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Curtiss-Wright developed the P-40 Warhawk in the late 1930s
to replace the Curtiss P-36. The XP-40 was basically a P-36
airframe refitted with an Allison V-1710 in-line engine
instead of the P-36's Pratt and Whitney radial. In this
configuration, the XP-40 boasted a top speed of 342 mph and
beat both the Bell P-39 Airacobra and the Lockheed P-38
Lightning in the 1939 Army Air Corps (AAC) fighter fly-off.
Slower and less maneuverable than the majority of the other
fighters of its time,
the P-40 earned a reputation in
battle for extreme ruggedness and dependability.
Improvements continually made it a better airplane,
and it was used throughout the war,
but was eclipsed by more capable aircraft.
Production of all P-40s totaled 16,802 planes,
serving and they served in the air forces of 28 nations.
P-40s
continued to be produced until the end of 1944.
The
P-40B
or Tomahawk IIA
was the first attempt to improve the Waharhawk. The P-40B
had extra .30in in (7.62 mm) U.S., or
.303 in
(7.7 mm) machine guns in the wings and a partially protected
fuel system. The
P-40C or
Tomahawk IIB added underbelly drop tank and bomb
shackles, self-sealing fuel tanks and other minor revisions,
but the extra weight did have a negative impact on aircraft
performance. (All versions of the P-40 had a relatively low
power-to-weight ratio compared to contemporary fighters.)
Only a small number of
P-40D or
Kittyhawk Mk Is
were made, less than 50. With a new, larger Allison engine,
slightly narrower fuselage, redesigned canopy, and improved
cockpit, the P-40D eliminated the nose-mounted .50 in
(12.7 mm) guns and instead had a pair of .50 in (12.7 mm)
guns in each wing. The distinctive chin airscoop grew larger
in order to adequately cool the large Allison engine.
Early P-40s were the United States' best fighter available
in large numbers when World War II began. P-40s engaged
Japanese aircraft at
Pearl Harbor
and in the
Philippines in December 1941. They also served with
the famed Flying
Tigers in China in 1942.
Flying Tigers
was the popular name of the
1st American
Volunteer Group (AVG) of the
Chinese Air Force
in 1941-1942. The pilots were United States
Army
(USAAF), Navy
(USN), and Marine
Corps (USMC) personnel, recruited under
Presidential
sanction and commanded by
Claire Lee
Chennault; the ground crew and headquarters staff
were likewise mostly recruited from the U.S. military, along
with some civilians. The group consisted of three
fighter
squadrons
with about 20 aircraft each.
The P-40E or
P-40E-1 was
similar in most respects to the P-40D, except for a slightly
more powerful engine and an extra .50 in (12.7 mm) gun in
each wing, bringing the total to six. Some aircraft also had
small underwing bomb shackles. Supplied to the Commonwealth
air forces as the
Kittyhawk Mk IA. The P-40E was the variant that bore
the brunt of air-to-air combat by the type in the key period
of early to mid 1942.
P-40F
and P-40L,
which both featured
Packard V-1650 Merlin engine in place of the normal
Allison, and thus did not have the
carburetor
scoop on top of the nose. Performance for these models at
higher altitudes was better than their Allison-engined
cousins. The L in some cases also featured a fillet in front
of the vertical
stabilizer, or a stretched fuselage to compensate for
the higher torque. The P-40L was sometimes nicknamed "Gypsy
Rose Lee", after a famous exotic dancer of the era, due to
its stripped-down condition. Supplied to the Commonwealth
air forces under the designation
Kittyhawk Mk II,
a total of 330 Mk IIs were supplied to the RAF under
Lend-Lease. The first 230 aircraft are sometimes known as
the Kittyhawk Mk
IIA.
The P-40F/L was extensively used by U.S. fighter
groups operating in the Mediterranian Theater. *The P-40E was the first aircraft flown by the squadrons of
the 325th Fighter Group Checkertail Clan after the unit’s
activation on
30 July 1942,
transitioning into the improved P-40F model before entering
combat on 17 April
1943. The first aerial victory for the
group was achieved by Flight Officer Howard Cook of
the 318th Fighter Squadron
destroying a Luftwaffe Me-109. The Checkertails flew the
P-40 until 22 September 1943
Aircraft fitted with the wings of the Tomahawk Mk IIA were
designated P-40G,
43 were built with a total of 16 aircraft being supplied to
the Soviet Union. The
P-40K, an
Allison-engined P-40L, with the nosetop scoop retained and
the Allison configured scoop and cowl flaps. Supplied to the
Commonwealth air forces as the
Kittyhawk Mk III,
it was widely used by US units in the CBI. The
P-40M
version generally similar to the P-40K, with a stretched
fuselage like the P-40L and powered by an Allison V-1710-81
engine giving better performance at altitude (compared to
previous Allison versions). It had some detail improvements
and it was characterized by two small air scoops just before
the exhaust pipes. Most of them were supplied to Allied
countries (mainly UK and USSR), while some others remained
in the USA for advanced training. It was also supplied to
the Commonwealth air forces as the
Kittyhawk Mk. III.
P-40N
(manufactured 1943–44), the final production model. The
P-40N featured a stretched rear fuselage to counter the
torque of the larger, late-war Allison engine, and the rear
deck of the cockpit behind the pilot was cut down at a
moderate slant to improve rearward visibility. A great deal
of work was also done to try and eliminate excess weight to
improve the Warhawk's climb rate.
Early P-40N production blocks
dropped a .50 in (12.7 mm) gun from each wing, bringing the
total back to four; later production blocks reintroduced it
after complaints from units in the field. Supplied to
Commonwealth air forces as the
Kittyhawk Mk IV.
A total of 553 P-40Ns were acquired by the Royal Australian
Air Force, making it the variant most commonly used by the
RAAF. Subvariants of the P-40N ranged widely in
specialization from stripped down four-gun "hot rods" which
could reach the highest top speeds of any production variant
of the P-40 (up to 380 mph), to overweight types with all
the extras intended for fighter-bombing or even training
missions.
The P-40 Warhawk was used in many combat areas -- the
Aleutian Islands,
Italy, the Middle East, the
Far East,
the Southwest Pacific.
Serving also with air force units of Turkey, South Africa,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand, later versions were known
as Kittyhawks to the RAF and its Allies.
The last P-40s in military service, used by the
Brazilian Air Force
(FAB), were retired in 1958.
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