Bell P63E-1-BE Kingcobra Honduras AF 1:72
An entirely different two-seater was produced by the Bell company for internal use. Two P-63E-1s were modified by Bell with a separate observer seat in the rear fuselage, located behind the engine and mounted under a separate canopy. A probe was mounted which extended through the spinner, and to make space for the observer the radio equipment had to be moved forward into the armament bay. The aircraft carried the civilian registrations NX41963 and Nx41964.
P-63E Essentially similar to the P-63D with the exception of a ventral fin extension and the use of a standard "cab"-style cockpit; only 13 built.
The P-63E-5 was to have been an improved P-63E-1 for the USSR. It would have had a revised instrument panel, and a bubble canopy similar to that of the P-63D-1. The cowling would have been redesigned, larger wing fillets would have been installed, a new vertical fin would have been fitted, and a revised ventral fin. However, the project was cancelled before anything could be built.
Of the 13 P-63Es built, the last five were delivered to the Honduras air force in the late 1940s
P-63E 42-11727/N9003R (a former Honduran machine) was displayed for years at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona painted in Soviet markings. It is now painted in US markings. P-63E serial number 43-11728 is on display at the WPAFB Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
