The P-40 fighter/bomberwas 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.
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.
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.”
Here’s an amateur video of the Curtiss P-40N Warhawk in the Boeing Museum of Flight located in Seattle, WA.
The P-40 was not the fastest fighter and nobody ever claimed it was the best. But it had one priceless advantage over all the others — it was available when needed most. On December 7, 1941, P-40s were the most effective US aircraft to get airborne at Pearl Harbor. Just two pilots — Lts. George Welch and Ken Taylor — shot down seven attackers between them. Shortly thereafter, the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers,” made history and headlines flying P-40s in China. Throughout the war, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Russia also flew the Curtiss fighter.
First flown in 1939, the P-40 was kept in production until 1944 with nearly 15,000 of all models delivered. The British called it the Tomahawk (B and C models) and Kittyhawk (D and E models) while the F through R versions were known as Warhawks in U.S. service.
The Museum’s Warhawk may have the lowest flight time of any surviving warbird. It was flown directly from the Curtiss factory in Buffalo, NY, to storage near Tucson, Arizona in 1945, with only 60 hours of total flight time. It was later put on display in Griffith Park in Los Angeles for a number of years, until noted movie pilot Frank Tallman acquired it and loaned the fighter to the San Diego Aerospace Museum. Doug Champlin purchased the P-40 from the museum in 1972 and had it fully restored by Dick Martin at Carlsbad, California in 1979.
The markings are typical of the Chinese-American Composite Wing circa 1944. The plane was named after O’Reilly’s Daughter, a popular Army Air Forces drinking song.
This P-40N is owned by the Commemorative Air Force that was flown and on static display in Airshow Oklahoma 2001. The plane is painted to represent David Lee “Tex” Hill’s aircraft (the actual model Tex flew during his AVG days was a P-40C) General Hill was an honored guest at the airshow. (Got his autograph on my A-2 jacket AVG blood chit!)
The CAF P-40N is stationed in San Marcos, Texas. It was flown at Airshow Oklahoma 2001 by Col. Ollie Crawford. Crawford was a aerial gunnery instructor during WWII, stationed in Arizona. Among those he taught aerial gunnery for the P-40 were Nationalist Chinese pilots who were shipped to the
U.S. for training.
