A King of England ...

[Mark Allen M]

Hmm!! you say? ....

Bell P-63A-9-BE Kingcobra 42-69423 to RAF as Kingcobra Mk 1 FZ440. To Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, England Sep 20, 1944 for use by Aero Flight for research into low-drag wings and high-speed laminar flow. Stayed with RAE until sold for scrap Mar 16, 1949.

Two King Cobras FR407 / 42-68936, FR408 / 42-68937 were arranged to be sent to the UK, but FR407 could not be shipped due to trouble and FZ440 / 42-69423 was shipped instead.

The P-63 Kingcobra succeeded the P-39 but it boasted nothing not already seen on other American fighter aircraft. No Kingcobra ever flew combat. Instead, the U. S. Army Air Forces (AAF) used the P-63 to train fighter pilots and bomber gunners. Two-thirds of the Kingcobras built were diverted to the Lend-Lease program and sent to Russia. The French flew about 200 P-63s after World War II and many saw combat in Indochina.

[LysanderUK]

Great pictures and very interesting, I've never seen any pics oft he RAe P63's. Interesting to see the rear glazing metalled over, any ideas why this was done?

[DH82EH]

I think the rear glazing was metalized as part of the "pinball" program.
These aircraft were used as targets to train aerial gunners.
The gunners fired "frangible" rounds that did very little damage.
Still, I'm sure it wasn't that much fun, knowing you were actually being shot at!

[Taylor Stevenson]

Interesting that the UK also used the Kingcobra for high-speed wing research. The A model I fly was used by NACA for the same purpose. It is a true laminar wing, so makes sense. Gotta love the Kingcobra!

[Pat Carry]

Thanks Mark