P-39Q-15 (USSR)

▂P-39Q-15

▂P-39Q-15

USSR

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.3	3.3	3.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Fighter

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

File:GarageImage P-39Q-15 (USSR).png

420px

The ✭ P-39Q-15 Airacobra is a gift Rank III Soviet fighter with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

The P-39Q represents the epitome of development in the Airacobra fighter series, and has finally replaced all of the small caliber machine guns with 12.7 mm machine guns, giving the plane's machine gun fire a much tighter grouping due to a homogeneous trajectory. This gives the plane a much needed accuracy boost to it's secondary armament and makes it a much more viable back up to the 37 mm cannon.

While the 37 mm cannon is indeed effective against all types of aircraft and usually deal critical amounts of damage, the pilot must take care to use it only under optimal conditions. The 37 mm projectiles are both slow and inaccurate and firing at targets further than 0.5 km away is optimistic at best, as the shot will not connect. Further more, if going against other fighters, the 37 mm has a tendency to not detonate it's explosive filler if it connects with a fighter wing if flying straight behind the aircraft. Always try to fire the 37 mm against fighters only when they expose as much of their plane profile as possible (i.e in a turn), or when you are close enough to shoot their tail off.

In terms of flight performance for its rank, the P-39Q is for the most part an excellent aircraft. While not necessarily as manuverable as spitfires of equivalent battle rating, it's speed and climb rate can give experienced pilots the upper hand in a lot of fights, if they can utilize it correctly. Ideally, a player should try to avoid turn-fighting as possible, as the P-39Q shares a structural design flaw like it's predecessors, namely that the fuel tanks are placed in the wings, which makes them much easier to hit than other aircraft, and not only making fuel fires more common on the P-39Q but also more damaging as they tend to burn off the wings of the aircraft.

Note that due to the engine being center mounted in the P-39Q, the plane has a habit of going into horizontal spins in realistic/simulator battles, as the center of gravity has been shifted towards the center of the aircraft rather than tip, so try to avoid low speed manuvers while flying with the wings perpendicular to the surface

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 3,048 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
570	556	9,700	19.4	19.9	18.1	10.2	280
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 3,048 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
???	?	9,700	??.?	??.?	?.?	?.?	280

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
886	322	450	~16	~12

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 360	< 380	< 450	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,724 m	1,125 hp	1,556 hp

Survivability and armour

• 15.87 mm Steel - Propeller hub plate
• 15.87 mm Steel - Instrument panel plate
• 7 mm Steel - Under front canopy
• 6 mm Steel - Behind pilot seat
• 6 mm Steel - Head rest frame
• 6 mm Steel - Rear tail plate
• 64 mm Bulletproof Glass - Pilot headrest
• 38 mm Bulletproof Glass - Front canopy
• No armour glazing
• Critical components located at front of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)
• More fuel tanks located in wings near fuselage

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-39Q-15 (USSR) is armed with:

• 1 x 37 mm M4 cannon, nose-mounted (30 rpg)
• 2 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, nose-mounted (200 rpg = 400 total)
• 2 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, wing-mounted (150 rpg = 300 total)

Usage in the battles

The general strategy at the start of a match for a P-39Q pilot should in general be to climb up and face enemy bombers as a priority, as the P39-Q has an excellent climb rate and will be able to intercept bombers before they can reach their targets. Get in close from a weak spot in the bombers gun coverage and use the 37 mm to destroy them, as bombers are very large targets and easy to hit the 37 mm. When that is done, engage enemy fighters afterwards. Be mindful of engaging them in direct head-ons as the 37 mm won't be of much use due to low velocity and accuracy.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 12 mm MGs
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Offensive 37 mm
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 37 mm Cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 37 mm cannon in nose
• Great Dive Speed Acceleration/Pickup
• Good secondary armament of four 12.7 mm HMG
• Reasonable Turn Time

Cons:

• Jack of all trades, but master of none
• Radically different weapon trajectories makes it impossible to hit with all weapons at the same time.
• Slow rate of fire for the 37 mm cannon
• Long countdown for the 37 mm in both overheating and reload
• Inaccurate and slow travelling 37 mm projectiles
• Tricycle landing gear, challenge for inexperienced pilots.
• Glancing shots with the 37 mm cannon tend to not detonate, instead bounce off, thus dealing minimal damage
• Easy to stall with full controls
• Has a tendency to go into a horizontal spin in simulator/realistic battles due to the center of gravity being placed in the middle of the fuselage
• Fuel tanks are placed across the wings and are easy to hit, making fires in the fuel tank inextinguishable and lethal

History

The Q series became the most numerous and advanced of all the Airacobra family. It was a direct successor of the N series. The whole propeller-engine group remained unchanged: the Allison V-1710-85 engine, the reduction gear, the elongated shaft and the Aeroprop type propeller. Because of this, the flight characteristics remained virtually unchanged. However, a more efficient four-bladed propeller was fitted to the series from Q-21 to Q-25. As for the alterations, they mainly concerned the armament. The inefficient wing machine guns of rifle caliber were removed and usually replaced by two 12.7 mm Brownings in pods under the wings. But these were not always fitted. Most of the aircraft sent for export to the USSR had no wing machine guns. The suspension tank of 87 gallons was replaced by the standard 120 gallon tank. A tank of 110 gallons (416 l) capacity was used in the Q-5 series.

The differences between the various Q series consisted mainly of the search for the optimum combination of armor protection and internal fuel tank capacity. Takeoff weight, range and load varied from version to version. Altogether, beginning with Q-1 and ending with Q-30, eight series of the fighter were built, to a total number of 4699 aircraft. Of these, 3291 were exported to the USSR. Furthermore, a few reconnaissance versions of this aircraft, fitted with photo-cameras, were built on the basis of the Q series.

This aircraft was not used at all in Great Britain, because the high-altitude speed characteristics of the Cobra were considered unsatisfactory. The US Army Air Corps used the aircraft mainly in the Pacific, in places in which it was impossible to use any aircraft other than the Cobra because of the condition of the airstrips, where the P-39, because of its tricycle landing gear, had no difficulties. Nevertheless, the American pilots feared and disliked the aircraft, calling it “Iron dog” because of its rear-mounted engine and rear centering. Cases were known of the aircraft being deliberately crashed to speed up re-equipment with the more popular P-38.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Obtainable events

• ✭ P-39Q-15 Airacobra was given to those which participated in the alpha test for a year or more. (no longer obtainable)

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.