You can actually see the two different aircraft on the page. The top picture has no stubs from the fuselage whereas the bottom two pictures have. The 35 degree sweep was a direct copy of the ME262 and incorperated in the F-86 including the leading edge slats. Seemingly the Blee L-39 was a good aeroplane to fly.
Ted Smith, e-mail, 16.12.2014 00:48
Finally found a colour photo of the L-39-1. Navy Blue! I can supply a copy if anyone is interested.
Ted Smith, e-mail, 23.02.2013 13:14
The L-39-2 was modfied to test the wing for the Bell X2, not a tracker! I am told that the -2 was blue all over.
Jack Williams, e-mail, 05.02.2012 03:53
I have often wondered what the P-63 would have done in combat if it had received the turbo compound Allison V 1710 of 3,000+ horsepower. Now imagine the P-63 with the turbo compound Allison V 1710 and swept wings. By the way does anyone know how Bell planned to route the turbo compound exhaust? I've never been able to find any information on how the P-63 was supposed to look with the designed engine.
bombardier, e-mail, 24.05.2011 10:39
An enlarged derivative powered by a jet would have been a very effective fighter
Andy Lolk, e-mail, 26.06.2010 12:16
I unfortunately don't think you'll find many colour pictures from that time..
Your logic seems to be right though.. Either navy blue or dark green to make it dark in the night.
Best regards, Andy
Ron, e-mail, 24.02.2010 01:42
Imagine something like the XLR-11 rocket from the X-1 in the tail of the L-39 ala Soviet La-7! This would both balance the c/g of the swept wing and augment speed (a weakness of the P-63) at the same time. What a thought - Bell would have fighters on both sides of the Korean war if that happened. Wow!
Ron, e-mail, 11.02.2010 08:06
What if Bell wasn't abandoned here in favor of the promise of the P-47? The Russians liked the P-39 better than the P-47. What if the Continental inverted V-12 was developed into a winner outside the caprice of the official constraints on altitude...etc, may in combination with the turbo jet of the P-59? What if all of Bell's test fighters like this L-39 were combined into one fighter? Who else had the Bells to do the unconventional? Once a clear canopy was installed the old doors should have bid farewell. Rear view was restricted a bit by the dorsal air scoop - move it to the side under where the door was and it doubles as a handy step to get into the sliding cockpit. Let your imagination go and the Bell Cobra would have a fighting chance to obtain it's designer's dream as a fast climbing high altitude interceptor with a KO punch, instead of the legacy of an underpowered dog in it's own homeland and sent packing to Siberia. Think of it's dogfighting potential with a mid-engine design. The Soviets saw this and stripped the wing guns for agility and climb rate. After some wear, the slow U.S. guns were tossed for more efficient Russian guns for ballistic harmony and more than triple the dense pattern of fire for 3 nose guns (40+ r/s in place of 12 r/s), 2xUBS 12.7mm and a 20mm replacing 2xM2 Browning 12.7mm and a low velocity Olds M4 37mm cannon that jammed. This was not so much for ground support as for air to air daring do. Thus the high kill ratio against the Luftwaffe for the P-39 with Soviet pilots. Despite it's flaws it certainly had potential!
Ted Smith, e-mail, 12.07.2009 13:40
What colour was it? Logic suggests Pacific Blue as it was a Navy Project but there is a desktop model which is orange. Anyone remember or have a colour photo?
Dr. William Guoan, e-mail, 25.01.2009 04:51
I would like to know more about the wing design and how it was mated to the fuselage of the P-63!
