Curtiss P-40 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The P-40 in Soviet Aviation Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Tomahawk, Kittyhawk
This is a great photo-gallery: Flickr: Photos from Hawk914 especially: Fifteen Grand on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Video of Kermit Weeks flying his TP-40N. Keep an eye on the gear in the background as well! Kermit Weeks - TP-40N Test Flight - Key Publishing Ltd Aviation Forums
Has anyone heard of a shark face P40 fighter silver (aluminum) not camouflage, flying tiger? Or was the shark face painted on other similar fighter planes?
Heres a few from my collection....errr, pictures that is !. Mostly taken...OK, all taken (the weather does kinda give the game away !) in the States over the last few years at Oshkosh in 2005 and more recently at the fantastic GOML 2007 last September Whoever first thought up the idea of painting that great big toothy grin for the first time deserves a well earned pat on the back !. That 'plane was just made for the shark mouth paintwork. It would be interesting to find out if there was ever the intention to replace the Alison with a Merlin and what difference, if any, that would have made.
I think 112 Sqn is generally credited with putting the shark's mouth on the P-40 first. I haven't read about the performance of the P-40F over Allison-powered versions but the engineering was a bit different! http://ww2chat.com/forums/war-air/274-p-40f-engine-run-first-flight-not-far-away.html
RAAF Spitfires carried a shark's mouth as well and some Mustangs have sported it in WWII and Korea (but not as an entire unit like the Flying Tigers, IIRC), 112 Sqn or the Spits of 457 Sqn RAAF for example. Shark's mouths were also carried on P-39s over PNG and, for some reason, I seem to think this was a unit-wide practice (whatever that unit was!). Dragon mouths appeared on P-38s in the CBI and, of course, hard nose B-25s ended up with rather impressive dental work (as did some of the hard-nosed A-26s in WWII, Korea and Vietnam). An Me 110 unit also carried the artwork on their engine nacelles and, IIRC, it is a toss up between them and 112 Sqn as to who used it first (despite what I said above). Sorry, WH, you'll probably find us referring to P-40s as Kittyhawks for what the Americans called Warhawks. A much more widely used term in the Commonwealth although the early Bs and Cs used by the RAF, RAAF etc were referred to as Tomahawks.
offtopic: I can"t put a link in my other post, I went to handy hints for posting thread followed what they said but can"t put a link in my post.
Not sure what you mean there, WH. You haven't gone off topic here. Ah, I think I'm with you. The link looks like it worked so it's cool. Just highlight and copy the link and paste into the message. I always hit enter afterwards to make sure it works as a link when the post is, er, posted.
Here's pics of Australia's latest flying Kittyhawk which flew, IIRC, for the first time last year. She was restored by Pioneer Aero in New Zealand. P-40N1 Allan Arthur
