MAQUETTE À MONTER - Bell Airacobra Mk.I 'RAF' Hasegawa | No. 09777 | 1:48**LIKE NEW INSIDE UNOPENED**
Prix régulier 39,00 € TTC 6%
Characteristics
| Condition | Like New Inside Unopened - Intérieur non ouvert |
| Scale | 1:48 |
| Manufacturer | Hasegawa |
| Size of the box | 34 x 19 x 5 cm |
Description
The Bell Airacobra was originally designed and built for the United States Army Air Corps (later United States Army Air Force). The aircraft had the unusual design feature of having the engine installed behind the cockpit, near the airframe's center of gravity, with the intended effect of improving maneuverability. A very long shaft was necessary to link the engine with the propeller, and designers also utilized this shaft to house the barrel of either a 20mm or 37mm cannon to fire through the propeller hub -- a feature unique to American designs (but common in German, Soviet and Japanese aircraft).
Space made available in the nose area of the airframe by the aft placement of the engine was put to use housing the third landing gear strut that gave the design its distinctive "tricycle" landing gear arrangement. Despite the great promise of this revolutionary design, successive demands by Army Air Corps planners for additional features added weight to the airframe, with subsequent negative effect on performance.
Compounding these difficulties, the Allison V-1710 series engine that powered the Airacobra proved to be a poor performer at high altitude. All in all, the Airacobra ended up not living up to expectations. After the surrender of France in June 1940, Airacobras originally ordered by that country were instead given to Britain. In September 1941, 601 Squadron was formed as an Airacobra unit, but the type was found lacking in combat and high performance capabilities. The original order of 675 aircraft was cancelled after only 80 had been produced and shipped.
More to read about the KIT here, thanks to scalemates, a Belgian Scale modeling database