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The Curtiss P-40 was the most numerous USAAF fighter on hand when the United States entered the war in December 1941. A development of the Curtiss P-36, the P-40 was essentially a P-36 equipped with an Allison inline V12 V-1710. The French were the first to express an interest in this model, known as the H-81, having already ordered the Curtiss H-75, the export version of the P-36. The Curtiss H-81 would later be purchased by the USAAC and the RAF as the Tomahawk. Curtiss continued to improve the breed and a new production model, the H-87, was soon available with a new version of the V-1710 that had a spur-gear reduction mechanism, raising the engine thrust-line. This caused the nose profile to be redesigned, hence the new Curtiss designation. The RAF became interested in purchasing this version as the Kittyhawk for its squadrons fighting in the Western Desert and to replace the Tomahawk already in service. In all four Marks would be used by the RAF, the Mk II corresponding to the P-40F/L and would see service in only two squadrons, the Australian 3 Squadron and the British 260 Squadron and saw action for the first time shortly before the Battle of El Alamein. The full story of the Kittyhawk Mk II is here told in 38 pages illustrated with 40 photos and 5 colour profiles.
An improved version of the Allison V-1710 engine gave rise to the Curtiss H-87, which began life in 1941 as the P-40D and featured a completely redesigned fuselage. The shorter and deeper nose of the new fighter gave it a decidedly snub-nosed appearance compared to the earlier P-40 models. Curtiss continued to tweak the H-87 for the next two years in the search for better performance, but the last major version, the P-40N, was only marginally faster than the first. In the process, Curtiss even tried an engine change to the Packard Merlin in the P-40F and L but to no avail. What the late model P-40s lacked in speed and service ceiling, they traded for maneuverability, durability and availability. Their niche became fighter-bomber operations, and they fought on fronts as varied as the arctic wastes of the Aleutian Islands and Iceland, the steaming jungles of the South Pacific and the barren deserts of North Africa. P-40s were a common sight in the skies over Burma and China, Sicily and Italy, and western Russia as well. By the time production ceased in 1944, Curtiss had produced nearly 14,000 P-40s.
Beskriver det oprindeligt amerikansk byggede jagerfly Sabre i dets forskellige versioner og de lande, der benyttede det og senere byggede flyet på licens.
200 color images showing the aircraft markings and all the variants of this classic American World War ll fighter. Also includes detail of personalized markings and nose art
Curtiss P-40, known to Americans as Warhawk, and to their allies of the British Commonwealth as Tomahawk and Kittyhawk, fought on nearly all fronts of the Second World War, serving with the American, British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Canadian, Free French, Chinese, Dutch and Soviet air forces. The American Warhawks were part of as many as nine US Army Air Forces stationed overseas: the 5th (Australia, New Guinea, Philippines); the 6th (Central America); the 7th (central Pacific); the 9th (Middle East, North Africa), the 10th (India, Burma), the 11th (Alaska, Aleutians), the 12th (North Africa, Italy); the 13th (the Solomons); and the 14th (China). During the first years of the war the P-40 helped the Allies stem the offensive of the Axis powers and fight them back at the last-ditch defensive positions, like Kunming in China, Port Moresby on New Guinea, Darwin in Australia or El Alamein in Egypt. Never a high-performance fighter, it nonetheless proved a potent weapon in capable hands. Often turned into a fighter-bomber in later years, it soldiered on until phased out in favor of more advanced designs.