Manufacturer: Bell Aircraft

Model: 32E

Name: Airafighter

Type: Fighter

Date: 1944

Status: Operational

Country: United States of America

Service: U.S. Army Air Force

Designation: P-77C

The Bell P-77C resulted from the realization that 1°) the XP-77 prototype looked a little weak with its inline engine, 2°) its tail looked tiny and fragile, 3°) if produced, it would have certainly received a name.

I therefore took a three-view arrangement of the XP-77, fitted a radial engine and a scaled-down Kingcobra's tail, and christened it the Airafighter so that it would be in line with the rest of the "Aira-" types Bell had already produced. I also enlarged the wings. The resulting three-view arrangement was then reworked to look like a blueprint for a more authentic effect.

Apart from the canopy, the resulting fighter is quite different in the end from the one that inspired it!