The World War II Bell Airacuda Artillery Plane Was Full of Flaws

In spite of all the safety issues, only two Airacudas were lost in accidents.

The barracuda (genus Sphyraena) is right up there with sharks and piranhas as one of the most feared and notorious predators in the fish world. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this deadly fish became the namesake of more than one death-dealing mechanical weapon of war. However, whilst so many of its fellow carnivorous fish had submarines named in their honor—including the USS Wahoo (whose own flesh and blood namesake bears at least a passing resemblance to a barracuda)—the barracuda instead inspired the names for two mechanical flying fish (so to speak) of World War II, namely Great Britain’s Fairey Barracuda torpedo and dive bomber, and our current subject at hand, the American-made Bell YFM-1 Airacuda.

Bell YFM-1 Airacuda Initial History and Specifications

As noted by the Dark Skies MSN channel in the text caption to their video titled “Flying Artillery: The Untold Story of the Bell Airacuda”:

“Designed as a flying anti-aircraft battery, the Bell Airacuda was a revolutionary yet controversial aircraft. Was it a genius idea or a design failure? Discover the story behind this bold aviation experiment!”

Making history as the first military aircraft built by the Bell Aircraft Corporation (the same company made famous by the P-39 Airacobra WWII fighter plane, the sound barrier-busting X-1, and the ubiquitous Huey helicopter of the Vietnam War), the YFM-1 Airacuda made its maiden flight on September 1, 1937, and officially entered operational service with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) on February 23, 1940. The USAAC envisioned it as a multipurpose warplane, i.e., fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance plane, or as FLYING Magazine worded back in 1941, “virtually impregnable fortresses of themselves, yet maintaining considerable maneuverability and striking prowess which the big bombers lack.”

Tech specs of the warbird were as follows:

• Crew: Five (pilot, copilot/navigator, radio operator/gunner, two gunners)
• Fuselage Length: 44 ft 10 in (13.67 m)
• Wingspan: 69 ft 10 in (21.29 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
• Empty Weight: 13,376 lbs. (6,067 kgs)
• Gross Weight: 17,333 lbs. (7,862 kgs)
• Max Takeoff Weight: 21,625 lbs. (9,809 kgs)
• Powerplant: Two Allison V-1710-9 liquid-cooled turbo-supercharged V-12 engines generating 1,090 hp (810 kW) each
• Max Airspeed: Cruise speed: 244 mph (393 km/h, 212 kn)
• Cruise speed: 244 mph (393 km/h, 212 kn)
• Service Ceiling: 30,500 ft (9,300 m)
• Range: 2,600 mi (4,200 km, 2,300 nmi)
• Armament:
  • Guns:
  • Bombs: Twenty 30-lb. (14 kg) fragmentation bombs in wing bays

A total of thirteen airframes (one prototype, twelve production models) were built between 1937 and 1939.

Operational History and Performance

Alas, this can be pretty much summed up as (to paraphrase Shakespeare) “Much about very little.” The plane was plagued by multiple design flaws, such as:

• The engines were prone to overheating due to a lack of additional cooling systems
• It was too heavy and slow to keep up with the bombers it was supposed to escort
• It was less maneuverable than the enemy fighters it was supposed to go up against
• The tendency of the 37mm cannons to fill the gun nacelles with smoke during firing
• Concerns about the prospect of the gunners being able to safely bail out due to the propellers being located directly behind them
• Instability in pitch

Regarding that instability factor, test pilot Erik Shilling elaborated on it in his book Destiny: A Flying Tiger’s Rendezvous with Fate:

“Flying the Bell Airacuda was a new experience for me, since it was the first pusher aircraft I’d ever flown. Its handling characteristics were foreign to anything I had ever had my hands on. Under power it was unstable in pitch, but stable with power off. While flying straight and level, if a correction in pitch was required, a forward push on the control resulted in the airplane wanting to pitch over even more … Pitch control became a matter of continually jockeying the controls, however slightly, even when the aircraft was in proper trim. The same applied if pulling back on the control. It would tend to continue pitching up, requiring an immediate corrective response. The same happened in a turn with power off, the Bell became stable in pitch … This was fortunate because during approach and landing, it was very stable, and a nice flying airplane.”

In spite of all the safety issues, only two Airacudas were lost in accidents, one of which resulted in the death of the pilot. Ultimately, one fully operational Airacuda squadron was eventually assembled, which was active from 1938 to 1940, and they essentially functioned as (metaphorical) show ponies, being used for photo ops, such as Serial No. YFM-1 38-488, which was displayed at the 1940 World’s Fair in New York. Few pilots were interested in flying the oddball aircraft.

Where Are They Now?

Sadly, none of the remaining Airacudas were preserved for posterity, as all of them were scrapped by March 1942. (Back to that total production number of thirteen, proof of the legitimacy of triskaidekaphobia perhaps?) ‘Tis a cryin’ shame.

About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.

Image: Wikipedia.