The Second World War was, in fact, the first conflict in the history of mankind, where in very many cases it was dominance in the sky that ensured the success of a military operation. Often in the war of engines, the victory remained with those who had a large amount of good-quality equipment. This rule also applies to aviation. One of the symbols of the war in the sky on the eastern front was the imported Airacobra. A mediocre aircraft that was able to reveal its potential from an unexpected side.
Neither the Americans nor the British favored the R-39 Airacobra. To be honest, domestic pilots also pointed out the shortcomings of the machine. The main problem of the American aircraft was that it did not forgive mistakes from the word “absolutely” and was extremely demanding on the skills of the pilot. The Soviet Union and Great Britain received these aircraft largely due to the fact that the United States itself was already switching to a new type of aircraft.
Interestingly, after 1941, the Aerocobras were somewhat inferior in flight characteristics to both Soviet-made aircraft and aircraft made in Germany. However, at altitudes of 1.5-4.5 km, the "Americans" felt just as good as the Soviet aircraft. At the same time, many Soviet pilots, even when such an opportunity arose, did not seek to leave a foreign car. There were several reasons for this.
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Firstly, from the cockpit of the Aerocobra there was a noticeably better view than from the cockpits of Soviet fighter aircraft. Secondly, American cars were equipped with much better radio stations. They worked cleanly and without interference, which the pilots really liked. Finally, the third reason for the success of the Airacobra was in its armament. The fighters were equipped with 37 mm cannons and machine guns of 12.7 mm caliber. Such armament was comparable to that of a light tank. The "tank" gun on an American aircraft made it possible to shoot down the enemy with a single successful hit. And to send the entire crew of the bomber to Valhalla, the Anglo-Saxon machine needed only two good hits from the main caliber.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about trick plane: because of what the pilots of the Second World War were afraid of the Airacobra during and after the battle.
Source: https://novate.ru/blogs/301221/61712/