Curtiss P-40 with the RAF, RNZAF and RAAF

[warwatcher91]

The P-40 really is rather underestimated isn;t it?

[danonguam]

The P-40's were all made in Buffalo, New York.

[ovemunk]

According to a recdent article in "The Aeroplane" it could outturn a ME109 E and was better below 10000feet. the Me109 F and the FW109 on the other hand were superior. Fortunately there were mainly "E" models in Africa.

The Kitty/Wargawk was an exellent ground attack plane and its armament of 6 '50calibers gave the Germans something to think about. It was a very efficient plane when used correctly.

[dahl327]

can someone tell me where the Kittyhawks where made for the RAAF?

[ronw62]

Very enjoyable footage of the P-40. Thanks.

[kinglijah]

great information :-)

[lOmnivoreSobriquet]

Massive Fench orders for this type that heavily contibuted to the large scale gear-up of the production.

H-81 as it was cald (P-36s were "Hawk H-75"), they were hurriedly shipped in 1940 but ended-up on British shores... All the "Kittihawk"s were those "Hawk-81" due to Frqnce in fact.

They were kept in north Britain in '40, reserved for the hoped-for many French flyers, then, converted to British standards (the gas handle..) and kept for ground straffing against the expected "frisés".

Then, NA.

[lOmnivoreSobriquet]

@lOmnivoreSobriquet

Or "Tomahawks" perhaps.

Another great Bomberguy video I like...

[bushranger51]

The P-40 was called the Kittyhawk in Australia, while the Brits called her the Tomahawk, I'm not sure what the Kiwi's called her

[TopGunSGA]

@bushranger51 Actually ALL Commonwealth air forces (Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canda etc) called it the Tomahawk (P-40A - P-40C) and Kittyhawk (P-40D upwards)

[timboinozify]

@bushranger51 P40B's and C's were know to all 'british' forces as Tomahawks, especially 3 and 450 RAAF, my Dad was with 3 sqn from 1940 to 1942. From the D on they were Kitthawks

[jerkfacejim]

I like the B version best.. just on its aesthetic value...

Also loved the Chinese insignia on both wings....OK>> done here

I know.. Im shallow..LOL

'

[christof139]

The Merlin-Rolls engine was given to Packard Motor Company & Packard improved the engine then mass produced it. The original M-Rolls engine was partially mass produced in Britain while packard I do believe improved tolerances & the packard-Rolls was a wee bit better than the original. The Mustang was a USA design & of course used ideas from other planes studied before the war. Atwood from Britain was involved but the engineers' final design was theirs' alone. One engineer had worked for Messie.

[crpdst2003]

@christof139 post World War I engines benefitted from curtiss most of all.....Rolls Royce hired Napier best designers and gave them the directive to NOT BUILD THEIR NAPIER LION triple bank 12 cyl engine but copy the Curtiss Vee twelve Conqueror immediately.....

well they made the Kestral engine than stepped it up to the Merlin.....so you can say the Allison and the Merlin were 1st cousins.....ps BMW copied it too....but inverted it... but they say theirs alone too..

[christof139]

@crpdst2003, Thanx for the good info. Very interesting & unknown to me.

BTW, I believe Molders was shot down in France 1940 by a French pilot flying a P-36 Mohawk/Hawk 75, & the 30 or so the Germans sold to the Finns were well used by the Finns to good effect, as you no doubt know.

Aircraft are all unique. The French Bloch-152 (I think that is right) was slow but a tough customer. I think the Rumanians used some. I bet they could have been modified into Sturmovik type ground attack craft.

[romanbrough]

the Russians much preferred this to the Hurricane. They have no reason to be biased in favour of one or the other, so I accept it was the better plane. Flying as a fighter in Aemerican hands it shot down at least as many as it lost. In the Western desert, the luftwaffe could never tell the difference. On occasion some ground attack squadrons were very badly mauled by `109s

[forr3st32]

@romanbrough I agree although the Hurricane was a good sturdy plane and turned better than the P40 it couldnt match it for speed and especially dive speed, making it much more useful in the air superiority role as you can only shoot someone down if you can catch them something the Hurricane struggled with against the me109.

[jellyrollbaker]

with the sharkmouth its the best looking plane off its time!!

thanx for the video.

[twojean]

In 1940-41, this was the USAAF's front-line fighter. My grandfather flew one in the AVG, and later, after the AVG was broken up, was a navigator in Liberators flying the Hump. He became a member of the Caterpillar Club in the B-24s; never had lost a plane in the AVG to the enemy, but parts were often a problem.

[thefightingace]

actuly the p-40 had good agility, especially at high speed and medium to low altitude. It was one of the tightest-turning monoplane fighters of the war

[BJBFOREST]

Judy Pay in Tyabb,Australia has the only flying Merlin Powered P 40 F. I was lucky to see it flying yesterday and it dounds great. She owns a Mustang but finds the P 40 to be a more stable aircraft.

[Moray747]

the p40 was one of the first planes to "hold the line" for the Allies, and served with distinction till the end of the war.

[episykel]

Was it a "frontline fighter" during the entire ww2?

[Moray747]

Not during the engire war, but it held the line till the p47, p51,, p38 could be tweaked and manufactured.

[delta11434]

He protected my homecity in 1942. Thanks for US.

[christof139]

It didn't need the dual stage supercharged Packard-Merlin because newer fighters were already starting to be produced, plus over North Africa and in the Pacific most of the aerial combat was fought below 15,000 or so feet just as on the East Front so a high altitude fighter wasn't necessary in the pacific until the startegic bombing of Japan started.

[stylesie]

I agree with Pramboy09 ... would the Merlin have physically fit the airframe?

[christof139]

The ANZAC pilots developed a method wherby they could out turn a Zero. P-40 was more agaile than most people believe. Soviet pilots also had great success with it and liked it.

[1926Donal]

During WWII there was a thing called the Empire Air Training Scheme. Many of the Canadian, New Zealand, South African and Australian pilots and aircrew were trained and subsequently served together in the RAF. In addition each self governing nation, a "dominion" of the Empire, had its own air force. Confusing but it meant that at any one time highly trained airmen went into the area of highest need. Even today, these people often serve in other Commonwealth air forces plus the USAF.

[warhawk1234567890]

日本では雑魚扱いされてるが負け越してんだよな日本機

[BesshosenEnsenLife]

I am very interesting in air planes, especially in WW2. This footage is very fine. I am very satisfied.

P-40 looks very tough.

[orcstr8d]

What a playful bunch those guys were- passing their mascot dog and "feeding" him into the sharks mouth on that plane. 5 stars.

[darkmossie633]

P.40 and Hurricane most suited to bomber attack, and could take a lot more punishment than even the great Spitfire

Hurricanes accounted for 60% of kills in Battle of Britain

[singersargent]

I think the ratio was 3 Hurries to every 2 spit's but both get planes

[mmmsikim]

The Shark mouth really fits the P40, particularly, the B/C model because of its smaller air intake cowling right underneath the engine, it really resembles the physical structure of the jaws of a shark...

[ftorresgamez]

It is often said that the reason for the lack of altitude performance was the lack of a turbocharger. However, placing a turbo on the small airframe would have been quite an achievement. The problem with the Allison was in fact its single stage-single speed supercharger, which wasn't able to provide enough air at altitude. Same problem plagued most aero-engines with same type of supercharger, like the early Merlin. GM did not see to it to add a two-stage, two speed supercharger to the Allison.

[pramboy09]

The later model p-40's had a rolls royce single stage supercharger engine (built under licence by allison)but if they had put the same engine as the spitfire IX and mustang (the two stage superchared merlin) you would have seen a diffrerent beast.

[TopGunSGA]

Only the P-40F and P-40L had Merlins

[pramboy09]

@TopGunSGA Unfortunely the F & L only had the single staged turbocharged version of merlin, if they had the double staged version the IX spitfire and mustang had, you would have seen a different beast.

[ftorresgamez]

The "B" and "C" models are the easiest to recognize, with the "squatter" body (directly taken from the older P-36), the longer nose and shorter snout, plus the (2) .50 cal on the cowling and (4) .30 cal on the wings. The next model, the P-40E, is the one that most recognize and most popular for model kits, with the (6) .50 cal on the wings, even though the P-40N model was the most produced. I love the "B" model most as it had more character, although the "E" was more powerful.

[ftorresgamez]

The Luftwaffe pilots learned not to underestimate the maneuverability of the P40, especially at low altitude - that's why the "experten" always used hit and run tactics when fighting large formations. However, experienced pilots could turn the tables on the German Bf109 pilots by turning inside their planes, since the P40 had a tighter turning radius than that legendary fighter. The experts knew to avoid getting into a furball with P40s, same way AVG pilots avoided turning matches with the Japs

[Phas3e]

NZ3072 is no longer around an earlier aircraft he flew NZ3009 is still flying...in Aussie colours :(

[spercepolnes21]

Nope - NZ3009 is currently in AVG colours. The one in Aussie colours is ex RAAF - original colour scheme.

[pramboy74]

Yes i know i've seen it.

[crimpsy]

Yes I saw it yesterday, it flew over my house!!!

[devil952]

lucky

[BigDummy23]

There were like 50 people who made Ace in the P-40, it was a much better fighter than given credit, on all fronts, just not a high altitude bird. The Russians, Aussies, Brits, Canadians and Americans all had aces and double aces flying P-40s, check the wiki.

[foxrecon19d]

Outstanding video and accompanying text. The P40 remains my favorite WWII firghter simply because it was not the best choice, but still fought on all fronts. I especially like the comparisson to the great British Hurricane fighter and I often wonder how well the P40 would have fared if they were used in numbers during the Battle of Britain along side the Hurricane. Great historical tribute to the P40 and the men who flew them. Thank you.

[WNM52]

3:10 - 3:50 VERY nice combination of music and aerial footage.

[ramses0101]

what is the name of the music at the beginning, really nice

[ramses0101]

ok , i ve just seen , benny goodman-sing, sing, sing

[WNM52]

Beautiful aircraft! (And NO plane ever looked as good with "shark's teeth".) A company near San Francisco is renovating a P-40 and once completed will be offering flights. Can hardly wait!

[pramboy74]

We have a couple here in new zealand, we flew alot of them in the pacific during the war before going on to cosairs when your navy didn't want them!

[SLRL1A1]

There's a story of P-40 pilots in N. Africa being demoralised at their 'planes being outperformed by Bf109s. They consoled themselves by thinking that at least they could outdive the German 'planes. This was later proved wrong when a P-40 pilot reported trying to dive away from a 109, only to have the German plane gradually pass him in the dive with the German pilot giving the "victory-V" sign as he passed. :o)

[BikerRussell]

I remember the pricetag on one of these in the day was around 35.000 dollars. I would love to pay that and have a p-40E sent to me in those boxes shown at the beginning of the movie!

[mazdarodi]

Awesome! Thank you so much for posting. Our local hero whom our airport is named after died flying a P-40. He got 19 of those Japs before they got him though. What a beautiful machine.

[WNM52]

19 "kills". That's some serious "ownage"! Who was this warrior?

[mazdarodi]

Sorry, my typo... it was 17 kills. But his name was Capt. Johnny Hampshire, Jr. Born May 16, 1919, died May 2nd, 1943. His commanding officer was John R. Allison. The Grants Pass, Oregon, airport (new one founded in 1960) was named in1998 after him. The old airport he learned to fly at is no more. There is even a local scholarship named after him.

[mazdarodi]

Oops folks, I made a typo, he got 17 kills before he died, not 19. He was part of the China Task Air Force (this was after the AVG was taken over by the army air core) flying a P-40 K-1.

[WNM52]

mazdarodi, thank you for the info. 17 "kills". Triple "ace" plus! All in the P-40? That's dealin'! I'm going to look him up. And by the way, that's Army Air CORPS. (Lots of people make the same mistake especially with US Marine Corps.) Cheers.

[nastyblacknotchbax]

BAD ASS plane! and BAD ASS music !!!

[jeffie8696]

According to the famous fighter writer Jeffrey Ethel the P40 is much better in the cockpit than most would believe. Apparently he did a full stick aileron roll and bounced his head off the canopy. He described it as a Pitts with an Allison V12. Also citing that it would put on 400mph in a dive in a heartbeat. Please remember it replaced biplanes!!

[kozlowdj]

what you have is a mustang heh. it was curtiss's shortsightedness like that was the reason they tanked following the war

[kirkconway]

to my knowlege, no RR merlin was ever put in a P-40 even for experiment's,

If had been,

it would have been a 1st class fighter, and yake the birdgage canopy off for a bubble one and then you'd have it,

[deweypug]

Well, here's one for you 'Maniac': Since you cannot argue with a preference - I think the P-40 was the meanest looking WW2 fighter. SO there!

[deweypug]

Much of the unfair conclusions made of the P-40 were due to early comparisons against the Mitsubishi Zero - the fact was that NO fighter could outperform the Zero. The P-40 was a sturdy, tough. well armed low altitude fighter that did it's job better than almost any other allied fighter of the day.

[kbroma01]

Look at what "Maniac" is saying of the P-40. He's such a positive lad.

[CMPerry]

I recall reading somewhere that the P-40 shone in North Africa as a ground attack plane, steady as a rock for low-level attacks. Didn't need supercharger for that. Also that as a dogfighter its best move was to dive away - could out-dive most opponents.

[kbroma01]

I think our friend "Maniac" has a dimmer view of the P-40. Everything is negative.

[MechelenManiac]

When you go to war you fight with what you have and this pretty all what the US had. Rugged, but a dog compared to the then current Spitfire. The successes came via the expertise of the pilots. The Mustang was the real star of the US Air Force.

[kbroma01]

Can you please elaborate on your opinion of the P-40 being a dog?

[MechelenManiac]

The P-40 was slower than than the German ME-109, the ME-109 was faster in a climb, more manoeuvrable. The P-40 had a lousy serviceability record with many complaint of jamming guns, rough or cutting out engines, ground looping, etc. The only thing a P-40 could was out turn a ME-109.

[kbroma01]

Complaints of the Browning .50 caliber jamming when it was in every American Fighter in the he war? Yes, all machine guns no matter what manufacturer sometimes jam. Rough cutting out Allison engine? Prove it. Ah ground looping, and the ME-109 didn't ground loop?

[MechelenManiac]

Successful combats are where the pilot has height advtge dives makes a firing pass climbs back to a superior hght then repeats.P-40 was worthles abv 18K ft due to its Allison engine its max ceiling was less than 28K ft the Mustang fought at 40K ft giving it the edge.The later build qty was appalling Curtiss was not a good builder the P-47G debacle proved that.The P-40 "success" was due to the nature of Commonwealth pilots or pure luck by USAF most aircraft shot down were bombers or transports.

[kbroma01]

The P-40 was not given a supercharger until later in the War because the P-38 was given priority. Where do you get your records of the appalling build of the P-40, an the fact that Luck was the only way you could win in a P-40? Curtiss did a crappy job on the P-47 but not on the P-40.

[MechelenManiac]

The shabby build comes from reports from the squadrons who flew it Check the records of the pilots who got kills (especially the USAF)you'll find they were either Italian AF or transports or bombers I wish it wasn't so but it was.

[kbroma01]

Really! So what ace pilot Clive Caldwell said about the P-40 is crap? Wait a minute, the figter group 325th = 135 fighters shot down with a loss of 17 P-40's, and the New Zealand Air Force = 99 enemy aircraft lost to 20 P-40's lost. And we can't forget the Flying Tigers decent record. I wish it wasn't so but it is!!

[MechelenManiac]

Caldwell was an aggressive well trained Oz, he would have shot down planes flying a Model T Ford. The rest of your numbers aren't facts. The P-40 was a DOG, the P-47 & 51 were true thoroughbreds. Read about the 332nd they hated the P-40 so did the Russians, French & Brits.

[kbroma01]

Hello, it doesn't take away that the P-40 was a good airplane demonstrated by Caldwell. I have yet to see any facts from you. Why did the British Purchasing Committee come to North American Aircraft company to build more P-40's if they wer crap? If the P-40 was a dog, why were over 14,000 produced, and used by 18 countries? Wait a minute: What did your country to do in the war?

[MechelenManiac]

"Wait a minute: What did your country to do in the war?" My country declared on Germany in September 1939, fought right thru until August 1945, my father served in the RAF during the war, my uncles in the R Navy, R Marines & Merchant Navy both my grandfathers fought in Flanders in WWI and I served in the British army in the 70ts.

[MechelenManiac]

The P-40 was in 1940 the only thing that was half decent coming out of the US. When North American aviation were asked to produce it for the Brits they refused and said they could build a much better aircraft. The result was the Mustang. If the P-40 was so good whey build the Mustang or P-47 why not swamp the air with a million P-40s ?? Only the P-39 was worse and they built 10.000 of them !!!

[kbroma01]

Interesting conclusion. Why not just produce P-47's and P-51's and swamp the air with them and include the Navy and Marines with just two fighers?. Both the P-40 and P39 had where decent fighters that through improvements became better such as the P-40N and P-63, but by then Jets had arrived. Without a two-stage supercharger, any fighter was crap.

[kbroma01]

Quote from Joel Paris of the 49th Group, "I never felt that I was a second-class citizen in a P-40. In many ways I thought the P-40 was better than the more modern fighters"

[MechelenManiac]

Quote from Col Philip Corcoran, veteran US P-40 pilot in N Africa "The Me-109 & FW-190 can outrun, out-climb & out-dive the P-40" BTW this is NOT taken from Wikepedia. Quote from Lt C Jamison 332nd FG "The FW-190 was some 80 mph fatse than our P-40Ls" etc., etc., etc.

[kbroma01]

The 325th Fighter Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida.... (also known as the "Checkertail Clan"), also 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 only 17 P-40s in combat.

[kbroma01]

"Air -Vice Marshall D.F. Stephenson noted "While the ratio of British to German planes in the Battle of Britain was one to four, the ratio of Anglo-American Fighters to Japanese Plane over Rangoon China, was four to 14" end quote"

[pramboy74]

your not wrong saying about how much better the p-47 & 50 were but it wasn't a "dog" . Most pilots loved the 40 mainly because it was a lovely aircraft to fly, but..... it was a product of the mid 30's and it was never going to compete against the newer and superior aircaft coming out during the war. This aircaft was a great stop gap untill the 38,47 and 50 came in numbers for the americans.

[MechelenManiac]

Yes, you're right, you fught with what you have. One has to admire the pilots who flew these P-40 trying to slug it out with FW-190s and the like.

[WNM52]

pramboy74, by "50" do you mean the P-51 "Mustang"?

[pramboy74]

god! that's quite embarassing i mean 51, i have a new born son in the house, must have had my eyeballs out of their sockets that day!

[WNM52]

pramboy74, Fifty, shmifty. I know you meant "51". Congrats on the birth of your new son! All the best to you and your little fighter pilot. May his long life be CEVU (CEiling and Visibility Unlilmited)! Cheers.

[pramboy74]

thanks mate, have made his baby mobile with model fighters hanging off it. He will be the third generation of warbird nuts!

[WNM52]

Cheers mate. Third generation? Sounds like he will be-- and you were--raised right. Boggles the mind to think what kinds of aircraft he'll see when he grows up. Happy landings!

[kbroma01]

Quote from Robert DeHaven of the 49th Group"If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft. In many conditions, it could outturn a P-38, a fact that some pilots didn't realize when they made the transition between the two aircraft. The P-40 kept me alive and allowed me to accomplish my mission.

[MechelenManiac]

The P-40 could ground loop at an eye blink, the rear view thru those side panels was worthless. The Allison was unreliable and useless above 15.000 ft even with a RR Merlin wasn't much better. Of course it's design stemmed from the early 30Ts whereas the Mustang was a 40Ts one.

[kbroma01]

We already talked about ground looping, and many fighters had the same issue. Hmmm, Spitfire, Me-109, Hellcat to name a few. Ah, both the Allison and RR Merlin are now crap? Yes, and that is why there were so many produced for the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster, P-51, P-38, P-40, P-63, P-39, Mosquito to name but a few. And no other fighter had 30's designs. Lets all give thumbs up to German engineering!

[MechelenManiac]

You've misread what I said. When the Merlin was put in the P-40 not much changed, when it was put into the Mustang it turned a good aircraft into a war winner. As for aesthetics the P-40 looked great I have many books, models, etc on it.

[pramboy74]

yeah your right, they tried revised intakes and a bubble canopy with the XP40Q-2 but the outcome was still below what the mustang was capable of.

[kbroma01]

Where do you get your records of most aircraft shot down down by the P-40 were bombers and transports?

[Renshen1957]

I guess the AVG's record in China was "pure luck" instead of training and proper tactics. With at most 48 P-40s flrying at anyone time the AVG racked up an impressive record against a high odds. In China the main target was bombers, the greatest threat to the war effort. In ETO the main target was fighters to protect our bombers. In the ETO the bombers flew high as did the escorts. On the Russian front, combat was below 10,000 ft.

[FASpitfire]

A buddy of mine has flown both the P-40 M and the Spitfire back in the 70s, and says that the 40 flew smoother then the spit. He and the other pilots who flew the 40s and spits would only do more difficult maneuvers with P-40 and only traveled in the spits. I really want to see what a P-40 with a supercharger would have been like XD.

[p47br]

hi bomberguy, is there a part II for this video?

thanks

marco - brazil

[Bomberguy]

Sorry, no

[p47br]

many thanks for your attention

have a nice weekend

p47

[scarlebloke]

I love the P40 - and this was another great vid from BomberGuy. Well done!

[bigaussie68]

Great video!! The P40 more than made up for it's lack of speed and manueverability with it's toughness and firepower. Aussie ace Clive "Killer" Caldwell scored most of his 29.5 kills in the P40 against the Germans and Italians in Nth Africa.

[slrman]

Great video again! IMHO, the P-40 was the only plane that ever looked right with the shark teeth. I must have built dozens of models of them as a kid. Most of them ended up as bundles of balsa and tissue paper after a few flights as pushing the envelope has always been my style. LOL

[Vidarts]

Lol, what's the scene with the guy lying in the sand ...

Great vid, nice plane.

[osp80]

the p40 was great it just needed a bit more hp.if it coulda got the turbos from the p38 it woulda been a completely different plane

[5eugenic1]

Wow this is one of the best ww2 aus fighter vids in history! Im currently building Wing Commander Gibbes P-40 (3rd Sq. RAAF) then Turnbull or Trusscotts P-40e at Mlne bay 1942. Perfect inspiration! Cheers Bomberguy for making my day, You Rock!

[crimpsy]

I believe Geoff Fisken, served in 14 Sqdn, Based in my home town Masterton once, One of his A/C P40 NZ3009 is currently based here and regularly flies!!!! Amazing machine!!!

[RNZAFfreak]

Yeah at the Old Stick and Rudder hanger. They have a Corsair, Thunder Mustang, Tigermoth and of corse the Kittyhawk

[crimpsy]

its not a thunder mustang, someone from the old stick and rudder company owns a titan T51Mustang, its not part of the collection but still a nice little aircraft!!!!

[RNZAFfreak]

yea its nice and its fukin fast

[K4rt80y]

Maybe in a dive, or if you pushed one off a cliff. And nothing could out dive a P-47.

[pika109]

can't P-40Ns fly 380 mph?

[Irvine5312x6ma]

Very nice vid!!! I adore the P-40!!!

[SmiertSpionem]

Don't forget to remove the puppy before take off!

[defaulttheunremarkab]

Just a quick comment. The Brewster Buffalo was a pretty lousy plane. Slow, no armor plating for the pilot or self sealing fuel tanks. It was an obsolete design as produced. The F4 Wildcat was a much better plane. The reason that Claire Chennault went with the P-40 was it's range of 750 miles.

[defaulttheunremarkab]

Both the Buffalo and the Spits and Hurricanes were designed as "point-defense" aircraft, trading a limited range for less weight. The British planes were initially designed to defend England the F-2 and F-4 were designed to defend a fleet. They had roughly 1/2 the range of a Kitty/Warhawk.

[SmiertSpionem]

On the subject of range it's worth pointing out the really 'short legs' of the Me109.

[defaulttheunremarkab]

As far as license-building Spits or the much under-appreciated Hurricanes, take a look at the construction, particularly of the wooden Hurricane. It's fabulously beautiful, but highly involved. It was much, much easier to crank out P-40's by contracting out sub- assemblies to different manufacturers. Mustangs had the nick-name "Maytag Messerschmidts", because the cylinder heads were manufactured by the American washing machine company. Hope this helps.:)

[SmiertSpionem]

Yeah, the mixed construction of the hurri made it quicker to build, easier to maintain and absorb more punishment than the all metal spitfire.

[skypilot18]

I read an interesting stat on the P-40 from the 325th FG which was part of the 12th AF and also 15th AF. They flew P-40's. P-47's and P-51's.

The "kill" ration was 3.6 enemy shot down for each P-40 lost, 3.9 for the Thunderbolt and 3.2 for the Mustang. No speculation as to why was given. But it was mentioned it should start some lively conservation:-)

[SmiertSpionem]

P-40 was possibly the fastest allied fighter in a dive, and could turn very tightly.

[skypilot18]

What about the P-40F with the Packard Rolls engine? I can't seem to find much about it. It must have increased performance quite a bit in such a light airframe. But I would imagine that the Packard's were all going to the Mustangs though.

[xvl3tk0ng]

p51 is better

[SmiertSpionem]

Not for ground attack, and it definately could not absorb as much damage. Still at high altitude the Mustang was a LOT better.

[Stephorino]

Best P-40 documentary I have ever seen. Good job! More!...

[blastforyou]

The Curtis P-40 may not have been as effective as the fighter aircraft that arrived later in the war, but you gott'a admit that no other aircraft looked better with sharks teeth painted on.

[Vidarts]

Yeah, that's definitely true. It just looks lovely with these shark teeth.

[cafe426]

Great to see!!! My father was a career pilot with the Army Air Corp and the USAF. He had a fair amount of time in the P-40 as well as many other aircraft. I've a scanner on the way, when it arrives I'll post some photos.

[MikeNC2371]

I,for one, would like to see those photos, cafe426.

[whizbang47]

Ditto! I'd be glad to see whatever you'd care to share from your Dad's albums.

[Leebm29]

I second the motion to keep 'em coming

I enjoy your music selections also Leebm29

[denberg2]

Keep 'em coming, Bomberguy!

[APACHE666666]

I found this is realy interesting

[peepeevagi]

The Warhawk.

I HATE IT!!! SO VERY MUCH!!

I'd take an F2A Buffalo instead.

[rdavit]

The pea shooter ? (F2A)

The Warhawk (pre U.S. entry into WWII) was as good as it gets!! So good, the flying tigers built their reputation on them.

[peepeevagi]

You dont get the Flying tigers connection.

They were given them because they were the U.S's "Back foot" operations.

They got the crappiest of the crap.

And the F2A Buffalo is the Pea shooter that failed horribly as a light bomber.

[rdavit]

What would you have sent the RAF at that time? (checking your aviation knowledge here.....you'll need to know production availability beyond prototype)

[peepeevagi]

I dont suppose i can take the option, FUCK THE Royal Air Force, can i?

I'd contract american companies to mass produce Hurricanes. Spitfires too.

Or, just to fuck with them, i'd send them french Biplanes.

[BigDummy23]

The "Pea Shooter" was a completely different plane, the P-26. It's worth noting the Finns did very well with the F2A, they had pilots with over 90 kills.

[peepeevagi]

Thusly, i'd entrust my life to it.

The P-40 just... well it does'nt suck...

The P-40 is just... Ghetto past ghetto, even for it's time.

And, the F2A Buffalo is a pea shooter that failed horrbily.

[rdavit]

My Bad..... Boeing P-26 Pea Shooter (saw one at the USAF museum in Dayton...I should of known this one) vs. the F2A Buffalo. Thank you for the correction.

And what aviation nut (as a kid) didn't have a P-40 Cox airplane...gotta love the warhawk!

[BigDummy23]

acutally the P-40 was quite good for low altitude. One of the most maneuverable fighers in the Allied arsenal and about as fast as a Spit, with much longer range. No good for high alt bomber intercepts, quite good for North Africa, Burma, New Zealand, Russia etc. etc. There were like 100 P-40 aces from six or seven different countries

[Partok81]

A sturdy ol' workhorse. Kind of like the Hurricane for the Brits, or the Stuka for the Germans. Not state of the art, but did "Git er' done!"

[faireyswordfishmk1]

beauti of an aircraft