One of the most widely recognized aircraft of WWII, the P-40 served a variety of nations in combat theaters from the skies over China to the sands of Northern Africa. Between 1939 and the delivery of the last example on 30 November, 1944, a total of 13,738 P-40s came off the Curtiss-Wright Corporation assembly line. In addition to being flown under the name “Warhawk” by the U.S. Army, a number of models were allocated to the British, who referred to them as “Tomahawks” and, int he case of later versions of the P-40, “Kittyhawks.”
In the summer of 1941, a batch of 100 export P-40s was diverted from a British contract for use by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), a band of flyers tasked with helping to defend China against the Japanese. Contrary to popular belief, the AVG was not a U.S. Army unit, but a civilian contracted organization which was made up mostly of naval aviators recruited from the Navy and Marine Corps.
Entering combat for the first time on 20 December, 1941, the Flying Tigers, as the group became known, flew their shark-mouthed P-40s against the Japanese until their disestablishment on 4 July 1942. In almost seven months of action over China and Burma, they were credited with the destruction of 286 Japanese aircraft.
This restored P-40B ‘Tomahawk” was initially used by the Royal Air Force before being transferred to the Soviet Union during WWII. During it’s service with the Soviets, it crashed due to engine failure near the city of Murmansk. Similar to the type flown by the Flying Tigers during 1941-1942, it is painted in the markings of former naval aviator Robert Neale, who was the AVG’s leading ace with 15 1/2 kills.
These images were taken at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. Images are copyright ©Mike Hanson and ©Earl Petrikin. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
