Curtiss P-40

The Curtiss P-40 was an American single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft which first flew in 1938 and was used in great numbers in World War II.

Related Topics:
Fighter - World War II

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Developed from the pre-war radial-engined P-36 Hawk, the P-40 was used by Allied air forces all over the world. Warhawk was the name the USAAF adopted for all models, thus it is the official USAAF name of the airplane series as a whole. The British Royal Air Force and Commonwealth air forces designated it the Tomahawk (models equivalent to P-40B and P-40C), or the Kittyhawk (models equivalent to P-40E and all later versions).

Related Topics:
P-36 Hawk - Royal Air Force - Commonwealth

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The first XP-40 was simply a P-36A Hawk with its Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial engine replaced by a liquid-cooled, supercharged Allison V-1710 V-12 engine. The V engine offered no more power than the radial, but its smaller frontal area led to considerably lower drag. In April 1939 the USAAC, no doubt looking over its shoulder at the sleek, new, high-speed, in-line engined fighters of Europe, placed the largest single fighter order it had ever made for fighters: 524 aircraft.

Related Topics:
Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp - Allison V-1710 - USAAC

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