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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:07:15 PM EDT
P-39 Recovered from Russian Lake After Six DecadesReturns to NY museum that occupies factory where plane was originally built Miss Lend-Lease, designated White 23 when it flew for the Soviet Air Force, emerges from Lake Mart-Yavr, Russia, along the Arctic Circle. The initial ditching was successful but the aircraft eventually broke through the still thin ice in November 1944. Larger view  The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a tricycle gear, single-engine fighter initially built for escort duties, but was found to be more suited to air support roles. The Soviet Air Force was particularly fond of the aircraft and deployed them extensively in WWII.  Lt. Ivan Ivanovich Baranovsky was an experienced and decorated pilot. It is assumed he was knocked unconscious and later drowned after ditching White 23 on Lake Mart-Yavr in Russia in 1944.  Miss Lend-Lease is undergoing restoration at the same facility where it was born in 1943. Larger view October 21, 2010 — A Bell P-39Q Airacobra that was built in a western New York state factory in 1943 has returned home after resting at the bottom of a Russian lake since 1944. This particular aircraft was part of 4,719 P-39s sent to the Soviet Union under the United States’ Lend-Lease program, which propped up Allied forces with war materiel before and after the U.S. entered World War II. Miss Lend-Lease, as it has been named by the Ira G. Ross/Niagara Aerospace Museum (NAM) that is undertaking the restoration, served in a frontline Soviet Air Force squadron along the border with Finland. The discovery in 2004 is rare since remains of the pilot along with key artifacts, found with the aircraft, have provided insights into the mystery of why the aircraft suddenly broke formation as the squadron repositioned to an airfield closer to the front 66 years ago. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––- Rest of article here: |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:11:17 PM EDT
[#1]
Wow, a blast from the past, thanks for the article!
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:36:00 PM EDT
[#2]
So the exhaust was behind the pilot?
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:37:38 PM EDT
[#3]
Quoted: So the exhaust was behind the pilot? The engine was behind the pilot. The P-39 was mid-engined. |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:40:10 PM EDT
[#4]
Quoted:
So the exhaust was behind the pilot? 
As was the engine. 
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:42:26 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted: Quoted: So the exhaust was behind the pilot? The engine was behind the pilot. The P-39 was mid-engined. Yep. Gave it some weird flight characteristics, iirc. |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 9:44:52 PM EDT
[#6]
Cool looking plane!
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Posted: 11/3/2010 10:05:25 PM EDT
[#7]
Insane cool pic off Wikipedia:
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Posted: 11/3/2010 10:08:46 PM EDT
[#8]
It'll buff out.
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Posted: 11/3/2010 10:25:53 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: So the exhaust was behind the pilot? The engine was behind the pilot. The P-39 was mid-engined. Yep. Gave it some weird flight characteristics, iirc. Plus the pilot had that driveshaft directly under his crotch.  |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 10:35:33 PM EDT
[#10]
Who in the Survial forum can we get to give us an AAR on that can of pork? It cant be that deadly, after all its been sitting at the bottom of a nearly frozen Russian lake.
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Posted: 11/3/2010 10:44:25 PM EDT
[#11]
Holy shit, the commies beat us to Tac-Bac 60 years ago!
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Posted: 11/3/2010 11:00:43 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
So the exhaust was behind the pilot? The engine was behind the pilot. The P-39 was mid-engined. Yep. Gave it some weird flight characteristics, iirc. If you got it into a flat spin, you were farking toast!!! |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 11:06:54 PM EDT
[#13]
I would have liked to have seen more pics of the body ( or whats left of him) recovery...
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Posted: 11/3/2010 11:10:14 PM EDT
[#14]
Lots of cool things being brought up from the wasts of the frozen former USSR these days.
Everything from wolly mammoths to 1940's era weapons to include tanks and aircraft |
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Posted: 11/3/2010 11:26:06 PM EDT
[#15]
Quoted: Holy shit, the commies beat us to Tac-Bac 60 years ago! http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/p39/p39e.jpg Probably the Deerfoot Sausage Company in South Bend, Indiana.   |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 5:57:05 AM EDT
[#16]
Morning bump.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:21:27 AM EDT
[#17]
Stuff like that gives me the chills.
It came out in one piece and, at first glance, looks to be in excellent shape. Near perfectly preserved. Look at the paint. Pretty cool. Hope they got the pilot taken care of. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:22:36 AM EDT
[#18]
Nice find
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:26:26 AM EDT
[#19]
That is so cool. Thanks for the story and link. I love WW2 aircraft and read up on them as much as I can.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:28:17 AM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
It came out in one piece and, at first glance, looks to be in excellent shape. Near perfectly preserved. Look at the paint. I hope they preserve the original finish as much as possible. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:31:18 AM EDT
[#21]
Can they bring this back to flyable shape?
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:32:45 AM EDT
[#22]
I love stuff like this. History is cool regardless of what some think.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:35:34 AM EDT
[#23]
If he was attacking Finland, he was on the bad guys side. Interesting story otherwise.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:50:34 AM EDT
[#24]
Quoted:
Can they bring this back to flyable shape? Would take some extensive work......But.. yes. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:51:32 AM EDT
[#25]
Quoted: Can they bring this back to flyable shape? Only by remanufacturing every square inch of the structure and skin, replacing ALL the smaller parts other than thick forgings, replacing 99.x% of it a piece at a time. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:53:03 AM EDT
[#26]
Great. Now they are going to make a P-39ski
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Posted: 11/4/2010 6:55:22 AM EDT
[#27]
Quoted: Can they bring this back to flyable shape? The Allison engine is an easy part to find, the rest is going to be a major project.  |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:05:48 AM EDT
[#28]
Here's a video of a P-39 undergoing restoration. It's practically "brand new" compared to that wreck, and it will still require years of detail work to make airworthy again.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:11:42 AM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Can they bring this back to flyable shape? Only by remanufacturing every square inch of the structure and skin, replacing ALL the smaller parts other than thick forgings, replacing 99.x% of it a piece at a time. Used to do it every day with P-51's If you have the original part, and access to basic tooling, can build jigs, a good press (30 or so tons), and lots of time and money it is easily done. Oh and blueprints make it much easier.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:12:45 AM EDT
[#30]
Quoted: Quoted: Holy shit, the commies beat us to Tac-Bac 60 years ago! http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/p39/p39e.jpg Probably the Deerfoot Sausage Company in South Bend, Indiana. http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/images/deerfootsausage/$file/deerfootad.jpg Can says Southborough MA (your link also says the original farm was started in MA). Interesting because I'm sitting in my office only about 6 miles from where that pork can was made. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:15:22 AM EDT
[#31]
Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Holy shit, the commies beat us to Tac-Bac 60 years ago! http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/p39/p39e.jpg Probably the Deerfoot Sausage Company in South Bend, Indiana. http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/images/deerfootsausage/$file/deerfootad.jpg Can says Southborough MA (your link also says the original farm was started in MA). Interesting because I'm sitting in my office only about 6 miles from where that pork can was made. LOL you have better eyes than I do. I thought maybe Deerfoot expanded their production facilities during the war. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:19:47 AM EDT
[#32]
Quoted:
Insane cool pic off Wikipedia: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/061019-F-1234P-022.jpg That is indeed an "insane cool pic" 
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:27:11 AM EDT
[#33]
Quoted:
I would have liked to have seen more pics of the body ( or whats left of him) recovery... I think they've benn posted before. A guy in fill flight kit in fetal position. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:35:06 AM EDT
[#34]
Quoted: Quoted: I would have liked to have seen more pics of the body ( or whats left of him) recovery... I think they've benn posted before. A guy in fill flight kit in fetal position. This is the first I've seen of this. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:42:15 AM EDT
[#35]
Take a good look at the 'Red Star' painted over the AAF white star on a blue field with stripe.
7mm |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:46:50 AM EDT
[#36]
All it takes is a stack of money you could cut with a band saw.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 7:57:59 AM EDT
[#37]
Quoted:
Can they bring this back to flyable shape? It was done with a P38 that was in solid ice. Basically completely rebuilt it. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 10:57:03 AM EDT
[#38]
They just recover the data plate and slip a whole new aircraft underneath it. No problem.
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:02:39 AM EDT
[#39]
Quoted:
Quoted:
So the exhaust was behind the pilot? http://www.military.cz/usa/air/war/fighter/p39/p39_enginbw.jpg As was the engine.
why does your avatar make me hot?
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:06:32 AM EDT
[#40]
The P39 was the one that sucked as an air-to-air fighter, but worked very well as a ground attack craft, right?
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:09:24 AM EDT
[#41]
Quoted:
The P39 was the one that sucked as an air-to-air fighter, but worked very well as a ground attack craft, right? Yes. The Reds loved it as a tank buster till they got something homegrown going. Seems like they had a bunch of Brewster Buffaloes also they got from us. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:17:48 AM EDT
[#42]
Quoted:
Quoted:
The P39 was the one that sucked as an air-to-air fighter, but worked very well as a ground attack craft, right? Yes. The Reds loved it as a tank buster till they got something homegrown going. Seems like they had a bunch of Brewster Buffaloes also they got from us. Actually, the Soviets did not use it as a tank-buster (they didn't even get any AP ammo from us,) and used it for air to air missions. Their second and third highest scoring aces got most of their victories in P-39s. And the Finns were the ones who used the Buffalo. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:26:45 AM EDT
[#43]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Holy shit, the commies beat us to Tac-Bac 60 years ago! http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/sheppard/p39/p39e.jpg Probably the Deerfoot Sausage Company in South Bend, Indiana.
http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/images/deerfootsausage/$file/deerfootad.jpg It is from Deerfoot you can see it on the can. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:30:06 AM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
The P39 was the one that sucked as an air-to-air fighter, but worked very well as a ground attack craft, right? Yes. The Reds loved it as a tank buster till they got something homegrown going. Seems like they had a bunch of Brewster Buffaloes also they got from us. Actually, the Soviets did not use it as a tank-buster (they didn't even get any AP ammo from us,) and used it for air to air missions. Their second and third highest scoring aces got most of their victories in P-39s. And the Finns were the ones who used the Buffalo. Thanks. Thought I had it somewhat skewed after reading it. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:44:11 AM EDT
[#45]
The "Cactus Air Force" used them at Guadalcanal.
Bell P-39/P-400 Airacobra (Fighter)
Not all of the aircraft on the island were Marine or Navy aircraft. The Army Air Forces' 67th Fighter Squadron arrived on Guadalcanal shortly after the Marines, and they remained into 1943. The main fighter of the 67th was the P-39 Airacobra, and its export variant the P-400 (the more common of the two types on Guadalcanal). These were used as fighters and bombers by the 67th. They were not successful as air fighters, but could be well used in the ground attack role. (See the Painting Gallery for a painting of the P-39 in action.) 
"P-39 Airacobra" by Tony Weddel.
Subtitled "Down on the deck where it hurts", it shows P-39s of the USAAF 67th Pursuit Squadron strafing enemy positions. (Part of the Valiant Clan series of paintings. To see more from this series, visit the Glenn Illustrators website. Thirty five full size quality prints from this series are available for only ten dollars each). Cactus Air Force web site |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:50:11 AM EDT
[#46]
Quoted:
The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a tricycle gear, single-engine fighter initially built for escort duties, but was found to be more suited to air support roles. The Soviet Air Force was particularly fond of the aircraft and deployed them extensively in WWII. One of the most interesting things about aviation history for me is reading about how aircraft did or did not fulfill their various intended roles. It's a fascinating view of how quickly aerial warfare evolves. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 11:50:49 AM EDT
[#47]
Ok, someone correct me if I am wrong. It happens all the time.
But isn't the reason the Soviets successfully used the P39 was that the air war on the Eastern Front took place at a much lower altitude? There wasn't any strategic bombing or the need to escort the bombers. Both of which took place at higher altitudes. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 12:08:20 PM EDT
[#48]
Other than the usual P-39 complaints about performance the most common complaints were how hard it was to bail out of with the automotive doors and that the cockpit would fill with smoke from the nose guns. The two Brownings in the hose had their rear ends exposed so the pilot could pull on a lever or something and try to clear jams. The exposure around the gun receivers allowed smoke to fill the cockpit.
Even though the plane is a semi-clunker I've always thought it was pretty neat anyway. Some great (large) walkaround pics here: http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/luc_colin/p-39q_walk.htm |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 1:11:38 PM EDT
[#49]
Quoted: Ok, someone correct me if I am wrong. It happens all the time. But isn't the reason the Soviets successfully used the P39 was that the air war on the Eastern Front took place at a much lower altitude? There wasn't any strategic bombing or the need to escort the bombers. Both of which took place at higher altitudes. Yep, the VVS used the P-39 down low to protect the Il-2's and A-20's. Air to air combat was usually below 3000m on the eastern front. |
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Posted: 11/4/2010 1:15:24 PM EDT
[#50]
Quoted:
I f'ing hate the P39 in IL2. One little tap the wrong way and your ass is spiraling to the ground and you're hoping you can bail out in time. Quoted:
Quoted:
So the exhaust was behind the pilot? The engine was behind the pilot. The P-39 was mid-engined. Yep. Gave it some weird flight characteristics, iirc.
Kharn |
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