Flying Heritage Museum: America's first World War II fighter (photo diary)

by Ojibwa for Kossack Air Force

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Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 at 7:15:12am PST

When the United States entered into World War II, the best available American fighter plane was the P-40. The P-40 first flew in 1938 and was a modified version of the earlier P-36 Hawk. It was relatively easy to produce, and while it was outmatched by the more advanced enemy fighters, it remained in production long after other fighters had technologically surpassed it. Nearly 14,000 P-40s had been produced by the end of 1944.

The United States Army Air Corps gave the P-40 the name Warhawk, while the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union called it the Tomahawk, and the P-40D and later variants were called Kittyhawk. While the P-40 was rarely used in Northwest Europe, it was widely used by the Allied forces in North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China.

According to the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum:

“This fighter type is particularly notable for being the shark-mouthed choice of the famed American Volunteer Group, known as the ‘Flying Tigers’.”

The P-40s were more effective at low altitudes and many were sent to Russia as a part of the Lend-Lease programs.

The Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk displayed in the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington was manufactured in the U.S., purchased by the British, and then given to the Soviet Union in 1941. In Russia, this airplane flew in combat, defending Murmansk against the invading German forces. It was shot down in September, 1942 and abandoned until the early 1990s.