The Attractive Failure

Bell’s Airabonita was a proposed US Navy carrier-borne fighter derivative of the P-39 Airacobra. Malcolm V Lowe examines its unsuccessful development

Spotlight

Bell XFL-1 Airabonita

The XFL-1 Airabonita first flew in May 1940, but a series of problems meant it was never a serious contender for the US Navy’s requirement for a modern, highperformance carrierbased fighter. This colour image is of the only example, BuNo 1588, during 1940.

ALL MALCOLM LOWE COLLECTION

The US Navy’s search for modern, high-performance pursuit (fighter) types for aircraft carriers was an important American procurement project during the late 1930s. A 1935 requirement initially led to the creation of the ponderous Brewster F2A Buffalo, and eventually the excellent Grumman F4F Wildcat, the purpose being to modernise the fleet’s increasingly antiquated fighter force of colourful, but seriously outdated, biplanes with modern single-engined monoplane fighters. During early 1938, the US Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics (BoA) requested further proposals, including a challenging demand for a well-armed and (for its time) high-performance carrierborne naval fighter. Several companies responded to these 1938 parameters, notably Vought, with what eventually became the famous F4U Corsair.