Het is wat te gemakkelijk om 80 jaar na dato lacherig te doen over De
Seversky's voorspelling hoe toekomstige vliegtuigen er uit zouden zien,
maar het blijft merkwaardig de volgende regels n.a.v. de Bell P-39 "Airacobra" in zijn boek "Victory Through Air Power" te lezen: "From
the point of view of design and workmanship the Airacobra is a plane of
which American engineers and manufacturers can be proud. Its
performance, however cut down by a pititfully underpowered engine - a
fact that can be traced to our procurement policy. The engine situation
could have been corrected, once the Allison engine had failed to serve
as expected, by frankly adopting the best available substitute. The
British Napier Sabre, a 2000- horsepower engine, eminently successful in
the Spitfire and Hurricane, was at hand for immediate use.
Unfortunately the Army steered around this and adopted instead the Rolls
Royce Merlin, with horsepower similiar to the Allison's." Noch de
Spitfire noch de Hurricane hadden echter Napier Sabre-motoren, ze hadden
Rolls-Royce Merlins, de Napier Sabres zaten in de Hawker Typhoon en Tempest en zover ik heb kunnen nagaan is de Merlin nooit geinstalleerd in de Airacobra.
