"Gregg Germain" wrote in message
...

I've often wondered about the Aircobra:

What if it had a supercharger like the ones fitted to the P-38? What
would it's hi alt performance have been then?

Same for the P-40, I suppose.


The XP-39 did have a type B-5 turbocharger, but there just wasn't room in
the P-39 or P-40 for a supercharger installation like the P-38's. One of
the reasons the P-47 was as big as it was was to accommodate the
turbocharger and intercooler and all the ductwork they required, and that
was an aircraft that didn't also require a coolant radiator. The
turbocharger was deleted from the P-39 primarily because the Army didn't
think it needed a point-defense interceptor, so the plane was adapted for
low-medium altitude work. That decision has been criticized since the war,
but had they chosen to develop the installation the same way they did the
P-38 they'd have had to get by with fewer and even lower performing
airplanes in the early war years and have had a short-legged airplane that
hauled little armament. The airframe was just too small.