P-40 Warhawk
Country: United States
Manufacturer: Curtiss-Wright Corporation
Primary Role: Fighter
Maiden Flight: 14 October 1938
Write-up by: C. Peter Chen
The P-40 Warhawk fighters first flew in 1938 and immediately attracted the attention of the United States Army Air Corps, who placed the largest single fighter order it had ever made for fighters for a count of 524 at the total cost of US$13 million. The French and British air forces also placed orders, though deliveries to France never took place due to German occupation. Later on in the war, a few Warhawk aircraft also made their way to the Russians. The design of the them was based on the simple but yet sturdy P-36 Hawk design, hence the similar name to reflect family lineage. Warhawk fighters were relatively maneuverable at high speeds, but at lower speeds they were not up to par when compared with their contemporaries. Due to their low-performance superchargers (only single stage), these fighters did not see much combat against the more capable German Luftwaffe fighters; instead, Warhawk fighters were active in North Africa, Southern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific, where combat situations were more tolerant for their poor climb characteristics, which made them inadequate high altitude fighters. Once they reach high altitude, however, their weight gave them a spectacular diving speed.
The first Warhawk fighter rolled off the production lines in Mar 1940, and it was later that year, some time after Jun 1940, the design actually acquired the designation "Warhawk". They first saw combat in Aug 1941 in North Africa under the British banner as pilots of the No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force flew their P-40 Tomahawk fighters against German and Italian fighters; they noted the P-40 aircraft's reliability and ability to absorb battle damage as reasons why they prefer them over the Hurricane fighters. P-40 fighters saw a lot of casualties in North Africa, but at the same time, they also delivered heavy damage to their Italian and German counterparts largely due to their sturdy construction. On 29 Aug 1941, Australian pilot Clive Caldwell was engaged by two German Bf 109 fighters, including one piloted by hit by ace Werner Schroer; Caldwell downed Schroer and forced Schroer to disengage by heavily damaging his fighter, then made it safely back to base with damage from over 100 7.9mm bullets and five 20mm cannon shells.
Against the Japanese, P-40 Warhawk aircraft were also welcomed by many Allied pilots. While they were the main fighters used by the British Commonwealth air forces under the nickname Tomahawk and Kittyhawk, producing many aces, the Flying Tigers' use for them was arguably the most famous in popular history. Before the United States officially entered the war, many American pilots went to China as members of the American Volunteer Group to fly for China against the Japanese. With Warhawk fighters painted with their trademark shark mouth markings (though Luftwaffe Me 110 Zerstörer units came up with the design and RAF No. 112 Squadron made it popular within the Allies), Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers used Warhawk fighters' good dive speed and tough construction characteristics effectively against their Japanese counterparts such as the Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters, which were much more maneuverable but were only armed with two machine guns. Conservative kill counts of Flying Tigers pilots in Warhawk aircraft were 115 kills at the cost of 21 losses; other accounts put the kill counts at as high as 297. Elsewhere in the war against the Japanese, P-40 Warhawk fighters were overwhelmed by Japanese fighters initially in the war and suffered heavy losses, but as pilots learned to leverage the fighters' strengths, many Warhawk units remained effective fighter units. "If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft", said American ace Robert Marshall DeHaven.
When production ceased on 30 Nov 1944, 13,738 P-40 Warhawk fighters had been produced.
Sources: P-40 Warhawk vs Ki-43 Oscar, Wikipedia.
SPECIFICATIONS
P-40E
Engine: One Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V-12 engine rated at 1,150hp
Armament: 6x12.7 Browning M2 machine guns, optional 680kg bombs
Wingspan: 11.38 m
Length: 9.66 m
Height: 3.76 m
Wing Area: 21.92 m²
Weight: Empty 2,880 kg
Weight: Loaded 3,760 kg
Weight: Maximum 4,000 kg
Speed: Maximum 580 km/h
Speed: Cruising 435 km/h
Rate of Climb: 10.70 m/s
Service Ceiling: 8,840 m
Range: Normal 1,050 km
