Ron Cole's P-39 (P-400) Airacobra All-Over Shirt

These shirts are part of Ron's opening salvo into clothing design. Unlike other aviation art or graphic design within this genre, Ron has used the entire surface of each garment, front and back, to blend his original compositions with the style and cut of the garment. Each shirt is a new design, incorporating Ron's art, to be something entirely unique: a piece of wearable art, signed by the artist.

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This aircraft, serial number AP335, was one of several P-400, export versions of the Bell P-39, built and painted for delivery to the Royal Air Force under Lend Lease prior to Pearl Harbor in 1941. As a consequence of the outbreak of the WAr in the Pacific, these P-400s were instead delivered to the USAAF in Australia, and later, Papua New Guinea. The British roundels were painted over with US stars, but the RAF camouflage remained. These aircraft were flown hard over the next several years, long after they were technically obsolete, against the Japanese in the South Pacific.

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AP335 was assigned to the 5th Air Force, 8th Fighter Group, 36th Fighter Squadron, then operating from Port Moresby, PNG. On August 3rd, 1943, piloted by Lt. Everett H. Van Patten, this P-400 flew escort for several C-47 transports bound for Tsili-Tsili Airfield. The flight was jumped by several Japanese Air Force Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters, and AP335 took a hit to its coolant system. With his engine overheating, Van Patten made a wheels-up emergency landing on Bulldog Island. Van Patten returned to duty, but AP335 sat where it landed until 1984, when it was recovered for eventual restoration.

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