Bell P-39 Airacobra
Lacked a supercharger on its engine, and was therefore most often used for ground attack and operations below 15,000'. Armed with a cannon through the propeller hub, and machine guns in the nose and wings.

Loved and Hated
P-39 was referred to as the "Iron Dog" by its pilots because it was a tricky plane to fly with many quirks. Although it was problematic to fly and fight with, it was the only airplane available to most squadrons in the early months of the war, and was used in the tactical reconnassance role until late in the war.

The P-39 was armed with a 37mm cannon with 30 rounds of ammunition. But is muzzle velocity was low, and was prone to jamming after one or several shots making it ineffective and inaccurate. Rumors about uncontrolled tumbling of the aircraft also made pilots wary.

P-39Q
This version had the wing 30 caliber machine guns removed, and a single 50 caliber on each wing, fared in an external mount below the wing.

Export Version P-400
The export version of the Aircobra, the P-400 was virtually identical to the American P-39D, but the slower-firing 37mm cannon was replaced with the faster-firing and more reliable Hispano 20mm cannon with 60 rounds. Two 50 Caliber machine guns were mounted in the nose, and four 0.30-inch machine guns were mounted in the wings. The engine of the Model 14 was the 1150 hp Allison V-1710-E4 (-35).

An excellent book by a P-39 pilot in New Guinea is Edward Park's Nanette.

 

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