General Background

The P-39Q has the distinction of being the most produced series with 4,905 built. The Q also was the last version of the Airacobra to be made by the Bell Aircraft company. The main difference between the Q version and earlier versions was the replacement of the 4 wing-mounted 0.30 – inch machine guns with a single 0.50 –inch machine gun mounted inside a pod attached to the bottom of each wing. The P-39Q-1-BE also regained the additional 231 pounds of armor of the P-31N-1

The Aircraft

The "Cobra I" was a racer modified based on the P-39Q to compete in the 1946 Thompson Trophy race in Cleveland, Ohio. The most noticeable changes included a four-blade propeller and the new ventral intake scoop under the main fuselage.

Tragically, pilot Jack Woolams lost his life over Lake Ontario during a flight after an engine change at the Bell plant.