Background

Dave Johnson bought this kit from a swap meet or mail order. He let me build it and review it. Then it goes back to Dave. This saves me from taking up my already meager shelf space.

The Aircraft

The kit calls itself a P-39, and it is. But it’s also a P-400, which was the Export/RAF version of the Airacobra.

The P-39 was notable for the engine mounted behind the pilot and the 37 mm cannon in the nose. The 37 mm made it a great strafer, and the Russians got their money’s worth out of theirs. The other great trivia fact: The cannon was built by Oldsmobile.

The Z-39 was the fifteenth, and final ship of the Zerstorer 1936A-class (known to the Allies as the Norvik-class) built by Germany during the Second World War. The Z-39 had her keel laid in 1940; launched on August 5, 1941; commissioned on August 21, 1943, and survived the war to and taken by Great Britain. The ship was given to the United States Navy, was renamed DD-939, and was used for testing until she was given to France in 1948. The French used the ship for spare parts for other destroyers until finally scrapped in 1964. Displacing just over 3600 metric tons fully loaded, the ship had a length of 127 meters, a width of 12 meters, a draught of 4.65 meters, and she was powered by two geared turbines that allowed a maximum speed of 37 ½ knots. Armament for the Z-39 consisted of 150 mm, 37 mm, and 20 mm guns, 533 mm torpedo tubes, mines, and depth charge launchers.

Our friend, Ross McMIllen, has never been one to rest on his laurels and for the month of June, 2011, he has given us 6 new offerings.