Nice 40 photos
A few nice 40 images I found:
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
Image by alex drennan
was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. It was used by the air forces of 28 nations, including those of most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in front line service until the end of the war. By November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s main production facility at Buffalo, New York.
The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36; this reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service.
Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.
The P-40′s lack of a two-stage supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. Between 1941 and 1944, however, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40′s high altitude performance was not as critical in those theaters, where it served as an air supremacy fighter, bomber escort and fighter bomber.
P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF) in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941.The Royal Air Force’s No. 112 Squadron was among the first to operate Tomahawks, in North Africa, and the unit was the first to feature the "shark mouth" logo,copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters. Inspired by 112 Squadron’s usage of them in North Africa, and by the Luftwaffe’s even earlier use of it, both via Allied wartime newspaper and magazine article images, the "shark mouth" logo’s usage on the sides of the P-40′s nose was most famously used on those used by the Flying Tigers in China.
In theatres where high altitude performance was less important, the P-40 proved an effective fighter. Although it gained a post-war reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also taking a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft.The P-40 offered the additional advantage of low cost, which kept it in production as a ground attack fighter long after it was obsolete in air superiority.
As of 2008, 19 P-40s were airworthy
In April 1939, the U.S. Army Air Corps, witnessing the new sleek, high speed, in-line-engined fighters of the European air forces, placed the largest single fighter order it had ever made for fighters: 524 P-40s.
French Air Force
An early order came from the French Armée de l’Air, which was already operating P-36s. The Armée de l’Air ordered 140 as the Hawk 81A-1 but the French military had been defeated before the aircraft had left the factory, consequently, the aircraft were diverted to British and Commonwealth service (as the Tomahawk I), in some cases complete with metric flight instruments.
In late 1942, as French forces in North Africa split from the Vichy government to side with the Allies, U.S. forces transferred P-40Fs to the GC II/5, a squadron that was historically associated with the Lafayette Escadrille. GC II/5 used its P-40Fs and Ls in combat in Tunisia and, later, for patrol duty off the Mediterranean coast until mid-1944 when they were replaced by P-47Ds.
In all, 18 British Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons, as well as four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), three South African Air Force (SAAF), and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadrons serving with RAF formations, used P-40s.
The first units to convert were Hawker Hurricane squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF), in early 1941. The first Tomahawks delivered came without armor, bulletproof windscreens or self-sealing fuel tanks. These were installed in subsequent shipments. The British pilots found that when landing the P-40, it was advisable to perform a "wheels" landing (i.e. touching down on the mains first) rather than a "three-point" landing used with their British aircraft. This was due to the P-40′s rear-folding mainwheels, which were more prone to collapse when heavily loaded.
Testing showed the aircraft did not have adequate performance for use in Northwest Europe in high-altitude combat due to the effective service ceiling limitation.
RAF Spitfires used in the theater operated at heights around 30,000 ft (9,100 m), while the Allison engine, with its single-stage, low altitude rated supercharger, worked best at 15,000 ft (4,600 m) or lower. When the Tomahawk was used by Allied units based in the UK from August 1941, this limitation relegated the Tomahawk to low-level reconnaissance and only one squadron, No. 414 Squadron RCAF was used in the fighter role. Subsequently, the British Air Ministry deemed the P-40 completely unsuitable for the theater. P-40 squadrons from mid-1942 re-equipped with aircraft such as Mustangs.
The Tomahawk was superseded in North Africa by the more powerful Kittyhawk ("D"-mark onwards) types from early 1942, though some Tomahawks remained in service until 1943. Kittyhawks included many major improvements, and were the DAF’s air superiority fighter for the critical first few months of 1942, until "tropicalised" Spitfires were available.
DAF units received nearly 330 Packard V-1650 Merlin-powered P-40Fs, called Kittyhawk IIs, most of which went to the USAAF, and the majority of the 700 "lightweight" L models, also powered by the Packard Merlin, in which the armament was reduced to four .50 in (12.7 mm) Brownings (Kittyhawk IIA). The DAF also received some 21 of the later P-40K and the majority of the 600 P-40Ms built; these were known as Kittyhawk IIIs. The "lightweight" P-40Ns (Kittyhawk IV) arrived from early 1943 and were used mostly in the fighter-bomber role.
From July 1942 until mid-1943, elements of the US 57th Fighter Group (57th FG) were attached to DAF P-40 units.
The British government also donated 23 P-40s to the Soviet Union
Tomahawks and Kittyhawks would bear the brunt of Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica fighter attacks during the North African campaign. The P-40s were considered superior to the Hurricane, which they replaced as the primary fighter of the Desert Air Force
According to some sourcesthe P-40 initially proved quite effective against Axis aircraft and contributed to a slight shift of momentum in the Allied favor. The gradual replacement of Hurricanes by the Tomahawks and Kittyhawks led to the Luftwaffe accelerating retirement of the Bf 109E and introducing the newer Bf 109F; these were to be flown by the veteran pilots of elite Luftwaffe units, such as Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG27), in North Africa.
The P-40 was generally considered roughly equal or slightly superior to the Bf 109 at low altitude, but inferior at high altitude, particularly against the Bf 109F.Most air combat in North Africa took place well below 16,000 ft (4,900 m), thus negating much of the Bf 109′s superiority. The P-40 usually had an edge over Bf 109 in horizontal maneuverability, dive speed and structural strength, was roughly equal in firepower, but was slightly inferior in speed and outclassed in rate of climb and operational ceiling.
The P-40 was generally superior to early Italian fighter types, such as the Fiat G.50 and the Macchi C.200. Its performance against the Macchi C.202 Folgore elicited varying opinions. Some observers consider the Macchi C.202 superior. Clive Caldwell, who scored victories against them in his P-40, felt that the Folgore would have been superior to both the P-40 and the Bf 109 except that its armament of only two or four machine guns was inadequate. Other observers considered the two equally matched, or favored the Folgore in aerobatic performance, such as turning radius. Boyne wrote that over Africa, the P-40 and the Folgore were "equivalent".
Against its lack of high altitude performance the P-40 was considered to be a stable gun platform, and its rugged construction meant that it was able to operate from rough frontline airstrips with a good rate of serviceability.
The earliest victory claims by P-40 pilots include Vichy French aircraft, during the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign, against Dewoitine D.520s, a type often considered to be the best French fighter used during World War II.The P-40 was deadly against Axis bombers in the theater, as well as against the Bf 110 twin-engine fighter.
In June 1941, Caldwell, who was serving at the time with No. 250 Squadron RAF in Egypt, and flying as F/O Jack Hamlyn’s wingman, recorded in his log book that he was involved in the first air combat victory for the P-40. This was a CANT Z.1007 bomber on 6 June. The claim was not officially recognized, as the crash of the CANT was not witnessed. The first official victory occurred on 8 June, when Hamlyn and Flt Sgt Tom Paxton destroyed a CANT Z.1007 from 211a Squadriglia of the Regia Aeronautica, over Alexandria.
Several days later, the Tomahawk was in action over Syria with No. 3 Squadron RAAF, which claimed 19 aerial victories over Vichy French aircraft during June and July 1941, for the loss of one P-40 (as well as one lost to ground fire).
Some DAF units initially failed to use P-40s according to its strengths and/or utilised outdated defensive tactics, such as the Lufbery circle. However, the superior climb rate of the Bf 109 enabled fast, swooping attacks, neutralizing the advantages offered by conventional defensive tactics. Various new formations were tried by Tomahawk units in 1941-42, including: "fluid pairs" (similar to the German rotte); one or two "weavers" at the back of a squadron in formation, and whole squadrons bobbing and weaving in loose formations.Werner Schröer, who would be credited with destroying 114 Allied aircraft in only 197 combat missions, referred to the latter formation as "bunches of grapes", because he found them so easy to pick off. The leading German expert in North Africa, Hans-Joachim Marseille, claimed as many as 101 P-40s during his career.
From 26 May 1942, all Kittyhawk units operated primarily as fighter-bomber units, giving rise to the nickname "Kittybomber". As a result of this change in role, and because DAF P-40 squadrons were frequently used in bomber escort and close air support missions, they suffered relatively high attrition rates; many Desert Air Force P-40 pilots were caught flying low and slow by marauding Bf 109s
Caldwell believed that Operational Training Units did not properly prepare pilots for air combat in the P-40, and as a commander, stressed the importance of training novice pilots properly.
Nevertheless, competent pilots who used the P-40′s strengths were effective against the best of the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica.[7][32] At least 46 British Commonwealth pilots achieved ace status flying the P-40. For example, on one occasion in August 1941, Caldwell was attacked by two Bf 109s, one of them piloted by German Ace Werner Schröer. Although Caldwell was wounded three times, and his Tomahawk was hit by more than one hundred 7.92 mm (0.312 in) bullets and five 20 mm cannon shells, during this combat Caldwell shot down Schröer’s wingman and returned to base. Some sources also claim that in December 1941, Caldwell killed a prominent German Expert, Erbo von Kageneck (69 kills) while flying a P-40.Caldwell’s victories in North Africa included 10 Bf 109s and two Macchi C.202s.Billy Drake of 112 Sqn was the leading British P-40 ace with 13 victories. James "Stocky" Edwards (RCAF), who achieved 12 kills in the P-40 in North Africa, shot down German ace Otto Schulz (51 kills) while flying a Kittyhawk with No. 260 Squadron RAF. Caldwell, Drake, Edwards and Nicky Barr were among at least a dozen pilots who achieved ace status twice over while flying the P-40.A total of 46 British Commonwealth pilots became aces in P-40s, including seven double aces.
The Flying Tigers, known officially as the 1st American Volunteer Group, were a unit of the Republic of China Air Force, recruited from U.S. aviators. From late 1941, the P-40B was used by the Flying Tigers. They were divided into three fighter intercept squadrons, the "Hells Angels", "Adam & Eves" and "Panda".
Compared to opposing Japanese fighters, the P-40B’s strengths were that it was sturdy, well armed, faster in a dive and possessed a excellent rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of Japanese Nakajima Ki-27s and Ki-43s in a slow speed turning dogfight, at higher speeds they were more than a match. AVG leader Claire Chennault trained his pilots to use the P-40′s particular performance advantages. The P-40 had a higher dive speed than the Japanese fighters, for example, and could be used to exploit so-called "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The AVG was highly successful, and its feats were widely-published, for propaganda purposes. According to their own count, in just nine months, the Flying Tigers shot down 286 aircraft for the loss of just four of their own.
United States Army Air Forces
A total of 15 entire USAAF pursuit/fighter groups (FG), along with other pursuit/fighter squadrons and a few tactical reconnaissance (TR) units, operated the P-40 during 1941–45.
As was also the case with the P-39, many USAAF officers considered the P-40 inadequate, and it was gradually replaced by the P-38, P-47 and P-51. However, the bulk of the fighter operations by the USAAF in 1942–43 were borne by the P-40 and the P-39. In the Pacific, these two fighters, along with the U.S. Navy’s F4F Wildcat, contributed more than any other U.S. types to breaking Japanese air power during this critical period
The P-40 was the main USAAF fighter aircraft in the South West Pacific and Pacific Ocean theaters during 1941–42.
In the first major battles, at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines, USAAF P-40 squadrons suffered crippling losses on the ground and in the air to Japanese fighters such as the Oscar and Zero.
However, in the Dutch East Indies campaign, the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional), formed from USAAF pilots evacuated from the Philippines, claimed 49 Japanese aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 17 P-40s.And in the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Campaigns, as well as the air defense of Australia, improved tactics and training allowed the USAAF to more effectively utilize the strengths of the P-40.
Due to aircraft fatigue, scarcity of spare parts and replacement problems, the US Fifth Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force created a joint P-40 management and replacement pool on 30 July 1942 and many P-40s went back and forth between both air forces.
The 49th Fighter Group was in action in the Pacific from the beginning of the war. Robert DeHaven scored 10 kills (from 14 kills overall) in the P-40 with the 49th FG. He compared the P-40 favorably with the P-38:
If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft. [It] could outturn a P-38, a fact that some pilots didn’t realise when they made the transition between the two aircraft. The real problem with it was lack of range. As we pushed the Japanese back, P-40 pilots were slowly left out of the war. So when I moved to P-38s, an excellent aircraft, I did not [believe] that the P-40 was an inferior fighter, but because I knew the P-38 would allow us to reach the enemy. I was a fighter pilot and that was what I was supposed to do."
The 8th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 49th, 343rd and 347th PGs/FGs, flew P-40s in the Pacific theaters, between 1941 and 1945, with most units converting to P-38s during 1943-44. In 1945 the 71st Reconnaissance Group employed them as armed forward air controllers during ground operations in the Philippines until it received delivery of P-51 Mustangs.They claimed 655 aerial victories.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, with sufficient altitude the P-40 could actually turn with the A6M and other Japanese fighters, using a combination of nose-down vertical turn with a bank turn, a technique known as a low yo-yo. Robert DeHaven describes how this tactic was used in the 49th Fighter group:
[Y]ou could fight a Jap on even terms, but you had to make him fight your way. He could outturn you at slow speed. You could outturn him at high speed. When you got into a turning fight with him, you dropped your nose down so you kept your airspeed up, you could outturn him. At low speed he could outroll you because of those big ailerons … on the Zero. If your speed was up over 275, you could outroll [a Zero]. His big ailerons didn’t have the strength to make high speed rolls… You could push things, too. Because … [i]f you decided to go home, you could go home. He couldn’t because you could outrun him.That left you in control of the fight.
China-Burma-India theater
USAAF and Chinese P-40 pilots performed well in this theater, scoring high kill ratios against Japanese types such as the Ki-43, Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" and the Zero. The P-40 remained in use in the CBI until 1944, and was reportedly preferred over the P-51 Mustang by some US pilots flying in China.
The American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) was integrated into the USAAF as the 23rd Fighter Group in June 1942. The unit continued to fly newer model P-40s until the end of the war, racking up a high kill-to-loss ratio.
Units arriving in the China-Burma-India theater after the AVG in the 10th and 14th air forces continued to perform well with the P-40, claiming 973 kills in the theater, or 64.8 percent of all enemy aircraft shot down. Aviation historian Carl Molesworth stated that "…the P-40 simply dominated the skies over Burma and China. They were able to establish air superiority over free China, northern Burma and the Assam valley of India in 1942, and they never relinquished it."
In addition to the 23rd FG, the 3rd, 5th, 51st and 80th FGs, along with the 10th TRS, operated the P-40 in the CBI (note, although part of the US 14th AF, the P-40s of 3rd and 5th FGs of the Chinese American Composite Wing were flown by both American and Chinese pilots). In addition to its role as a fighter aircraft, CBI P-40 pilots used the aircraft very effectively as a fighter-bomber. The 80th Fighter Group in particular used its so-called B-40 (P-40s carrying 1,000-pound high explosive bombs) to destroy Japanese-held bridges and kill bridge repair crews, sometimes demolishing their target with a single bomb.At least 40 U.S. pilots reached ace status while flying the P-40 in the CBI
On 14 August 1942, the first confirmed victory by a USAAF unit over a German aircraft in World War II was achieved by a P-40C pilot. 2nd Lt Joseph D. Shaffer, of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, intercepted a Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 that overflew his base at Reykjavík, Iceland. Shaffer damaged the Fw 200, which was finished off by a P-38F.
Warhawks were used extensively in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) by USAAF units, including the 33rd, 57th, 58th, 79th, 324th and 325th Fighter Groups.
While the P-40 suffered heavy loses in the MTO, many USAAF P-40 units achieved high kill-to-loss ratios against Axis aircraft. For example, the 324th FG scored better than a 2:1 ratio in the MTO. In all, 23 U.S. pilots became aces in the MTO while flying the P-40, most of them during the first half of 1943. As in the Pacific, success in combat depended in part on experience and effective tactics.
Individual pilots from the 57th FG were the first USAAF P-40 pilots to see action in the MTO, while attached to Desert Air Force Kittyhawk squadrons, from July 1942. The 57th was also the main unit involved in the "Palm Sunday Massacre", on 18 April 1943. De-coded Ultra signals had given away a plan for a large formation of German Junkers Ju 52 transports to cross the Mediterranean, escorted by German and Italian fighters. Between 1630 and 1830 hours, all wings of the Group were engaged in an intensive effort against the enemy air transports. Of the four Kittyhawk Wings, three had left the patrol area before a convoy of a 100 plus enemy transports were sighted by 57 Group, who tallied 74 aircraft destroyed. 57 Group was last in the area, and intercepted the Ju 52s escorted by large numbers of Bf 109s, Bf 110s and Macchi C.202s. In all, they claimed 58 Ju 52s, 14 Bf 109s and two Bf 110s destroyed with a number of others probably destroyed and damaged. Between 20–40 of the E/A were seen to land on the beaches around Cap Bon in order to avoid being shot down. Six Allied fighters were lost, five of them P-40s.
On 22 April a similar force of P-40s attacked a formation of 14 Messerschmitt Me 321s covered by seven Bf 109s from II./JG 27. All the transports were shot down, for a loss of three P-40s destroyed. The 57th FG was equipped with the Curtiss fighter until early 1944, during which time they were credited with at least 140 air-to-air kills.
In early 1943, 75 P-40Ls were transported on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. On 23 February, during Operation Torch, the pilots of the 58th FG flew these P-40s off Ranger to land at newly-captured Vichy French airfield, Cazas, near Casablanca, in French Morocco. The aircraft resupplied the 33rd FG and the pilots were reassigned.
The 325th FG (known as the "Checkertail Clan") flew P-40s in the MTO. The 325th was credited with at least 133 air-to-air kills in April-October 1943, of which 95 were Bf 109s and 26 were Macchi C.202s, for the loss of 17 P-40s in combat. An anecdote concerning the 325th FG, indicates what could happen if Bf 109 pilots made the mistake of trying to out-turn the P-40. 325th FG historian Carol Cathcart wrote: "on 30 July, 20 P-40s of the 317th [Fighter Squadron] … took off on a fighter sweep … over Sardinia. As they turned to fly south over the west part of the island, they were attacked near Sassari… The attacking force consisted of 25 to 30 Bf 109s and Macchi C.202s… In the brief, intense battle that occurred … [the 317th claimed] 21 enemy aircraft."Cathcart states that Lt. Robert Sederberg who assisted a comrade being attacked by five Bf 109s, destroyed at least one German aircraft, and may have shot down as many as five. Sederberg was shot down in the dogfight and became a prisoner of war.
A famous African American unit, the 99th FS, better known as the "Tuskegee Airmen" or "Redtails", flew P-40s in stateside training and for their initial eight months in the MTO. On 9 June 1943, they became the first African American fighter pilots to engage enemy aircraft, over Pantelleria, Italy. A single Focke Wulf Fw 190 was reported damaged by Lieutenant Willie Ashley Jr. On 2 July the squadron claimed its first verified kill; a Fw 190 destroyed by Captain Charles Hall. The 99th would continue to score with P-40s until February 1944, when they were assigned P-39s.
The much-lightened P-40L was most heavily used in the MTO, primarily by U.S. pilots. Many US pilots stripped down their P-40s even further to improve performance, often removing two or more of the wing guns from the P-40F/L.
Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk
Image by BouncedPhoton
Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk on display with a smile after a day of aerobatics at Temora Aviation Museum.
P-40 is all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft designed in US and used in 28 nations during the World War II. It was the main fighter aircraft used by the Royal Australian and New Zealand Air Forces. This particular one was assembled in 1st Aircraft Depot at Hobsonville, New Zealand in June 1943 and assigned to 2nd Operational Training Unit. After the war it did escape the fate of being scrapped and was eventually bought by Allan Arthur. It took 8 years to fully restore the aircraft and I was lucky enough to see its amazing display that day at Temora. Only 19 of them remain airworthy out of 13,738 built.
This is a tone-mapped HDR from 3 RAW files shot handheld with my Nikon D90.
Location: Temora Aviation Museum, Temora, New South Wales, Australia
From my photoblog at www.bouncedphoton.com
Check out Large On Black to see fine details of the hull and reflections on the painting.
Keep Clear (40/365)
Image by Leonrw
40/365 (January 27)
Footscray, Melbourne
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