P40 Model

For the upcoming Wings Over Camarillo Air Show happening on August 18 and 19, a group of legendary fighter pilots will be honored at the Camarillo Airport. The three types of iconic aircrafts will be available for viewing at the air show – the P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and the P-40 Warhawk.

The 325th Fighter Group, also known as the Checkertail Clan because of the yellow-andblack checked pattern painted on the tails of their planes, will be featured at the event. The Checkertail Clan will celebrate its 67th reunion at the show. The group has one of the best Army Air Force combat records of World War II.

Wings Over Camarillo President Don Miller said the decision to recognize the Checkertail Clan is about more than aerial tricks and flybys. “It’s a chance to honor the fliers and reflect on what it took to win World War II,” Miller said. “It’s the way it ought to be,” Miller said. “As this event has grown over the last five or 10 years, it’s taken on a greater importance for the residents of Camarillo.”

Some of the proceeds from the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show will benefit the Experimental Aircraft Association’s scholarship program for high school and college students. Proceeds also go to the Ventura County 99’s, a nonprofit organization of women pilots. Miller said partnerships with different community groups are an important aspect of the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show.

Gates open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Flight demonstrations run from noon to 4:30 p.m. each day and feature aerobatic routines with more than 80 aircraft, including vintage planes, experimental, and World War II fighters, bombers and transports. The show will conclude with a formation flight display above the crowd. Miller expects about 10,000 people to be at the show each day.

General admission tickets for the Wings Over Camarillo Air Show are $15, and children under 12 are admitted free. For more information and tickets, visit www.WingsOverCamarillo.com

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Source: http://www.thecamarilloacorn.com

The annual-tradition of the Geneseo skies became another crowd-pleaser with its in-air and on-the-ground sights and sounds. The 1941 Historical Aircraft group hosted and organized last weekend’s “The Greatest Show on Turf” Air Show happened last July 14-15, 2012.

The air show features the iconic aircraft from World War I, World War II, civilian aerobatic acts and current military aircraft. Featured this year is the AVRO Lancaster bomber (one of only two remaining flying in the world), the B-17 “Memphis Belle” that was used in the filming of the movie by the same name, a P-40 Warhawk  ”Flying Tiger” and a FW (Focke-Wulf ) 190 German fighter from WWII. Along that same event, a 15-minute traveling Tuskegee tribute movie was also new this year, and drew crowds, plus a Tuskegee airman spoke about his experiences during Thursday night’s Chamber of Commerce “After Hours” event. The American Airpower Museum (AAM), based in Farmingdale, New York, has sent a P-40 Warhawk fighter and a B-25 Mitchell bomber to the show.

Kenneth Weber, 89, a World War II veteran, flew with the 362nd Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force from 1943 to 1945 and coninues to enjoy the Geneseo skies for the airshow. World War II veteran Kenneth Weber, 89 of Wyoming County, NY visited the airfield today. Mr. Weber flew with the 362nd Fighter Group of the 9th Air Force from 1943 to 1945. Mr. Weber has been attending the Geneseo air show for over 20 years. He met Steve Socolosky of East Hartford, CT in 1991. The pair have been attending the show together ever since.

The Geneseo air show is unique since it is held on a grass airfield. This allows spectators to see the historic aircraft exactly as they would have been during WWI and WWII. Crowds were given an up-close and personal look at historic war birds on the ground, and watched them relive their glory days in the air. Spectators can also walk right up to aircraft, many of which will perform in the show throughout the day, and see, hear and smell the war birds and interact with their pilots.

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Source: http://www.dansvilleonline.com

Airplanes have been part of Thomas' life for decades

Edgar Thomas, a 72-year old Boise man and a former pilot diagnosed with Terminal Heart Disease, was granted with his wish of flying the iconic World War II Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft last June 1, 2012, Friday in the Warhawk Air Museum, Nampa.

The former baggage handler turned out commercial pilot was eagerly explaining how important it was for him to make his fantasy flight – all thanks to the Boise-based Wish Granters nonprofit organization for letting him fulfill his dream of having a final flight of his favorite aircraft, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.

“You have no idea how happy it makes me to be able to do this,”  Thomas said to the Boise-based Wish Granters.

Local pilot John-Curtiss Paul preparing the P-40 Warhawk for Thomas

According to Thomas, doctors have already informed him that his heart could “give out” any time in which his wife hoped that Thomas could take a ride in a World War II aircraft to fulfill his final wish. Idaho nonprofit Wish Granters Inc., grants wishes to adults 18 and older with terminal illness in Ada and Canyon counties.

“I’ve always been interested in historic aviation,” Thomas said kindly when he found out he would be making the flight.  He worked for Frontier Airlines for 23 years and also builds and flies model airplanes.

When ask, Thomas’ favorite vintage airplane is the P-40 Warhawk. “I just like the way they’re built. I like the lines, that gracefulness of the way they look while they’re flight.”

Thomas all set for his final flight

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Source: http://www.idahopress.com

In June 1942, RAF Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping crashed landed his P-40 Warhawk in the middle of the Sahara Desert. He took what he can from his airplane and wandered to nowhere. After 70 years, Copping’s P-40 Warhawk was found almost perfectly preserved right where it crashed.

An oil worker exploring an isolated region made the discovery. The P-40 was not covered by sand, but the crash site is more than 200 miles away from the nearest town located in a featureless terrain.

The P-40 Warhawk is so well-preserved that it is like a time-capsule. Almost everything is intact. The ammunition and missiles are still with the aircraft and its identification plates remains untouched. The only thing missing is the radio and batteries, which Flight Sergeant Coupling must have taken with him and tried to make it work, but to no avail. The British Defense attache to Egypt announced that a search for the pilot’s remains will be conducted, but they also expressed doubt that it will be successful.

Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping is part of a fighter unit based in Egypt during the North African campaign against the Rommel. The P-40 Warhawk is a US-made fighter aircraft. It was widely used in African and Asian campaigns during the World War II.

The RAF Museum is working to recover the aircraft and display it in honor of Flight Sergeant Copping.

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News source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Known as a veteran of 3 wars, a hundred of combat missions and a pilot who flew almost all the aircraft back in wartime, Joel D. Thorvaldson is surely asked by many for him to write a book of his 64 years uninterrupted service with the military forces.

All these memories, missions and accomplishments of Thorvaldson began in Utah. He had a sister who married a pilot who became one of the first pilots for Northwest for mail delivering. He would send Thorvaldson his flying cloth helmet and during Thorvalsdson’s earlier years, he would wear it to school and that was when the excitement of being a pilot started.

Thorvaldson’s combat was all in use of the P-40 Warhawk aircraft. Thorvaldson described his experience with the P-40 a good and maneuverable airplane. He would make a fast pass at the enemy, break loose and come back, reverse turn with the Zeros, come over top, that is how he would get them.

Thorvaldson liked the P-40 since it was equipped with wing bomb mounts and he even used it once on a mission to bomb the Ramu valley with 265 pound bombs. Thorvaldson decorated and named the right side of his airpplane as “Mr. Five by Five” and the left side named “Punkins” – which was derived after his wife’s nickname.

This P-40 aircraft built by Curtiss was originally intended for delivery to Chinese Air Force and had Nationalist Chinese markings applied in the factory but instead, it was forced into service with the 5th Air Force.

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Source: http://www.pacificwrecks.com/people/veterans/thorvaldson.htm

Once again, the New Garden Festival of Flight was a big success with big crowds and two thrill-packed days of exhibits and exhibitions. This P-40 was just one of many vintage war aircraft on display.

The two-day air show offered many aerial displays such as aerobatics from wing-walker Jane Wicker, stunt-flying by Matt Chapman in a CAP 580, the flight of the C-54 Spirit of Freedom, and demonstrations from the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) including those of the P-40 Warhawk and the P-51D Mustang.

“The CAF was originally formed in 1957 by two WWII bomber pilots who purchased some old planes from the war,” said Stan Musick, CAF pilot of the P-51. Dedicated to the preservation of WWII-era aircraft, the CAF endeavours to acquire and maintain their aircraft in an operational state in order to provide the public with firsthand knowledge of the capabilities and the history of these vintage war planes. The largely volunteer-staffed organization has roughly 130-functional WWII aircraft from both the Allied and Axis sides.

Vintage aircraft were not the only ones to be present at the festival, however: an Air Force B-2 stealth bomber made a flyby during the festival on Saturday, providing the crowd with a look at the current generation of military airpower.

This year’s festival also drew a wide variety of patrons, including some veterans. “I used to be a B-25 pilot in the South Pacific during World War II,” Joseph Miller said, dressed in his original Army Air Corps uniform. The York, PA native is the owner of an L-3B Grasshopper housed at New Garden and travels “all over the country” to air shows. “I think these events are important for the general public, and especially the younger generations, to learn about the Second World War,” he said.

Source: The Unionville Times

The P-40 fighter/bomber was the last of the famous “Hawk” line produced by Curtiss Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s, and it shared certain design elements with its predecessors, the Hawk and Sparrowhawk. It was the third-most numerous US fighter of World War II.

The P-40N, of which 5200 were built (more than any other version.) While it was put to good use and was certainly numerous in most theaters of action in WWII, the P-40′s performance was quickly eclipsed by the newer aircraft of the time, and it was not considered one of the “great fighters” of the war.

Source: Warbird Alley, Flickr

Flying season begins at the Museum of Flight with rides in the Liberty Foundation’s Boeing B-17 bomber and Curtiss P-40 fighter on April 30 and May 1. Both aircraft are part of the Liberty Foundation’s “Salute to the Veteran’s Tour.”

The B-17 has arrived Monday and be on view at the Museum Ramp. The P-40 will arrive on Friday for weekend rides.

Rides on both planes will be available April 30 and May 1 hourly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by ground tours of the planes from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Flight experiences in the bomber last about 45 minutes, with 30 minutes in the air; P-40 flights are about 20 minutes in the air.

The Cavanaugh Flight Museum (CFM) will fly many of its treasured WWII, Korean and Vietnam-era airplanes, including: the P-51 Mustang,FM2 Wildcat, T-28B Trojan, OV1D Mohawk and “FiFi” the world’s only flyable Boeing B-29 Superfortress.

Along with these great warbirds is the P-40 Warhawk. The Cavanaugh Flight Museum’s P-40N (serial number 44-7369) was constructed at the Curtiss-Wright plant in Buffalo, New York and was delivered to the Army Air Force (AAF.) On May 26,1944. The plane was sent in June 1944 to Peterson Army Air Field, Colorado Springs, Colorado and served with the 268th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training Station-Fighter, Second Air Force).

In March 1945, the P40 aircraft was transferred to the 232nd AAF Base Unit (2nd A.F.), stationed at the Dalhart Army Air Field (Texas). In June 1945, the plane was disposed as surplus.

The P-40N was purchased by the museum in 1995 from Joseph Mabee, who had owned the aircraft since 1978. Today, the aircraft is painted in the scheme of Major General Charles R. Bond, Jr.’s No. 5 and is representative of P-40Bs and P-40Es flown by the Flying Tigers in the early days of World War II. The aircraft often appears at air shows across the country.

Source: prlog.org, cavanaughflightmuseum.com

Robert Fairbairn graduated in the class of 43F (June, 1943) from Craig Field Alabama and with 7 ½ hours P-40 time, was the sent to the 30th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 6th Air Force, Panama where he flew P-40s, P-40Bs and C’s. Upon completion of 35 flying hours he was then assigned to the 43rd tactical fighter squadron, 16th Fighter Group, 26th Fighter Command, 6th Air Force until May, 1945.

After graduating as a 2nd Lieutenant from flying school in June of 1943, he arrived in Panama and realized the Panama Canal was a prime target for the enemy, it was protected by a four fighter squadron flying P-39‘s , barrage balloons, and elements of the U.S. Navy. Everything entering the canal zone was intercepted, identified, and reported to central command.

In November, Robert’s squadron was assigned P-40N-5s. As time passed, the threat to the canal lessened and squadrons were reassigned out of the area leaving the 24th and 43rd and continue the mission. At the same time they were relocated to La Cherrera, a dirt fighter strip just west of the city.

“The P-40N’s were a stable, effective fighter below 15,000ft.. I believe they were the last model mass produced and engineer’s did all they could to reduce weight and wing loading including removing starters so that the airplane had to be hand cranked by the ground crew.”

“In a contest with a fellow pilot, the highest I could coach the plane to was 27,500ft.. and so much as the P-39‘s and P-40‘s were all we had operational at the beginning of the war, they did a magnificent job, only with the introduction of the supercharger and the ability to fly much higher were they superseded. The Merlin engine in the P-51, the placement of the supercharger in the rear of the P-47 and the P-38′s twin engines allowed the supercharged planes to fly higher and faster, yet below 15,000ft. The P-40 Warhawk could hold its own with any of them.”

 

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Read Complete Article and View Photos: Memories Of A P-40 Pilot