Bell P-63 Kingcobra

what is it?

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

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 11.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 660 km/htop speed
• size 4,854 kgmax take-off weight
• built 3,303made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 84 years ago, in 1942.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11.7 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1942-12-07

introduced

1943

status

retired

number built

3,303

role

fighter aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Bell Aircraft Corporation

engines

1× Allison V-1710-117

length

10 m

wingspan

11.7 m

height

3.8 m

max take-off weight

4,854 kg

top speed

660 km/h

range

—

ceiling

13,106 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.