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P-40 Warhawk: America’s Avenging Angel

My 80% Frame 1911 build, based on an 80% RIA Double Stack Frame (a copy of the PARA P-14)....
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Note the Laser Engraved Roll Mark.....
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I love the first picture of the plane with all the japanese flags for kills. Years ago at our local gun range I noticed a Ford Bronco with two and a half flags painted on the driver door. I thought it kinda looked silly and after entering I mentioned it to one of the guys that worked there. He laughed pointed out the owner and found out the truck had been in three auto accidents with japanese made cars and had totaled two of the three. Now every time I see a plane with those flags wether in a movie or documentary I laugh to myself
 
My father's favorite airplane. He was an RC plane enthusiast and he probably built 10 P-40s.

For father's day one year I bought him a flight in a real trainer plane, which is a two seater and he was able to fly the plane other than takeoff and landing. It wasn't a P-40, but he was happy as could be. I think it cost me about $500.
 
The P-40 was a good fighter when it was introduced before the war, by the time the U.S. entered the war newer fighters were out performing it. But the allies needed as many fighters as they could get, so they remained in service and often did very well if used appropriately. I think England got a lot of them under Lend-Lease and used them in ground attack rolls and were very happy with them. The Flying Tigers used them, which was before the U.S. entered the war, even though the flying tigers were mostly U.S. pilots, and they did very well then.
 
There is a simple elegance in many things from the mid-20 century. Things were built to do a job and do it well (or as well as could be expected). I see it in the old rifles i like so much and in these old warplanes. I always thought the p-51 mustang was a badass plane. My dad had a love for the b-17. Who knows, in 80 years people may look at stuff from today and think the same thing (or not).
 
The "definitive" model of the P-40 was the "N" (1943-44) since it was the last production model with the best performance of the series.

The English very briefly used the P-40 in NW Europe but quickly replaced them deeming them unsuitable for the theatre. The British Commonwealth mainly used the P-40 (various models) in the North Africa/Mediterrainean/Middle East, China/Burma/Indian & Pacific Theatres.
 
Awesome airplane! One of the things that got me interested in military aviation as a kid was reading a book on the Flying Tigers. Gen. Claire L. Chennault did a remarkable job of forging a unit that came to dominate the fight with the Japanese in China. The P-40 was an inferior dogfighter in many aspects to the Zero, but Chennault developed the tactics that made it successful.
 
The Armory Life sure does know had to get an e-wreck-tion out of me!
Oh to get the chance to fly those old warbirds would be a dream come true!
F6F Hellcats, P40 Warhawks and P51 Mustangs are on my Bucket List to fly. (The order in which, doesn't matter!)
 
dad said:
I love the first picture of the plane with all the japanese flags for kills. Years ago at our local gun range I noticed a Ford Bronco with two and a half flags painted on the driver door. I thought it kinda looked silly and after entering I mentioned it to one of the guys that worked there. He laughed pointed out the owner and found out the truck had been in three auto accidents with japanese made cars and had totaled two of the three. Now every time I see a plane with those flags wether in a movie or documentary I laugh to myself
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Japanese Zeros were considered to be a very formitable foe early in WW2 because of their speed and manuevability. However, after a Zero was shot down in the Aleutian Islands and was found to be nearly intact, the Navy rebuilt the plane, painted it with US markings and did all kinds of testing to find out all its plus' & minus'. This led to Navy pilots in the Pacific receiving valuable training on ways to out duel there counterparts and reek havoc on the Japanese pilots.
 
mikep said:
There is a simple elegance in many things from the mid-20 century. Things were built to do a job and do it well (or as well as could be expected). I see it in the old rifles i like so much and in these old warplanes. I always thought the p-51 mustang was a badass plane. My dad had a love for the b-17. Who knows, in 80 years people may look at stuff from today and think the same thing (or not).
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I agree about the "simple elegance"....:)

When I was a young boy and saw a picture of a P-38 Lightning it fascinated me to the point where I went to the local library and read all I could about them. I eventually built a RC model of one(one of the few models I ever built). P-51 Mustangs, Corsairs, Warhawks, all good planes but for me the P-38 is still my favorite...:)
 
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