P-400 Airacobra Tags

The P-400 Airacobra was the export version of the Bell P-39D. A total of 675 were ordered by the Royal Air Force which soon found their high altitude performance inadequate and directed 212 of them to the Soviet Union.

BX 168 was one of these 212 RAF P-400s. Assigned to 19th GIAP, it became the personal aircraft of 1st Lt. Ivan Bochkov, the XO of the 1st Sqn. Bochkov quickly gained fame after securing the first Soviet Airacobra kill in May 1942. In over 300 combat missions, he becanme an ace by achieving 7 victories. While flying the BX 168 on April 4, 1943, Bochkov shot down his last Bf 109G over Murmansk. His flight however was soon attacked by Bf 109s. While attempting to assist his friend, Bochkov was shot down by Walter Schuck, a well known Luftwaffe ace. Remains of Bochkov’s BX 168 were discovered 50 years later by a group of Americans and many of its parts were brought to USA.

FIGHTERTAGS acquired the underside wing panel of BX 168 in February 2024, and upcycled it into a very limited number of tags.