 4 February 1951). Two densely populated housing and service areas across Highway 444, Wood City and Skyway Park, were geographically separated from
22440-406: The guns were subjected). Shooting with this traditional arrangement was also easier because the guns shot directly ahead in the direction of the aircraft's flight, up to the limit of the guns range; unlike wing-mounted guns which to be effective required to be harmonised , that is, preset to shoot at an angle by ground crews so that their bullets would converge on a target area a set distance ahead of
22627-492: The highest scoring P-39 fighter pilot of any nation, and the highest scoring Allied fighter pilot using an American fighter. This does not include his 6 shared victories, at least some of which were achieved with the P-39. The United States did not supply M80 armor-piercing rounds for the autocannons of Soviet P-39s—instead, the Soviets received 1,232,991 M54 high-explosive rounds, which they used primarily for air-to-air combat and against soft ground targets. The VVS did not use
22814-433: The innovations was the development of the " finger-four " formation by the German pilot Werner Mölders . Each fighter squadron (German: Staffel ) was divided into several flights ( Schwärme ) of four aircraft. Each Schwarm was divided into two Rotten , which was a pair of aircraft. Each Rotte was composed of a leader and a wingman. This flexible formation allowed the pilots to maintain greater situational awareness, and
23001-514: The interceptor. The equipment necessary for daytime flight is inadequate when flying at night or in poor visibility. The night fighter was developed during World War I with additional equipment to aid the pilot in flying straight, navigating and finding the target. From modified variants of the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c in 1915, the night fighter has evolved into the highly capable all-weather fighter. The strategic fighter
23188-420: The last piston engine support aircraft could be replaced with jets, making multi-role combat aircraft possible. Honeycomb structures began to replace milled structures, and the first composite components began to appear on components subjected to little stress. With the steady improvements in computers, defensive systems have become increasingly efficient. To counter this, stealth technologies have been pursued by
23375-584: The leadership vacuum within the Soviet military left by the Great Purge , and the general inferiority of Soviet designs at the time, such as the obsolescent Polikarpov I-15 biplane and the I-16 . More modern Soviet designs, including the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 , LaGG-3 and Yakolev Yak-1 , had not yet arrived in numbers and in any case were still inferior to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 . As
23562-410: The mid-1930s, the majority of fighters in the US, the UK, Italy and Russia remained fabric-covered biplanes. Fighter armament eventually began to be mounted inside the wings, outside the arc of the propeller, though most designs retained two synchronized machine guns directly ahead of the pilot, where they were more accurate (that being the strongest part of the structure, reducing the vibration to which
23749-401: The model was found to tumble. The rear-mounted engine was less likely to be hit when attacking ground targets, but was vulnerable to attacks from above and behind. At its upper altitude limits, the Airacobra was out-performed by many enemy aircraft. In September 1940, Britain ordered 386 P-39Ds (Model 14), with a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 and six .303 in (7.7 mm) instead of
23936-495: The most modern weapons, against an enemy in complete command of the air, fights like a savage…" Throughout the war, fighters performed their conventional role in establishing air superiority through combat with other fighters and through bomber interception, and also often performed roles such as tactical air support and reconnaissance . Fighter design varied widely among combatants. The Japanese and Italians favored lightly armed and armored but highly maneuverable designs such as
24123-491: The new site" At the time of the dedication expenditures of approximately $ 5 million had been involved in the new facility after 18 months work, with the total amount expected to rise to between $ 7 and $ 8 million. The ceremonies included the John L. Mitchell Trophy Race (won by Lt. I. A. Woodring of the 1st Pursuit Group—Speed: 158.968 mph) and Orville Wright raising the flag over the new engineering center. On 1 July 1931,
24310-607: The opposition. Subsequently, radar capabilities grew enormously and are now the primary method of target acquisition . Wings were made thinner and swept back to reduce transonic drag, which required new manufacturing methods to obtain sufficient strength. Skins were no longer sheet metal riveted to a structure, but milled from large slabs of alloy. The sound barrier was broken, and after a few false starts due to required changes in controls, speeds quickly reached Mach 2, past which aircraft cannot maneuver sufficiently to avoid attack. Air-to-air missiles largely replaced guns and rockets in
24497-552: The other side. American diplomat Richard Holbrooke led the negotiations. Eventually an agreement was made to have Bosnia and Herzegovina have two internal entities, a Bosniak-Croat federation known as the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina , and a Serb territory known as Republika Srpska . In response to the COVID-19 pandemic , the base sent airmen from the 88th Medical Group to Detroit for two months, where they set up
24684-488: The outbreak of World War I , front-line aircraft were mostly unarmed and used almost exclusively for reconnaissance . On 15 August 1914, Miodrag Tomić encountered an enemy airplane while on a reconnaissance flight over Austria-Hungary which fired at his aircraft with a revolver, so Tomić fired back. It was believed to be the first exchange of fire between aircraft. Within weeks, all Serbian and Austro-Hungarian aircraft were armed. Another type of military aircraft formed
24871-451: The outset for dual roles. Other fighter designs are highly specialized while still filling the main air superiority role, and these include the interceptor and, historically, the heavy fighter and night fighter . Since World War I, achieving and maintaining air superiority has been considered essential for victory in conventional warfare . Fighters continued to be developed throughout World War I, to deny enemy aircraft and dirigibles
25058-487: The period of rapid re-armament in the late 1930s, were not military budgets, but civilian aircraft racing. Aircraft designed for these races introduced innovations like streamlining and more powerful engines that would find their way into the fighters of World War II. The most significant of these was the Schneider Trophy races, where competition grew so fierce, only national governments could afford to enter. At
25245-433: The period, going from a typical 180 hp (130 kW) in the 900 kg (2,000 lb) Fokker D.VII of 1918 to 900 hp (670 kW) in the 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) Curtiss P-36 of 1936. The debate between the sleek in-line engines versus the more reliable radial models continued, with naval air forces preferring the radial engines, and land-based forces often choosing inlines. Radial designs did not require
25432-414: The pilot a good field of view. Access to the cockpit was by way of sideways opening "car doors", one on either side. Both had wind-down windows. As only the right-hand door had a handle both inside and outside this was used as the normal means of access and egress. The left-hand door could be opened only from the outside and was for emergency use, although both doors could be jettisoned. In operational use, as
25619-456: The pilot's maneuvering with the gunner's aiming was difficult. This option was chiefly employed as a defensive measure on two-seater reconnaissance aircraft from 1915 on. Both the SPAD S.A and the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 added a second crewman ahead of the engine in a pod but this was both hazardous to the second crewman and limited performance. The Sopwith L.R.T.Tr. similarly added a pod on
25806-451: The pilots reported. Attempts were made with handheld weapons such as pistols and rifles and even light machine guns, but these were ineffective and cumbersome. The next advance came with the fixed forward-firing machine gun, so that the pilot pointed the entire aircraft at the target and fired the gun, instead of relying on a second gunner. Roland Garros bolted metal deflector plates to the propeller so that it would not shoot itself out of
25993-410: The point where rotational forces prevented more fuel and air from being delivered to the cylinders, which limited horsepower. They were replaced chiefly by the stationary radial engine though major advances led to inline engines gaining ground with several exceptional engines—including the 1,145 cu in (18,760 cm ) V-12 Curtiss D-12 . Aircraft engines increased in power several-fold over
26180-534: The portion of Wright Field east of Huffman Dam (land known today as Areas A and C of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base which included the Fairfield Air Depot and the Huffman Prairie Flying Field) was redesignated "Patterson Field" in honor of Lieutenant Frank Stuart Patterson . Lt. Patterson was the son of Frank J. Patterson, co-founder of National Cash Register . Shortly before the end of WW1, 1Lt Patterson and observer 2Lt LeRoy Swan, both of
26367-575: The propeller arc was evident even before the outbreak of war and inventors in both France and Germany devised mechanisms that could time the firing of the individual rounds to avoid hitting the propeller blades. Franz Schneider , a Swiss engineer, had patented such a device in Germany in 1913, but his original work was not followed up. French aircraft designer Raymond Saulnier patented a practical device in April 1914, but trials were unsuccessful because of
26554-461: The propeller arc. Wing guns were tried but the unreliable weapons available required frequent clearing of jammed rounds and misfires and remained impractical until after the war. Mounting the machine gun over the top wing worked well and was used long after the ideal solution was found. The Nieuport 11 of 1916 used this system with considerable success, however, this placement made aiming and reloading difficult but would continue to be used throughout
26741-406: The propeller blades were fitted with metal wedges to protect them from ricochets . Garros' modified monoplane first flew in March 1915 and he began combat operations soon after. Garros scored three victories in three weeks before he himself was downed on 18 April and his airplane, along with its synchronization gear and propeller was captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, the synchronization gear (called
26928-426: The propensity of the machine gun employed to hang fire due to unreliable ammunition. In December 1914, French aviator Roland Garros asked Saulnier to install his synchronization gear on Garros' Morane-Saulnier Type L parasol monoplane . Unfortunately the gas-operated Hotchkiss machine gun he was provided had an erratic rate of fire and it was impossible to synchronize it with the propeller. As an interim measure,
27115-440: The proposed aircraft's role was simply an extension of the traditional pursuit (fighter) role, using a heavier and more powerful aircraft at higher altitude. Specifications called for at least 1,000 lb (450 kg) of heavy armament including a cannon, a liquid-cooled Allison engine with a General Electric turbo-supercharger , tricycle landing gear , a level airspeed of at least 360 mph (580 km/h) at altitude, and
27302-531: The prototype was ordered by General Henry H. Arnold to be evaluated in NACA wind tunnels to find ways of increasing its speed, by reducing parasitic drag. Tests were carried out, and Bell engineers followed the recommendations of NACA and the Army to reduce drag such that the top speed was increased 16%. NACA wrote, "it is imperative to enclose the supercharger within the airplane with an efficient duct system for cooling
27489-459: The roof was fixed, the cockpit design made escape difficult in an emergency. The complete armament fit consisted of the T9 cannon with a pair of Browning M2 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns mounted in the nose. This changed to two .50 caliber and two .30 in (7.62 mm) guns in the XP-39B (P-39C, Model 13, the first 20 delivered) and two .50s and four .30s (all four in the wings) in
27676-411: The rotor and discharging the cooling air and exhaust gases." In the very tightly planned XP-39, though, there was no internal space left over for the turbo. Using a drag-buildup scheme, a number of potential areas of drag reduction were found. NACA concluded that a top speed of 429 mph (690 km/h) could be realized with the aerodynamic improvements they had developed and an uprated V-1710 with only
27863-532: The skies above the battlefield. The interceptor is a fighter designed specifically to intercept and engage approaching enemy aircraft. There are two general classes of interceptor: relatively lightweight aircraft in the point-defence role, built for fast reaction, high performance and with a short range, and heavier aircraft with more comprehensive avionics and designed to fly at night or in all weathers and to operate over longer ranges . Originating during World War I, by 1929 this class of fighters had become known as
28050-417: The sky and a number of Morane-Saulnier Ns were modified. The technique proved effective, however the deflected bullets were still highly dangerous. Soon after the commencement of the war, pilots armed themselves with pistols, carbines , grenades , and an assortment of improvised weapons. Many of these proved ineffective as the pilot had to fly his airplane while attempting to aim a handheld weapon and make
28237-529: The spring of 1960 and moved to Wilmington—with BIRDIE CCCS —by 1965 ( closed March 1971 ). Wilkins Air Force Station was a 1961–8 Air Defense Command station of Wright-Patt, and Gentile Air Force Station (later the Gentile Defense Electronics Supply Center) was assigned to the base on 1 July 1962. In December 1975, Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft transferred to the 4950th Test Wing at WPAFB. Following
28424-408: The steady increases in aircraft weight—most modern fighters are larger and heavier than World War II medium bombers. Because of the importance of air superiority, since the early days of aerial combat armed forces have constantly competed to develop technologically superior fighters and to deploy these fighters in greater numbers, and fielding a viable fighter fleet consumes a substantial proportion of
28611-543: The supercharger's peak altitude of about 12,000 ft (3,700 m), performance dropped off rapidly, limiting usefulness in traditional fighter missions in Europe as well as in the Pacific, where it was not uncommon for Japanese bombers to attack from above the P-39's ceiling (which in the tropical heat was lower than in cooler climates). The late production N and Q models, which made up 75% of Airacobras built, could maintain
28798-485: The top wing with no better luck. An alternative was to build a "pusher" scout such as the Airco DH.2 , with the propeller mounted behind the pilot. The main drawback was that the high drag of a pusher type's tail structure made it slower than a similar "tractor" aircraft. A better solution for a single seat scout was to mount the machine gun (rifles and pistols having been dispensed with) to fire forwards but outside
28985-450: The turbocharger and its drag-inducing inlet cured the drag problem but reduced performance overall. In later years, Kelsey expressed regret at not being present to override the decision to eliminate the turbo. After completing service trials, and originally designated P-45 , a first order for 80 aircraft was placed 10 August 1939; the designation reverted to P-39C before deliveries began. After assessing aerial combat conditions in Europe, it
29172-521: The two Rotten could split up at any time and attack on their own. The finger-four would be widely adopted as the fundamental tactical formation during World War Two, including by the British and later the Americans. World War II featured fighter combat on a larger scale than any other conflict to date. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel noted the effect of airpower: "Anyone who has to fight, even with
29359-617: The type included the Free French , the Royal Air Force , and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force . The P-39 had an unusual layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller in the nose with a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage . Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design
29546-451: The unarmed and unarmored XP-39 prototype. The British production contract stated that a maximum speed of 394 mph (634 km/h) +/- 4% was required at rated altitude. In acceptance testing, actual production aircraft were found to be capable of only 371 mph (597 km/h) at 14,090 ft (4,290 m). To enable the aircraft to make the guaranteed speed, a variety of drag-reduction modifications were developed by Bell. The areas of
29733-556: The very end of the inter-war period in Europe came the Spanish Civil War . This was just the opportunity the German Luftwaffe , Italian Regia Aeronautica , and the Soviet Union's Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily needed to test their latest aircraft. Each party sent numerous aircraft types to support their sides in the conflict. In the dogfights over Spain, the latest Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters did well, as did
29920-478: The war as the weapons used were lighter and had a higher rate of fire than synchronized weapons. The British Foster mounting and several French mountings were specifically designed for this kind of application, fitted with either the Hotchkiss or Lewis Machine gun , which due to their design were unsuitable for synchronizing. The need to arm a tractor scout with a forward-firing gun whose bullets passed through
30107-506: The war's peak. Wright Field grew from approximately 30 buildings to a 2,064-acre (8.35 km ) facility with some 300 buildings and the Air Corps' first modern paved runways. The original part of the field became saturated with office and laboratory buildings and test facilities. The Hilltop area was acquired from private landowners in 1943–1944 to provide troop housing and services. The portion of Patterson Field from Huffman Dam through
30294-443: The war. Fighter development stagnated between the wars, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom, where budgets were small. In France, Italy and Russia, where large budgets continued to allow major development, both monoplanes and all metal structures were common. By the end of the 1920s, however, those countries overspent themselves and were overtaken in the 1930s by those powers that hadn't been spending heavily, namely
30481-462: The weapon in the fuselage, firing through the cylinder banks of the Vee-configured engine and the propeller hub as could be done with smaller 20 mm cannon. Weight, balance and visibility considerations meant that the cockpit could not be placed farther back in the fuselage, behind the engine and cannon. The solution adopted was to mount the cannon in the forward fuselage and the engine in
30668-440: The wing. This arch incorporated a fireproof panel and an armor plate between the engine and the cockpit. It also incorporated a turnover pylon and a pane of bullet-resistant glass behind the pilot's head. The arch also formed the basis of the cockpit housing; the pilot's seat was attached to the forward face as was the cockpit floor. Forward of the cockpit the fuselage nose was formed from large removable covers. A long nose wheel well
30855-475: Was a detached installation of Wright-Patt. The NORAD Manual Air Defense Control Center for 58th Air Division interceptors was at Wright-Patterson AFB by 1958, and Brookfield Air Force Station near the Pennsylvania state line became operational as an April 1952 – January 1963 sub-base of WPAFB. The 1954–79 "Wright-Patterson Communications Facility #4" was at Yellow Springs, Ohio (which also had
31042-406: Was added. The airframe was painted with 20 coats of primer, with extensive sanding between coats. Standard camouflage was applied and sanded to remove the edges between the colors. Additionally, about 200 lb (91 kg) of weight was removed, making it lighter than normal (7,466 lb (3,387 kg) gross). After these modifications, the second production aircraft ( serial AH 571 ) reached
31229-485: Was at WPAFB from 1 January 1950 to 14 November 1950, followed by the Air Research and Development Command from 16 November 1950 to 24 June 1951 (began move to Baltimore on 11 May 1951). By 1952 the WPAFB headquarters of the Wright Air Development Center (WADC) included a Plans and Operations Department (WOO) and Divisions for Aeronautics (WCN), Flight Test (WCT), Research (WCR), Weapons Components (WCE), Weapons Systems (WCS). On 15 February, WADC medical examinations "for
31416-409: Was built 1946–1947 in Area C to accommodate very heavy bombers, initially referred to locally as the " B-36 runway". The 1947 All-Altitude Speed Course at Vandalia became a detached installation of the Technical Base. After the USAF was created in September 1947, Morris' base headquarters was redesignated Headquarters, Air Force Technical Base , on 15 December 1947. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
31603-478: Was built between August 1958 and July 1960. The 4043rd Strategic Wing began KC-135 Stratotanker operations in February 1960 and B-52 Stratofortress operations in June 1960. On 1 July 1963, the wing was re-designated the 17th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) and continued its mission under this unit until 7 July 1975, when the last of its 11 B-52s was transferred to Beale Air Force Base , California. From 1957 – 1962 , WADC's Hurricane Supersonic Research Site in Utah
31790-465: Was developed further in the Bell P-63 Kingcobra . A naval version with tailwheel landing gear, the XFL-1 Airabonita , was ordered as a competitor to the Vought F4U Corsair and Grumman XF5F Skyrocket . It first flew 13 May 1940, but after a troublesome and protracted development and testing period, it was rejected. The Airacobra saw combat throughout the world, particularly in the Southwest Pacific, Mediterranean and Soviet theaters. Because its engine
31977-399: Was drawn in through intakes in both wing-root leading edges and was directed via four ducts to the radiator faces. The air was then exhausted through three controllable hinged flaps near the trailing edge of the center section. Air for the carburetor was drawn in through a raised oval intake immediately aft of the rear canopy. The fuselage structure was unusual and innovative, being based on
32164-414: Was equipped with only a single-stage, single-speed supercharger, the P-39 performed poorly above 17,000 feet (5,200 m) altitude. In both western Europe and the Pacific, the Airacobra found itself outclassed as an interceptor and the type was gradually relegated to other duties. It often was used at lower altitudes for such missions as ground strafing. In 1940, the British Direct Purchase Commission in
32351-432: Was evident that without armor or self-sealing tanks, the 20 production P-39Cs were not suitable for operational use. The remaining 60 machines in the order were built as P-39Ds with armor, self-sealing tanks and enhanced armament. These P-39Ds were the first Airacobras to enter into service with the Army Air Corps units and would be the first ones to see action. The P-39 was an all-metal, low-wing, single-engine fighter, with
32538-494: Was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger , preventing it from performing high-altitude work. For this reason it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe but adopted by the USSR, where most air combat took place at medium and lower altitudes. Together with the derivative P-63 Kingcobra , the P-39 was one of the most successful fixed-wing aircraft manufactured by Bell. In February 1937, Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey , Project Officer for Fighters at
32725-426: Was impressed by the power of this weapon and pressed for its incorporation. This was unusual, because fighter design had previously been driven by the intended engine, not the weapon. Although the T9 was devastating when it worked, it had very limited ammunition, a low rate of fire, and was prone to jamming. A secondary benefit of the mid-engine arrangement was that it created a smooth and streamlined nose profile. Much
32912-420: Was incorporated in the lower nose section. The engine and accessories were attached to the rear of the arch and the main structural beams; these too were covered using large removable panels. A conventional semi-monocoque rear fuselage was attached aft of the main structure. Because the pilot was above the extension shaft, he was placed higher in the fuselage than in most contemporary fighters, which, in turn gave
33099-425: Was installed to hold them flush. The cooling air exit from the oil and coolant radiators was reduced in area to match the exit velocity to the local flow. New engine exhaust stacks, deflected to match the local flow and with nozzles to increase thrust augmentation, were installed. The machine gun ports were faired over, the antenna mast was removed, a single-piece engine cowling was installed and an exhaust stack fairing
33286-399: Was made of the fact that this resulted in a configuration "with as trim and clean a fuselage nose as the snout of a high-velocity bullet". Entry to the cockpit was through side doors (mounted on both sides of the cockpit) rather than a sliding canopy. Its unusual engine location and the long drive shaft caused some concern to pilots at first, but experience showed this was no more of a hazard in
33473-433: Was modified as the XP-39B ; after demonstrating a performance improvement, the 13 YP-39s were completed to this standard, adding two 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns to the two existing 0.50 in (12.7 mm) guns. Lacking armor or self-sealing fuel tanks, the prototype was 2,000 lb (910 kg) lighter than the production fighters. The production P-39 retained a single-stage, single-speed supercharger with
33660-420: Was no longer a handicap and one or two were used, depending on requirements. This in turn required the development of ejection seats so the pilot could escape, and G-suits to counter the much greater forces being applied to the pilot during maneuvers. In the 1950s, radar was fitted to day fighters, since due to ever increasing air-to-air weapon ranges, pilots could no longer see far enough ahead to prepare for
33847-420: Was noted that all testing had been done with a simulated full ammunition load, which moved the center of gravity forward. After finding the original spin test model of the P-39 in storage, the new study first duplicated the earlier tests, with consistent results. Then, the model was re-ballasted to simulate a condition with no ammunition load, which moved the aircraft's center of gravity aft. Under these conditions,
34034-399: Was originally intended for a fighter role with the U.S. Navy , but it was canceled. This blurring follows the use of fighters from their earliest days for "attack" or "strike" operations against ground targets by means of strafing or dropping small bombs and incendiaries. Versatile multi role fighter-bombers such as the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet are a less expensive option than having
34221-444: Was pioneered before World War I by Breguet but would find its biggest proponent in Anthony Fokker, who used chrome-molybdenum steel tubing for the fuselage structure of all his fighter designs, while the innovative German engineer Hugo Junkers developed two all-metal, single-seat fighter monoplane designs with cantilever wings: the strictly experimental Junkers J 2 private-venture aircraft, made with steel, and some forty examples of
34408-489: Was redesignated from the Air Force Technical Base on 13 January 1948 —the former Wright Field Areas A and B remained, while Patterson Field became "Area C" and Skyway Park became "Area D" of the installation. In 1951 all locally based flying activities were moved to the Area B flight line. The 1948 All-Altitude Speed Course, later the Missile Tracking Annex, at Sulphur Grove, Ohio became a detached installation of Wright-Patt. Headquarters, Air Engineering Development Division,
34595-755: Was scrapped on the recommendation of a visiting Bell test pilot in March 1946. The United States requisitioned 200 of the aircraft being manufactured for the UK, adopting them as P-400s. After the attack on Pearl Harbor , the P-400 was deployed to training units, but some saw combat in the Southwest Pacific including with the Cactus Air Force in the Battle of Guadalcanal . Though outclassed by Japanese fighter aircraft, it performed well in strafing and bombing runs, often proving deadly in ground attacks on Japanese forces trying to retake Henderson Field . Guns salvaged from P-39s were sometimes fitted to Navy PT boats to increase firepower. Pacific pilots often complained about problems of performance and unreliable armament, but by
34782-427: Was the only American pilot to become an ace in a P-39, many later U.S. aces scored one or two of their victories in the type. The Airacobra's low-altitude performance was good and its firepower was impressive; regardless, it soon became a joke in the Pacific Theatre that a P-400 was a P-40 with a Zero on its tail. In North Africa, the 99th Fighter Squadron (also known as the Tuskegee Airmen ) transitioned quickly from
34969-425: Was used as a testing field and for aviation experiments. Wright was used as a flying field (renamed Patterson Field in 1931); Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot; armorers' school, and a temporary storage depot. McCook's functions were transferred to Wright Field when it was closed in October 1927. Wright-Patterson AFB was established in 1948 as a merger of Patterson and Wright Fields. In 1995, negotiations to end
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