World's Deadliest Aircraft- P-40 Warhawk Part 1

[hcpsspearsnb]

hello everyone P-40 was not as bad as it seemed do actual research not what u heard. I am currently studying ww2 aviation in college and have been into this since i was 11. some of these comments ive read are ridiculous

[PHELCAN]

The P-40 Warhawk wasn't that great, it was cool, but it had a crappy engine that couldn't handle high altitudes. Same with the P-51 Mustang, until the british helped us out and started fitting our planes with their Rolls Royce engines.

[Michael0114PS3]

@PHELCAN DUHHHHHHHH, they're Fan Engined and OLD

[chpman2013]

@PHELCAN true, but the Allison engine that was used had decent low-altitude and mid-altitude performance, which is where the P-40 did best...there were a couple of models that did use the Rolls Royce Merlin (P-40F and L)

[kaynie143]

americans, fighting for china.. and then the chinese betray the americans in 1950.. chinese traitors.. didnt think about the american help in ww2

[JaleelJohanson62]

@kaynie143 Not the Chinese people per say.... The Chinese had an internal struggle and the winners who wound up running the country weren't friendly with America.

[Saxe333]

@JaleelJohanson62 Exactly, the losers of that struggle are now known as Taiwan who are Americas Ally.

[monsterzeroJr]

The Flying Tigers were idolized after WWII but in early years of the war they were treated like shit and denied re-entry into armed forces upon return from China. This was because service pilots and top Army & Navy brass resented the fact that they were pretty much pair mercenaries flying for profit. The Chinese paid them more for shooting down 1 Jap aircraft than some American pilots in the services earned in 1 year. This made people jealous...

[jtschau]

@monsterzeroJr Wrong. The Flying Tigers (AVG) were conscripted into the US military after Pearl Harbor whether they wanted to be or not. The military had no problems with the AVG pilots serving in China because they knew it was only a matter of time before Japan and US were at war. It was the politicians like Roosovelt who wanted the US to stayout of the war at all cost and made it a crime for an US citizen to fight in the war in China. As for the money, none of the AVG were paid in full.

[miffymichael8]

at 3:11 its not a chinese flag its taiwanese how can people mix this kind of thing up

[Rens1989]

@miffymichael8 At the time that was the chinese flag. The current flag of China dates from 1948ish

[miffymichael8]

@Rens1989 ohh thanks for telling me

[FCV64]

@miffymichael8

It is not a mix up, At the time that piece of now historic film was shot (1942 ) that was the Chinese flag.

[FCV64]

@miffymichael8

It is not a mix up, at the time this now historic piece of film was shot (1942) that was the Chinese flag

[miffymichael8]

it should be called americas Deadliest Aircraft

[dyhanendra]

you notice the P$0 jumping into a live-fire stream at about 3.30? took a few hits himself!

[Blenderhead71]

It's an unrealized fact that until 1943, when more capable models became available, the P-40 and P-39 (which were both built until 1944) bore the brunt of US air combat. The P-39 was in existence, but had issues with its engines in the climate of the European Theater. The A-36 Apache-Invader made its debut during the Italian landings of 1943, and there were in fact Apache aces....but the aircraft is better known sans dive flaps with a Merlin engine: the Mustang.

[Blenderhead71]

@Blenderhead71 I would be remiss to fail to mention that the Navy Wildcat was the Navy's frontline fighter at this time. Of course there was the Brewster Buffalo as well...the worst fighter (in US hands) and the deadliest by far in the hands of the Finnish.

[roadstarman58]

@SlyNicolai Mopar is/ was the parts divison for the Chrysler corporation. MOtor PARts. The term is used now to refer to Chrysler corporation cars especially from the muscle car era. Some vintage Chrysler products fans grit their teeth at the term while others use it freely.

[mezlay2]

i want military channel too :(

[mystinger72]

megatwingo, I sent a message down low there, it was supposed to be aimed at @guamsst and not you, but I goofed. Please don't take offense!!!

[megatwingo]

@mystinger72

Everything allright! No problem. :)

[flyinDPOD]

@SlyNicolai Curtiss Aeroplane and motor co. and it's successor the curtiss Wright co. produced many successful aircraft designs since 1910 including it's "Hawk" line of fighters. The P-40 was a modification of the the radial engined P-36 hawk, and I know of no reference anywhere of the spitfire having influenced it's design. If you want to make that claim you should be able to back it up with evidence.

[megatwingo]

@SlyNicolai

That is your reply for my question, why you wrote something about the P51 in this thread about a P40?

"Lol"?

"hahaha"?

Ah, now I understand. We are again in the Kindergarden now.

That is fitting somehow to the style of this documentary...

[megatwingo]

@SlyNicolai

Agreed.

If this documentary would have been made about the P51, it would have deserved the title "World´s deadliest Aircraft".

It would still be a crappy sensationalist title for a documentary, but at least in the case of the P51 it would fit somehow.

The question is:

What is your reply telling us in the context with a video about a P40?

[guamsst]

@SlyNicolai On a side note allot of people believe the Dodge Brothers are the only businessmen to ever really get one over on Henry Ford. They staggered the contracts for their chassis and their engines. They got Ford to sign a contract that required all Ford trucks to be built with Dodge engines. Then they didn't renew the chassis contract and went into business competing against Ford with the profits they made off the engines he still had to buy from them.

[guamsst]

@SlyNicolai Ford spent most of its efforts making Jeeps. GM built allot of aircraft. Chrysler did allot of research due to the high quality of their engineeers and metalurgists. Dodge had been around for a long time. The Dodge Brothers built the first Ford Truck chassis. Ford got their reputation for durability with Dodge Brothers Chassis.

[guamsst]

@SlyNicolai Chrysler was too busy working on the atomic bomb and fixing the engines on the B-29 to be bothered with the P-40. That is, after they got done with their tank work and making all those ambulances and scout cars.

[megatwingo]

When I read the title:

The world deadliest aircraft in the same line with the P-40...I knew that there´s something wrong here.

When I heard this sensationalist narrator saying: Prowled the skies over EUROPE and GERMAN pilots learned to fear them.....I didn´t knew: shall I laugh or shall I cry?

The P-40 was absolutely outclassed over Europe and had to be withdrawn into the desert where it had a useful role as ground attack plane in air superiority situations.

What a crappy "documentary".

[gmcg0410]

@megatwingo your right, even the japanese zeros out performed the ol' p-40. The german air force feared nothing in world war two. Hell the only reason hitler killed himself was cuz he found out chuck noris was a jew

[megatwingo]

@gmcg0410

So the historical fact is wrong, that the RAF made a short and disastrous attempt to use the P-40 over Europe and had to withdraw them after a very short time and nobody made this attempt again?

To mention the simple fact, that the P-40 was in it´s very short carrier over Europe a failure means automatically, that "the German air force feared nothing in the war"?

Interesting.

So my history books about airwar over Europe (written partly by Americans) are wrong.

Too bad.

[guamsst]

@megatwingo Early in the war the Germans did learn to fear some obsolete aircraft. The P40 and The Hurricane most notably. At certain altitudes the P40 and Hurricane were capable of mixing it up with the 109 and definitely the 110. Don't forget the Germans had more than one type of plane in the sky. Heck, the Poles even got kills against the 109 with biplanes. The difference is the Germans kept dumping research and money into the 109 while the Allies built new aircraft.

[megatwingo]

@guamsst

Sorry, but the P-40 was delivered in some few test examples to Britain.

It was tested and found right at the start not worthy to fight one day longer in the European air war theater.

The sentence "the Lufwaffe learned some fear by the P 40 over Europe" would mean, that a bigger number of them would have been used over some months in Europe with a significant success, like the Hurricane.

But this all wasn´t the case. Not even a little. This documentary is very bad made and researched.

[guamsst]

@megatwingo I have to disagree. The P-40 was used so little due to shipping requirements. It was easier to build obsolete Hurricanes in Britain than to ship obsolete P-40s to Britain.

I'm sorry if you hate the P40 but that doesn't change the fact that I was referencing obsolete aircraft and the P40 comes in only second to the Hurricane on the western front. To say the Germans learned to fear it does not mean it was better than the 109 or even a good fighter, only that it was still a threat.

[megatwingo]

@guamsst

I´m not "hating" the P 40.

Only because I´m annoyed by the sensationalist and wrong style of this so called documentary I´m not "hating" an aircraft.

The P 40 was available when needed in big numbers and was cheap. Those were the main advantages of the P 40.

It even shot down German fighters and bombers over south Italy. Like you´ve already said: even obsolete aircraft can have their successes when in the right hands and luck is on the side of the pilots.

In Finland, for example.

[megatwingo]

@guamsst

I´m mainly annoyed by the flowery overblown language and tone of this wannabe documentary.

Especially the title of this documentary is very annoying in its overdone sensationalism and it´s wrong.

If one wants to reward every outdated and outclassed piece of army equipment on this planet with the formulation "deadliest" we can continue this kind of documentary for the Brewster Buffalo, all the small and outclassed German tanks of the battle of France, the Me110 Zerstörer etc.

[mystinger72]

@megatwingo Are you silly? The African campaign was shouldered on P-40's, and they engaged 109F's quite a bit. It was found to actually turn tighter than a BF, but lacked a good engine. Then the F and L models came out, which was running a RR engine, you can tell from the huge chin; there is some footage of one taking off on here. The P-40 didn't get all of the glory of the P-51 or P-47 sure, but these were newer designs, so the P-40 was relegated to ground work, where it performed well too.

[Blenderhead71]

@mystinger72 How right you are. The primary fighters in the US forces at this time were the P-39 and the P-40.

[megatwingo]

@guamsst

Every obsolete and outclassed plane and other army equipment can be deadly.

But calling it one of "The World´s deadliest Aircraft"?

Saying in the next line: German pilots learned to fear the P40?

Even when it rarely (for what reasons ever) had the chance to fight German aircraft?

I´ve watched a more complete version of this video (this here is cut short).

There I hear about, how the the P40 "delivered it´s punishing blows" etc.

YAWN!

Talking about a bad style for a "documentary".

[megatwingo]

@guamsst

You wrote "The P40 and the Hurricane most notably".

The Hurricane is everywhere mentioned.

P40´s most notably mentioning in the context of the European airwar is a short side notice about it´s ultra quick withdraw from Europe and it´s later role in the desert of a ground attack fighter in air superiority situations.

That is all, what American and European air war books are saying about the P40 in Europe.

This "documentary" and you are the only sources that are claiming something else.

[longbowgold67]

I don't think it was an early death. It was a good low altitude dog fighter, which suited combat in North Africa, China, and Russia. The Germans had such good success against the P40 because the BF109 had a super charger, which the P40 did not. So the German pilots were able to dive and slash at the P40s, or try to force the P40 to climb, where it was weakest in flight. If the P40 could keep it below 10,000 feet, it could easily take on the BF109. If not then there was trouble

[nynaiqmal]

Wheres the p-51 mustang?

[czwij]

it's a "boom and zoom" fighter, not a dogfighter. the yanks recognised this and allowed them a 70 to 1 kill ratio in china. all in the P40. and against the new zero.

BTW, dogfighting is for those who wish for an early death. Hartmann racked up 350+ kills by sweeping down, killing at close range and flying away.

[wilmanric1]

@czwij Dogfighting in a P40 would be an early death, for sure. The British found that out with the Kittyhawks (P40 C's and D's) they purchased at had to use against the Germans in the desert. The P40 was outclassed by the 109, but for the Brits it was a case of half a loaf is better than none. The Brits used it to good advantage in ground attack.

As for dogfighting generally being a way to an early death, tell that to the guys who flew the Spitfire.

[gowill2]

for 2, the p40 was not used all that much except by the volunteers launching from china BEFORE the us entered the war.

they were not the best. it has a great track record because it had good pilots not because the plane was amazing. its capabilities were lacking in almost every way.

[Nicodemus98]

@gowill2 The P-40 was the U.S. primary fighter until 1942, when the first P-51's cam online. These to were lacking until the late C model and the D equipped with the Merlin engine. The 40 was the defending fighter at Pearl Harbor along with the F-4U Corsair and the P-47. It was a strong, durable fighter and it made up for performance issues with pilot skill and 6 Browning .50 cals. The P-40 was a good plane. But then, the Japs plane were all Hugh's designs. They didn't design them.

[thorpypoo]

@Nicodemus98 I think you mean F4F.  The F4U entered combat in 1943.

[thorpypoo]

@Nicodemus98 I think you mean F4F. The F4U entered combat in 1943. I am not sure that the Japanese plains were Hughs designs. They may have borrowed from Hughs.

[Nicodemus98]

@thorpypoo The designs were purchased from Hughes in the early thirties. Having been rejected by our government during trials. Hughes sold the designs to the Japanese, never dreaming they would later be used against us. As is typical of the Japanese the stripped the armor and further lightened the planes for speed. Built by Mitsubishi Industries, among others, and used to great affect at Pearl Harbor. Selling the designs to Japan, according to Hughes, was his greatest regret in life.

[taninozzo92]

@Nicodemus98 tell me if I'm wrong... you are saying that the jap's plane where designed by howard hughes??? are you sure about this??? where do you read?

[Nicodemus98]

@taninozzo92 Yes, the design for the Zero, Jenny and I think the George were all purchased from Hughes Aircraft in 1932-34. It's matter of history. A little research will show you. Hughes, as if he weren't eccentric enough, nearly went around the bend over his planes being used against the U.S. The final versions were mofified from the original plans in that they were stripped of there armor, self sealing fuel tanks and other items to reduce weight. They were produced bu Mitsubishi.

[gowill2]

the p-40 was in no way the deadliest aircraft ..

p-40's... LOL.... sure give them the credit where credit is due but they were not actually very good planes.

[raginroadrunner]

My favorite bird. This aircraft embodied the raw determination of Covert American forces over China. General Chenault..where are you now that we need you again??God Bless you and your Tigers.

[Loofa1016]

now everone thinks th shark tooth is cool, no one knows its real history. its terrible.

[cmdrnmartin]

The P-40 protected the pilot that flew it better than almost any other early war aircraft.

[SelfmadeOvertake]

I only say Pearl Harbor :)

[FutureDJHero]

P-40 warhawk is my kinda plane, im gonna own one like NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[kolbpilot]

"It's not the krate, it's the man in the krate". M. von Richthofen

[riderpoet]

By late 1930's standards, the P-40E was an excellent low-altitude fighter. But it lacked a two-stage turbosupercharger, and by the end of the war it was utterly obsolete compared to aircraft like the FW-190, Bearcat, P-38J, F4U-D Corsair, P-51D, Hawker Tempest, Spitfire Mark XIV, etc. Like the Zero, it was a good fighter at the start of the war.

[Tyco200]

Sure the plane was outclassed, and wasn't the best, but looking at these comments I can see you people are idiots. . . No respect for the plane at all... And also, the P-40 wasn't outclassed by everything. P-40 had a much better range than the spitefire for sure...

[Alejandro1234130]

I wonder how its even the world's deadliest aircraft.But i like the P40 because of its design and teeth and eyes. Does anyone agree

[tangodancer1603]

over rated but good fire power

[james2k838]

it was kinda crappy yh but it looks amazing and it did well so leave it alone

[akirakhan]

Looking at these comments, you folks don't have much of a handle on the equipment in Burma-China Theater. Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were mostly up against hyabusas and different types of bombers -All without pilot protection or self sealing tanks. With the strategy of NOT getting into a dog fight but sweeping and diving the p40s tore them up with a much lower loss ratio.

[HalcyonSkies]

@akirakhan Not exactly. They came into contact with the Ki-27 'Nate' more than the Hayabusa at first, but you are correct.

[P3gasus]

Is this a joke? The P40 was outclassed and worser than Spitfire, BF109 and FW190.

[Shutterguy]

worser? is that a word? AND yes it was outclassed.

[tarantellaonline]

Definitely a second class fighter in the second front.

[pudd750]

superb landing from 3:53 thru  4:21

[MrPloopy]

This was the case in 1939 with PZL P-11c's outmaneuvering Bf-109's. The Poles achieved 126 aerial victories vs. 114 losses. Had the war begun in 1940 instead, the Polish Air Force would have been much better equipped and much more successful against the Luftwaffe.

[lander4545]

In the end the Allies won so who gives a damn about how you score an enemies kills!

[openedeyedbeast123]

true

[lander4545]

Thumbs downs only prove how mank "folk loreist" there are out there! Keep making up those lies!

[TheRealInvaderZim]

One of my instructors-flew B-17s out of England in WWII and was the only survivor of his original aircrew--his name was Harry Ward-I will never forget Mr.Ward as he never forgot his original crew.

[minhhale]

This is my favorite plane in Heroes of the Pacific!

[TheRealInvaderZim]

I should have said the top Ace flying a American plane was from Finnland===A Brewster Buffalo

[TheRealInvaderZim]

Top allied Ace of WWII=Finnish(Eino Juutilainen) flying a Brewster Buffalo=94 kills, Top Brit =51 kills Top American=40kills, 98 German Aces with kills from 101-352 planes per man--------yes I guess that P40 with that old underpowered Allision was hot stuff :):):) -----My fav, since I was a kid was the Brewster

[Daniel39363]

Well, the Americans rotated the pilots, as not to tire any out and to give something for them to look forward to. The Germans kept every pilot in commission until either the war ended or they died, that's why many German pilots flew over a thousand missions and were able to shoot a lot of planes.

[Saxe333]

The Germans also counted planes shot up on the ground as a kill as well which in my opinion shouldn't count at all.

[Paciat]

If you wont count all destroyed enemy planes you wont know how strong your oponent is.

[Saxe333]

What are you talking about? What has your enemy's supposed strength or lack of got to do with whether a parked plane should count towards a pilots kill score?

[Paciat]

If the enemy cant get his planes off the ground in the right time - thats his weakness. In war its important how much equipment can you destroy, not how good you are at dogfighting.

[Saxe333]

horse shit. A fighter ace is determined by his skill in the air, i.e how many AIR kills you make. Its got fuck all to do with the enemy getting his planes off the ground. Your talking about personal skill in a strategic context. Or trying to at any rate. If you cant understand whats being discussed just listen instead of typing bollocks.

[Paciat]

Do you really think it takes much skill to fight a Brewster Buffalo with a Zero or a Zero with a Mustang. Or maybe you count these as half kills.

[Saxe333]

it doesn't make a fucking difference about the aircraft's merits.If its in the air is a hell of a lot harder to destroy than if its parked. Every nation with an air force only counts air kills except the krauts because its about AIR combat. You seem to be having a great deal of difficulty with a very simple concept.

[Paciat]

Do you belive that shooting down an obsolite aircraft is more difficult than attacking a heavily defended airport? Air combat is more than dogfighting. Gaining altitude is important. If the enemy cant even get his planes of the ground befere an attack maybe his tactics are bad.

[Saxe333]

WTF are you wittering about?! Are you even fololowing this? A pilots kill score is about shooting down planes in the air. Its not about strategic concerns, obsolete aircraft, parked aircraft, attacking airfields, or anything else. ITS ABOUT SHOOTING ENEMY AIRCRAFT OUT OF THE SKY AND THUS INCREASING HIS KILL SCORE. ARE WE DONE NOW?

[Paciat]

This video sais otherwise. Nobody cares who is the top fighter ace. Who destroyes the most enemy aircraft and wins war is important. Am I right or am I right?

[Saxe333]

@Paciat So the SAS who raided airfields in the desert campaign are all fighter aces because they destroyed more than 5 aircraft on the ground? Dick.

[Paciat]

@Saxe333 If they were pilots. You cannot call jeep a plane. Or can you? Do you call AA guners, aces?

[Billdriver]

Hi,Saxe.

I totally agree.

It has alway's been man against man,machine against machine. ,Courage,Tenacity,and the Will to live also are a factor as shown in WW1 & 2.

The P-40 was a great low level fighter and was hard to beat,but @ high level(15 to 20,000 ft is was badly outclassed by the Zero,BF-109 and other aircraft.The thicker the air the better for the P-40,but the thinner air @ altitude really hurt it as shown in the Pearl Harbor attack.Anyway just throwing in my 2 cent's worth.

Take Care.

[carsmasher]

he main reason was that the engine was not supercharger, which was more the fault of the USAAF, who prior to the war visioned that air combat would be around 15,000 feet against attacking bombers.

[zoltar308]

@Saxe333 potty mouth

[TheDigimak]

@Saxe333 youre good Your type are commonly known as the sit at home bs fighter pilot.

[Saxe333]

@TheDigimak Oh really ?Then perhaps you can point out what my BS is? Tell me what post Is inflated, exaggerated or wrong? If you cant then kindly fuck off.

[baelsharon]

It was the Allied Airforce's version of the village bicycle, everyone got a ride. It's the defacto image when you think WW 2, and sharkmouthed airplanes. And yes pilot skill is paramount

[fortknoxguy]

In the real world, the P40 and the me 109 were pretty evenly matched. Both sides won some and lost some. However, the FW 190 was far superior to the p40 and it took newer planes like the mustang to handle them.

[fortknoxguy]

Remember the little war called the Falkland war (or skirmish) where Britain had to get their little island back from Argentina. Argentina had fast mirages while the brits had harriers. Everyone in the news (so called analysists or armchair soldiers) thought the much slower harriers would be eaten alive by the mirages. Wrong. It was the other way around. The British pilots were better and knew how to use the harrier plus it was much more maneuverable. You can do more with a hammer than hit nails.

[sujoi78]

Yes, you are right, but forget something, Mirages had not Sidewinders or any other modern missile loaded on the aircrafts, the mirage (C version) haven't radars or any other alert system, and, of course, haven´t satellite coverage like british in this "little war" .

[fortknoxguy]

Good to mention too. The point I was trying to make is there's more to dog fighting than only the planes. In a lot of these discussions, people only talk about plane vs plane and don't consider anything else like pilot skills, weapons, or armor. Have a good one...

[fortknoxguy]

True. The P40 was obsolete on paper, but enough can't be said for having great, properly trained pilots who maximized a plane's strengths while masking the weaknesses. Early in the war, the japanese pilots didn't understand the concept of "lead", but they soon caught on to how we were doing it. Our pilots were often "good ol boys" who grew up hunting and knew not to shoot where the rabbit is but shoot ahead where the rabbit will be, hence "lead."

[jjdeliman]

The p-40 may have not been as hot as the new foreign powered sports car on the block but it was still the reliable and loud muscle car that give newer planes a run for its money

[70Mack]

The P40 was a cool looking plane even though it was outclassed 90 percent of the time.

[crpdst2003]

P-40 weakness was the strategic materials needed for its supercharger.. the Allison is of the same line as Merlins.. merlin predecessor the Kestrel was specifically ordered to copy the Curtis Conqueror.... which drilled cylinders out of single block of metal... and not individual cyliners... Hap Arnold insisted on Exhaust driven turbos which require expensive alloys Merlin were pto trubos driven from the engine... cheap.... only 47 & 38 allocated turbos not enough for P-40...

[ralsterV]

The Ki43Oscar was just ridiculously light and had simply astonishing maneuverability since it had butterfly flaps to go with its light weight. So, yes, the P40 was maneuverable, but not even a Zero or a Spitfire could turn with an Oscar. High-speed attack passes were the norm for heavier fighters like P40s, F4Fs, P47s, Me262s. Turning dogfights more for similarly capable planes like Spit. vs 190 or P51 vs 190D.

[ralsterV]

jeffie,

Couldnt have said it better myself. "Competent in all areas" would be another phrase for the P40. Maybe not superlative in any area except ruggedness, but got the job done as a frontline fighter well into 1943. To me, the olive drab, star&dot roundel insignia in 6 positions "1941 nostalgia meter" is pegged with a C- or E-model. I like 190s, Spits, F4Us also. And 262s.

[jeffie8696]

Jeffrey Ethel commented on the P-40 that the myth the P-40 was not manuverable is just wrong. He described it as a Pitts with an Allison V-12. He did a full deflection alieron roll and bounced his head off the canopy it was so fast. And it would hit 400 mph in a dive in a heartbeat. The Allison was not a high altitude engine but it was Reliable! Just because the 109 was better doesn't mean the P-40 was lame. The 109 was a Mercedes engined Fuel Injected Beast. And Zeros were Slow light targets!

[soyhemorroide]

por cierto viendo el espantoso desempeño, lo dejaron como entrenador , era tan malo el p-40 (bueno el p-39 era peor) , que no podia entrar en combate evolucionante a la velocidad de combate de la luftwaffe 500kh/h, es mas solo tuvo algun exito con avionetas japonesas de tercera categoria en china, pero como todos sabemos la aviacion japonesa nunca estubo al nivel de los aviones de la luftwaffe, ni en trepada, resistencia daños, potencia de fuego, aceleracion, solo en alcance eran mejor

[soyhemorroide]

el p-40 siempre fue una basura, lo demostro cabalmente en combate, incapaz de sostener combate contra los subarmados bf-109f de la jg-27, estos solo tenian una miserable ametralladora pesada 15mm y un par de cervatanas con balas de rifle 7.62, era tan pesimo su desempeño, que ni con superioridad numerica, junto a los numeroso cazas hurricane y spitfire, no podian contra un par de escuadrillas de jg-27 la tercera se quedo en grecia, esta par de escuadrillas que nunca tuvo mas de 90 aparatos

[altratronic]

Wow! At 3:32 the guncam shows hits on a friendly aircraft (although the friendly is jumping in front of the aircraft that is already firing).

[weecraig2k8mufc1]

the spitfire was a better aircraft then this so was the hurricane

[AmericanDemon7]

it's performance was about on par with hurricane, and obsolete compared to a 109 or spitfire.

[Zippercdrr]

Your complaining because.... It was still deadly in the right hands

[carnage2681]

Haha

No word that they fall like Flys over the Desert by the cannons of the Bf-109 F2-Trop

[BigDummy23]

Tell that to Clive Caldwell or Nicky Barr you idiot.

[deweypug]

Yes, the Bf-109 was a superior aircraft in most performance aspects against the P-40, but we must also examine the pilots who flew the 109, as they had much more experience than that of the American pilots at the time. If you notice later on in the war, as German pilots were being replaced with younger and less experienced ones, the kill rate for the P-40 went up dramatically... and of course, they were outfitted with the more powerful and dependable Merlin engines...

[JagdG11]

While the P40 was considered a more dangerous adversary than the Hurricanes that the Luftwaffe in North Africa had encountered previously, it was still outperformed profusely in most aspects by the Bf.109F (and later G).

Furthermore, by the time that the Luftwaffe really felt the crunch and started pushing inexperienced pilots into combat, the P40 was being phased out with better types that were finally becoming available in larger numbers. It was never an extremely successful a/c in Europe.

[robtom69]

How did it make this list? It was a decent, but not particularly outstanding aircraft. Many better planes were around all all sides.

[Vermiliontea]

Perfectly correct. Remains only to be added that the Merlin engine was never a factor for the P-40.

However, what one mean by successful depends: The P-40 was available, it was THERE and it was adequate. A winning combination, - really!

But "deadliest aircraft" is silly. I think "adequate" describes it best. But that can sometimes be a beautiful word.

[cudadustin]

Deadly it was. A brilliant tool of war. Your point of adequacy is well put. But it's the numbers that do the talking. The P 40 fought on different fronts and was around in the earlier stages of WWII. The British used and loved the P 40. Later, though the introduction of the P 51 (D variant) made the P 40 a relic. If you deem the P 40 as "adequate" then you must call the

F 15 or F 18 "adequate". The introduction of the F 22 ensures that.

[cudadustin]

The replacement of an aircraft by a superior one does not make it any less lethal in its time. The spitfire, messerschmitt, focke wulf, and mustang were all superior to the P 40. However, the sheer availability and use of the P 40 made it one of the world's deadliest aircraft of WWII.

[JG52Karaya]

The sheer availability of the P-40 in fact lead to a commitee trial. The US Congress wanted to find out after the war why so many P-40s had been produced, accusing the Army of having favoured Curtiss as far as production contracts were concerned when other, clearly more performant designs were available. Keep in mind that it stayed in production throughout 1944 when later marks of the P-38, -47 and -51 were around that were ridiculously superior to the sub 600km/h P-40!

[cudadustin]

I agree. The P-40 was outperformed by all of its newer counterparts. The antiquated airframe was floating target in comparison to the newer technologies. BUT the plane still produced in its respective theatre. Chalk it up to fantastic pilots, superior numbers, or whatever else you'd like; this plane will forever be remembered as deadly. The greatest of all time, never, but deadly indeed.

[ralsterV]

P40F was Merlin-engined (used by USAAF in African theater), but the speed/performance numbers just didnt change much. (Airframe and wing design limited extracting the Merlin's full potential).

[Amdragongld]

Hey, way to give a shout out to the Flying Tigers

[JTD19881369]

how could they not .. for awhile .. those were the only Americans beating Japanese .. lol

[Amdragongld]

Indeed, plus they have a stellar paint job

[cudadustin]

I've read that the Tiger on the plane was designed by Disney.

[Amdragongld]

Was Disney around in the 40's?

[cudadustin]

Yes, the Disney company was around in the 1940's. I'm not sure who contacted them to design the Tiger, it may have been Claire Chennault, but shortly after they were given the name disney was contacted to draw their "mascot".