Planes of Fame: WWII American Fighters (Photo Diary)

by Ojibwa for History for Kossacks

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Friday, Dec. 22, 2017 Friday, Dec. 22, 2017 at 8:31:41am PST

The Planes of Fame Air Museum is located at the Chino, California, airport. The museum was founded in 1957 by Edward T. Maloney with just 10 airplanes. Today the museum has over 150 aircraft, of which more than 50 are flyable. The Mission of Planes of Fame Air Museum is to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. Shown below are two of the World War II American fighters which are on display as well as some military memorabilia.

P-51 Mustang

This aircraft was originally designed for the British in 117 days. The British named it the Mustang. With the U.S. entry into World War II, the Army Air Force ordered P-51As in 1942.

Curtiss P-40

The Curtiss-Wright P-40 was developed in 1938. When the Army ordered 524 P-40s in 1939, there was concern that the plane used obsolete technology and was inferior to foreign aircraft. On the other hand, it could be produced quickly, economically, and in large numbers.

According to the Museum display:

“Although not as agile as other WWII aircraft, the P-40 was considerably fast in a dive. Lacking a turbocharger, it struggled as higher altitudes but was quite nimble up to 15,000 feet. The heart of the aircraft was its super-strong wing and mid-fuselage structure, which could absorb enormous punishment and keep flying. When flown with tactics that emphasized its strengths, the P-40 performed well in air-to-air, air-to-ground, and bombing missions.”

The American Volunteer Group (AVG) was composed of mercenary fighter pilots who fought the Japanese on behalf of the Chinese. The AVG has 99 already obsolete Curtiss P-40s. The pilots quickly learned how to maximize the few advantages of the P-40 over the superior Japanese planes. In seven months, the AVG shot down 296 Japanese aircraft (with another 300 probable “kills”), destroyed 573 bridges, 1,300 boats, and thousands of Japanese troops. They lost 69 aircraft and 25 pilots. When the group disbanded on July 4, 1942, only 30 of the P-40s were able to fly.