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P-40 Warhawk

Country United States Manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation Primary Role Fighter Maiden Flight 14 October 1938

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseIn Mar 1938, Curtiss-Wright designer Donovan Berlin approached the US Army Air Corps staff regarding a new fighter design in the Hawk series, and it immediately gained favor. In Jan 1939, when USAAC announced a competition for a new fighter aircraft, it was not surprising that Curtiss-Wright would emerge the winner. The first USAAC order for the new P-40 fighters was issued in Apr 1939; its size, 524 aircraft at the cost of US$13,000,000, was the largest contract issued to date. The P-40 design, internally named Hawk 81 at Curtiss-Wright, was similar to that of P-36 Hawk. They were relatively maneuverable at high speeds, but at lower speeds they were not up to par when compared with their contemporaries. Their top speed made them effective interceptors when they were initially introduced, but over time Curtiss-Wright engineers would frustratingly work countless hours attempting to increase their top speed to match their more modern competitors, especially the German fighters. Aircraft mechanics would later express appreciation for the Donovan Berlin's purposeful design that made maintenance simple; everything positions in front of the firewall could be changed by a skilled mechanic in 14 hours, for example.

ww2dbaseInterest soon came from France, and the Tomahawk variant was developed for the export market. While the French never took receipt of the Tomahawk fighters due to German occupation, Britain's order began rolling off production lines in Aug 1941; Britain would also take over the French contract for these fighters. By the end of Dec 1941, 10 fighters would be delivered to Britain, 72 to Canada, and 476 to Commonwealth squadrons in the Middle East (2 aircraft originally destined to the British forces were lost in transit). The first Tomahawk fighter to see combat belonged to the No. 112 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force over North Africa; they noted the Tomahawk fighters' ability to absorb battle damage. On 29 Aug 1941, Australian pilot Clive Caldwell was engaged by two German Bf 109 fighters, including one piloted by hit by ace Werner Schroer; Caldwell downed Schroer and forced Schroer to disengage by heavily damaging his fighter, then made it safely back to base with damage from over 100 7.9mm bullets and five 20mm cannon shells. Later in the war, the Soviet also received some fighters of this design (247 examples of Tomahawk aircraft and 2,178 examples of P-40E, P-40K, P-40L, P-40M, and P-40N aircraft); initially they were delivered by ship to northwestern Russian ports such as Murmansk, but later on some were delivered via Persia while a few were delivered by flying them from US Territory of Alaska to the Siberia region of Russia. Three among the two-time Hero of the Soviet Union were Tomahawk/P-40 pilots.

ww2dbaseWhile the USAAC received its first P-40 fighter in Mar 1940, the first American to see combat in the cockpit of a P-40 fighter was not an active duty serviceman. That honor went to the pilots of the American Volunteer Group fighting alongside the Nationalist Chinese forces against Japan. They were initially equipped with 100 P-40 fighters originally built for Britain (special negotiations were conducted so that Britain would receive 100 later model fighters in exchange). These fighters, characteristically painted with shark mouth markings (although Luftwaffe Me 110 Zerstörer units were credited as being the first to use the shark mouth design, while No. 112 Squadron RAF made such design popular within the Allies), were among the most memorable in military aviation history. The durable P-40 fighters of the AVG "Flying Tigers" were a good match for the more maneuverable but less-armed Japanese Army fighters deployed in China. AVG pilots flying P-40 fighters shot down 115 Japanese fighters (some estimates were as high as 297) in China at the cost of 21 losses prior to the official entry into WW2.

ww2dbaseIn Jan 1942, Merlin engines began appearing in P-40 fighters, and these new "F" variants were the first to be given the nickname Warhawk. While 1,131 P-40F Warhawk fighters were built, the most numerous variant would be the later P-40N (known as Kittyhawk IV to the RAF), 5,215 of which would be built between Mar 1943 and Nov 1944. By that time, however, US Army Air Forces were already ordering more capable fighters from Curtiss-Wright's competitors, and the upgraded P-40Q variant design came too late to change the mind of USAAF leaders. Thus, production ceased on 30 Nov 1944 after 13,736 fighters were built. They would remain in front line service until the end of WW2, however. "If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft", said American ace Robert Marshall DeHaven.

ww2dbaseSources:

Carl Moleworth, Curtiss P-40: Snub-nosed Kittyhawks and Warhawks

Carl Molesworth, P-40 Warhawk vs Ki-43 Oscar

Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Jun 2008

P-40 Warhawk Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

P-40E



Machinery One Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V-12 engine rated at 1,150hp Armament 6x12.7 Browning M2 machine guns, optional 680kg bombs Crew 1 Span 11.38 m Length 9.66 m Height 3.76 m Wing Area 21.92 m² Weight, Empty 2,880 kg Weight, Loaded 3,760 kg Weight, Maximum 4,000 kg Speed, Maximum 580 km/h Speed, Cruising 435 km/h Rate of Climb 11.00 m/s Service Ceiling 8,840 m Range, Normal 1,050 km

Photographs

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