[Light Speed]

Bump for Little shark friends....the P-40's

The Curtis P-40 is famed for her action in the Pacific with the Japanese and with the allies in North Africa.
Assessed as to slow....she became Americas main export fighter to the allies...P-40's were still being built in 1945.
To the Brits and Aussies she was the Tomahawk...Kittyhawk and Warhawk....to Rommel and the Germans....she was a real nuisance.
Slower than her German and Japanese counterparts...a P-40 could be very leathal when handled by a skilled pilot.
By 1944 Curtis allowed some P-40's to be tweaked...knowing the aircraft was limited in comparison to the P-47 and P-51...they experimented with things...eventually a P-40 rolled out with some mods and a 4 blade prop and did a smart 422 MPH...climbing to test altitude quite rapidly.

[Jen]

I think those shark teeth are so cool. The first unit I was assigned to after I joined the AF in 1975 -- the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing "Flying Tigers" -- flew A-7D's that were painted with shark's teeth. The unit traces its lineage back to the 23rd Fighter Group which flew missions over the "Hump" in China during WWII under the command of Gen. Claire Lee Chennault.

Today, A-10 "Warthog" aircraft assigned to the 23rd Fighter Group still have the unique "Shark Teeth" nose art on them. The Flying Tigers are the only Air Force unit authorized to carry this distinctive and historical aircraft marking.