One of the most rugged fighters ever built, the P-40 was
the Army Air Forces' front-line fighter at the start of
World War II. The P-40 is among the top five aircraft in US
history in terms of number of aircraft produced and was
eventually flown by 28 countries. The lone XP-40 was a
modified P-36 airframe with the V-1710 engine installed. Not
an advanced design (nonsealing fuel tanks, no cockpit
armor), the P-40 was actually obsolescent when production
began, but its straightforward design allowed for a rapid
ramp up to quantity production. Pilots with the 46th and
47th Pursuit Squadrons (both units flying P-40s) scored the
first American victories of World War II when they downed 10
Japanese aircraft over Hawaii during the Pearl Harbor attack
on December 7, 1941. Lt. Boyd "Buzz" Wagner, based in the
Philippines and also flying a P-40, became the first
American ace of the war when he downed his fifth Japanese
aircraft on December 16. The P-40's greatest notoriety,
though, came with the American Volunteer Group in China.
Organized under the command of Claire Chennault, the AVG,
better known as the Flying Tigers, entered combat on
December 21, 1941. In existence only until July 6, 1942
(when it was absorbed in the Army Air Forces and became the
23d Fighter Group), the AVG shot down approximately 300
Japanese aircraft. The P-40 was also used extensively in
North Africa and was flown off escort carriers during the
initial stages of the invasion. As late as April 1944,
nearly 2,500 P-40s were in AAF service. P- 40 production ran
until November 1944. After the war, the decision to keep the
P-40 in production for so long, even after more modern
aircraft became available, was severely criticized in the
Truman Report. A majority of P-40 production went to
Britain, where the RAF called them Tomahawks and Kittyhawks.
Large numbers of aircraft were also used by Russia,
Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. The Brazilian Air Force
flew P-40s into the mid-1950s.
| Contractors: |
Curtiss-Wright Corp. |
| Locations Built: |
Buffalo, N. Y. |
| Number Built: (USAF) |
13,738 (5,380) |
| First Flight: |
October 14, 1938 |
| First Flight Model: |
XP-40 |
| First Flight Location: |
Buffalo, N. Y. |
| First Flight Pilot: |
Edward Elliott |
| Models/Variants: |
P-40, P-40B, C, D, E, F, G, K,
L, M, N |
| Powerplant: |
One Allison V-1710-81, -99 or
-115 liquid-cooled V-12 of 1,360 hp |
| Wingspan: |
37 ft 4 in. |
| Length: |
33 ft 4 in. |
| Height: |
12 ft 4 in. |
| Weight: |
8,850 lb gross |
| Armament: |
Six .50-cal. machine guns and up
to 1,500 lb of bombs (one 500-lb bomb on each wing
and centerline) |
| Accommodation: |
Pilot only |
| Cost: |
$52,869 |
| Max. Speed: |
350 mph |
| Range: |
360 mi. |
| Ceiling: |
31,000 ft. |
|
