USAAF
5th AF
35th FG
41st FS
April 1943
Herb Rosen 1944
Aircraft History
This Airacobra was assigned to the 41st Fighter Squadron, and pilot Edwards Park. Flown in New Guinea during middle 1942 until later 1943.
A single aircraft silhouette was painted on the left side of the nose representing the Ki-61 Tony of the 68th Sentai Edwards Park shot down on March 4, 1944. The Japanese pilot bailed out and Park could see his face as he passed. Park chose not to strafe him in his parachute. This incident was described in his book, Angels Twenty.
Edwards Park writes in Nanette:
"Nanette was the nickname of the author's P-39
Airacobra, a plane that he describe the type as "She is beautiful
and graceful at her best, while quirky and difficult to handle when
not lovingly handled." The metaphor of women and machine drives
the author's descriptions of his love affair with this quirky mate. "Even the planes unique vibrations, like when the P-39's massive
37mm nose cannon is fired has a mild sexual stimulating feeling for
the pilot who is nearly straddling the gun."
References
Nanette by Edwards Park
Angels Twenty by Edwards Park
P-39
