The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was not a fantastic aircraft like the P-51 Mustang or a powerful one like the P-47 Thunderbolt; however, it had its own unique name. The Warhawk was a fighter that could be relied on by aviation historians and war veterans. It was not the fastest and not very elegant, but it was robust and reliable, and operated by pilots who used it to the full with their strengths.
Warhawk’s lineage went all the way back to the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. Instead of the engineers from Curtiss coming up with an entirely new plane, they redesigned the P-36 frame and installed an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine. As a result, a single-seater fighter was born, which had a rather unusual appearance and soon got the reputation of a “bring-back-home machine” even after being heavily damaged in combat.
At least in theory, the figures were quite decent. With a 1,240 hp Allison engine, the P-40 was able to power up to the maximum speed of about 318 knots (589 km/h). Its striking aspect was the low-mounted nose with two .50 caliber Browning machine guns that were supported by four .303 caliber guns in the wings.
This aircraft was able to ascend at about 2,100 feet per minute, reach an altitude of 29,000 feet, and perform various tasks. It was seldom the most maneuverable in the air during a battle, but it had a fighter’s reputation of being hard. Survivability is often more important than pure performance, and pilots could often be seen returning to base, driving Warhawks full of holes but still alive.
P-40 was a versatile fighter that saw action in almost every battle area of World War II, from the North African desert and the Pacific islands. It flew in escort missions, attacked ground targets, and engaged in dogfights with enemy fighters.
The most famous users of this aircraft were the American volunteer pilots called the Flying Tigers. Their planes with shark-toothed nose art snarled across the cowlings became one of the most recognizable pictures of the war.
One of its many pilots was Keith Bissonnette, a minor league ballplayer turned fighter pilot. He joined the Army Air Forces in 1942 and was with the 88th Fighter Squadron of the 80th Fighter Group.
Bissonnette completed over 200 missions, P-40s first and P-47 Thunderbolts later. Among his operations were bombing runs, strafing attacks, and very risky supply flights over the Himalayas called “the Hump”. In March 1945, his plane went off the P-47 near Keng Tung, Burma, and his service ended in a tragic accident. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.
When compared to Germany’s Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Warhawk was most times found lacking in speed, rate of climb, and maximum altitude. The Bf 109’s Daimler-Benz engine gave it more advantages in combat. Though the P-40 had its own counterattack: thicker armor, stronger chassis, and greater damage resistance. In most situations, that toughness was the life-saving switch. The two planes reflected different concepts – one designed around agility and accuracy, the other around endurance and versatility.
By the end of the war, the era of the jets arrived and threw aside piston-engine fighters such as the P-40. Most of them had been dismantled, and there were only a few left that had been preserved. At present, there are only a few Warhawks that are in museums or are kept airworthy by fans.
Despite not getting much attention, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is still a very important part of the history of aviation due to its reliability and the bravery of the pilots who flew it. It is the unrecognized aspect of air combat that it symbolizes – the machines and men who fought just as hard as the legends, but without the same measure of fame.