My great uncle flew P40's in North Africa, but disappeared while on a mission, never to be seen again. He was awared the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) posthumously, for actions carried out before he disappeared. Ironically, he was from the same squadron (260) as that P40 that was found almost intact in the Egyptian desert back in 2012, and vanished only two days before that aircraft and pilot did. I wonder if, one day, my great uncle's P40 will also be found in a similar manner.
There was a German Ace in Africa who shot down an absolute ton of P40s, Spitfires, and various bombers. He would then follow the planes down to maro where they landed if he saw the crash as survivable he would then fly to the nearest allied base and lead them to rescue their comerades. He also personally rescued at least 20 pilots in his first tour in africa he downed over 35 aircraft, and saved 27 pilots.
Interesting Fact: *There's was a prototype variant of the P-40 Warhawk called the XP-40Q, which was Curtis companie's attend to compete with North America's P-51 Mustang and Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, as well as try and keep their P-40 Warhawks in production.*
I don't know why this plane is given so little coverage by war historians. You would think that the most produced U.S. plane, that was used all over the world would have a bigger coverage. Thanks for giving it more accurate coverage. It and especially its pilots, and ground crew, need to be remembered just as much as the Mustang.
Same for the British Hurricane, did 90% of all the airkills during battle of britain but the Spitfire got all the fave because it was new and good for propaganda.
@@dasmeltorp4705talk about Hurricane propaganda, LOL. It only accounted for about 53% of LW knocked down despite it comprising 60% of RAF fighters. Hurris had the worst kill ratio of the battle.
The US media always avoided the campaign in Africa & Italy because of all the mistakes they made, starting with the compromise of the Black Code in 1941. Their continued use of it caused a lot of deaths to Brits/Commonwealth in the MTO for the next year.
The lack of two stage supercharging for high altitude performance really hurt this plane and the Bell P-39 Airacobra. They were very capable at low altitudes and ground support/attack. Later versions began to catch up to the P-51 and P-47 performance but, late in the war adding additional fighter types to mass production would only complicate the manufacturing and supply chain for needs already covered. Its definitely one of the most intimidating and iconic air frames ever made. Well done JJ.
Actually, the P-40 performance changed very little, except for its increased bomb load. The intended N version with 4 guns and less fuel was rejected by operational Sqns, and they were upgraded to 6 guns and reinstalled the rear fuel tank.
I always think of the P-40 as being the American Hurricane (modern engine with old-style airframe). It's basically a P-36 Hawk, with a (much) bigger engine. It's what kept it inexpensive (important, when the P-38 and P-47 were quite complicated and pricy) And EVERYONE flew them.
I have thought the same thing. Thats why I gets pissed off the historians which seem to 90% British don't have a bad word for the Hurricane but imply the P-40 was not a competitive airplane and complain about its not effective at high altitude-when the F-ing plane was not ever designed for high altitude fighting! Greg Airplane U-tube channel has a video detailing how most of the P-40's towards the end of the war were tuned with much high boost/horse power than the so called historians ever give them credit of having-up to 1790HP and possibly more depending on who was wrenching on it. It sounds like the Common Wealth Countries discovered they could really crank up the boost past the approved spec's and regular did.
@@johnballentine6638 This is an easy fact check. The first operational Hawker Hurricane rolled off the assembly line in 1937, a few months after first being test flown in 1936. The first operational Curtiss P-40 rolled off the assembly line in 1939, after first being test flown in 1938. Moreover, the Hurricane got upgrades faster because it was frequently engaged in battle starting 11 May 1940; whereas, the P-40 (or rather its first export variant the Tomahawk) was held in reserve until the British Commonwealth country (the Union of South Africa) started using it in north Africa in October 1940. In October 1940, the German Bf 109E-7 had a drop tank, and high altitude capability (at least 30000 feet). By comparison, in November 1941, the first P-40 with a drop tank (the P-40E) arrived in the Philippines. The P-40E max altitude was only 18000 feet. 10 hours after the Pearl Harbour surprise in December 1941, the P-40E could not even get to the altitude of the A6M2B Zeroes that were diving down on them and sweeping them from the sky.
Yes, the Curries P36A (Lindberg had one) had that Wright Double Cyclone radial, the P40 had the Allison V-1710, V12 engine, bit better performer, more streamlined.
The first "allied" fighter with removable undercarriage was the I-16 than the Hurricane. Not the P-36 or whatever else. Don't even think of the P-40 4:49 @@johnballentine6638
The P-40 is one of my favorite US planes in WWII. Although inadequate by mid war standards and overshadowed by the P-51 (Not unlike the British Hurricane), the P-40 played an important role in the early war, flying with many countries throughout the war and, when it was deemed ineffective as an air superiority fighter, remained in service as a ground attack aircraft thanks to its robust design. Although it has a reputation for being mediocre, over 200 of its pilots became aces and at least 20 of them double aces. It had a production run of nearly 14000 airframes and many variants and improvements were made over the course of the war.
The P-40, like the US Navy’s F4F Wildcat, held the line till better fighters came along. If used correctly, and in pairs, each could outfight the Japanese Zeros.
Thanks again for a brief yet informative video Johnny. That Tora Tora Tora trivia bit at 4:55 in particular was quite a surprise. And seeing those Family Guy Avro Lancasters with US roundels and desert camouflage felt so... off. Anyway, I'd thought I'd share some trivia that may or may not have been stated by people here: -The last P-40 ace in the Mediterranean theatre was Captain James E. Fenex Jr. of the 316th Fighter Squadron, 324th Fighter Group. He shot down two German aircrafts on 29 March 1944 which, combined with his 3 previous kills, officially made him an ace. -The last air-to-air kills credited to P-40 pilots in the Mediterranean theatre occurred on 13 May 1944 when 2nd Lt. James Dealy, 1st Lts. William R. King and Ken Scheiwe each shot down a German fighter. -The last P-40 mission in the Mediterranean theatre was carried out on 18 July 1944. -The last air-to-air kill credited to a P-40 pilot in the Pacific theatre and possibly World War 2 was made by Lt. Wei Shian-kow of the 26th Fighter Squadron, Chinese American Composite Wing (CACW) on 8 February 1945 when he shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-57. -The last unit to operate the P-40 during World War 2 was the 27th Fighter Squadron, 5th Fighter Group of the CACW when they eventually traded their P-40s for P-51 Mustangs in June 1945. -Richard Bong may have been US' top ace with 40 kills, but the pilot with the most confirmed kills was Major Thomas A. Reynolds Jr of the 7th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group of the CACW, with 42 kills. However, Maj. Reynolds was not an *official* ace, as he only had *4 confirmed air-to-air kills,* while *the other 38 kills were aircrafts destroyed on the ground.* Sources: Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 35 - P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI & Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 43 - P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO Once again, a well-executed video Johnny.
Thanks for that. I wasn't even aware of that Composite Wing operating. My Father-in-Law was a young officer in the Chinese Army trying to keep the IJN from succeeding in their 1944 operations against the US AAF/AF (now Composite?) Air Groups in Central/Western China. Well, they tried.
So Curtiss-Wright, the company that produced the plane. Well, Glenn Curtiss, is actually a relative of mine. Both my great grandfather and my grandfather worked in that very factory, building these exact planes as well. It was an exceptional plane. I actually have a book my grandfather got when he left the company that they gave to all their leaving employees that is nothing but pictures during wartime production. Just a warehouse filled with P-40's, amongst many others.
After the Pearl Harbor raid , General Doolittle commented that the P40 was worth about $40,000 dollars . As per the video the cost was about $53,000 dollars . How much was the real cost of a P40 ? How much would it have cost to get a P40 all the way out to Australia ?
Something else that you forgot to add about the P-40, is that while it couldn't turn inside the Zero or the Me-109, no Allied fighter, including the Spitfire or Mustang could turn inside of it at low level. The thing was a beast when flown in it's optimal flight envelope.
A small mistake that the Bf-109 was more agile. When the Germans of JG.27 flying Bf-109E first encountered P-40 Tomahawks in North Africa, they got into dogfights with them and soon realized it was a bad idea, the P-40 had better maneuverability (basically the only big advantage over the Bf- 109) and gave orders not to engage P-40's in dogfights. Things soon got even worse for the Commonwealth when the Germans introduced a newer version of the Bf-109F into service which had even better acceleration and climb rate. The introduction of the P-40 Kittyhawk Mk.1a did not change the situation much, because although more heavily armed and more powerful, the Kittyhawk was heavier and even less agile than the Tomahawk. Only well-coordinated team tactics allowed the Allies to have a fair fight in some circumstances.
Incorrect, the P-40 could not out turn a Spitfire, but at certain speeds, it had a good roll rate with ailerons geared for less force by the pilot. Climb rate was poor though. 109 tactic was peck & zoom, not horizontal dogfighting.
Well done. You picked great clips to reinforce your points, like the P-40 and Zero aileron rolling in "Tora Tora Tora", etc. And including those hokey erzatz P-40s from John Wayne's "Flying Tigers" added a humorous note. You can't take this stuff too seriously.
Colonel "Madman" Maddox : Let me hear your guns! Captain Wild Bill Kelso : My what? Colonel "Madman" Maddox : Your guns! Ack, ack, ack, ack, ack! Captain Wild Bill Kelso : [fires his airplane's guns] AHHHHHHHH!
It's one of my favourites. I don't exactly why it wasn't seen worthy to update the P40 like many other aircraft. Most of it's early war performance deficiencies could have been helped by a duel-stage supercharger, better armament etc. I don't think it would be any less worthy of updates than the BF109, Spitfire or Mustang. I'm sure there is some good reason. The fact that this was a simple, but reliable and tough aircraft for the early war period makes it really interesting and cool to me. The underdog, liked by the US, British Commonwealth and Soviets alike.
@@BigHorseFilm I actually contributed more to the war effort than many give credit. It fought hard through the entire war, getting phased out for faster , higher , longer ranges types , but it was still a great plane.
@@BigHorseFilm They did try to upgrade the P40. Three prototypes were built with an enhanced engine with two stage supercharger, new style-radiator, and changes to the body. But it was still outperformed by the P51 Mustang, so they stopped production in Nov. 1944.
Thanks for info! I wasn't aware the ME110 used the shark head design first which is a marvelous tidbit of knowledge. The P-40 was a very effective aerial gun platform when it could be deployed in optimal conditions, but like every weapon it has its strengths & it's limitations. Brave & resourceful pilots made up the difference. The Army Air Corps P-400 & P-39 also made great, though brief, contributions to the Guadalcanal Campaign. I do not know if they ever saw service beyond that or in any other theatre.
Came here for Wild Bill Kelso, was not disappointed! Also, there really needs to be a modern movie about The Flying Tigers. I read the book "When Tigers Ruled The Sky" by Bill Yenne, it's very good!
Did you know that the engines were custom built for the Flying Tigers. Parts were balanced and precision fitted because factory engines (-39) were not very well made or reliable.
Great video Johnny 2:13 not sure if you know of the XP-40Q-2 which although a prototype did away with the complicated canopy and had a bubble canopy instead? The Q-1’s first flight reportedly occurred on 13 June 1943 from the Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York. It is not clear if the aircraft suffered another accident, or if Curtiss was unhappy with its configuration and decided to modify it further. In November 1943, the Q-1 had been modified and redesignated XP-40Q-2. The aircraft’s rear fuselage was cut down and a bubble canopy installed. Engine coolant radiators were positioned in the wings just outboard of the main gear. The oil cooler and engine air intake were relocated to the classic P-40 chin position, but the scoop was shallower and more elegant. The Q-2 retained the olive drab paint.
Keeping us up, that's what Johnny does best, I surmise you might have planned to make a video of the SH-3 Sea King in movies? Take care, and all the best.
..Belushi out for himself as a P40 pilot in that one..Specially the treetop level close-quarters "dogfight", where he fired almost point-blank on a Twin Beechcraft D18!! Friggin' hilarious!!
In “Pearl Harbor” take a close look at the “Zero” in echelon as the two P40s are chased between the stacks. It is either a T6 or an SNJ. They were frequent standins in movies like Tora Tora Tora and as far back as “God is My Copilot”. It is also noteworthy that the Japanese Val and Kate from Tora, Tora, Tora were actually a heavily modified Vultee BT13 and modified T6 respectively.
Two T.V. series the p-40 ,that I recall , was " Baa Baa Black sheep " . The other was & quite impressive was the animated , Saturday A.M. version of "Planet of the Apes " ! The aircraft had an ape profile ,bearing its teeth, painted on the nose . Credit to who drew ( no CGI in 70s) the plane . Good attention to detail considering it was a children's Saturday morning series! Two thumbs up!
The best war movie I've ever seen is "Only "old men" are going to battle" (1973) about the soviet fighter pilots. I highly recommend it. It doesn't have a lot dogfighting scenes, but it is the best presentation of atmosphere and spirit of the people of that time i've ever seen.
Actually, at 9:50 the narrator mentions that the P 40 used high speed turns against a Zero, to which I can hear every veteran on WWII in the Pacific skies laughing! You NEVER tried to outturn a Zero. The P40 used high speed dives, shot and dived below their targets then using the momentum of the dive, climbed back up to their original height.
1941 Great Movie, with a p-40, M3 Lee tank and 40mm Bofors being the stars, also depicting the Japanese sub attack on a California Coastal Oil Refinery, though not very accurate historically
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : Kid, you gotta get that sub. Wally Stephens : What sub? Captain Wild Bill Kelso : The Jap sub. Wally Stephens : Where? Captain Wild Bill Kelso : The ocean, lame-o.
I have flown her on simulation and if that is a true representation then she is far from obsolete. She's like a Hurricane. Tough, excellent armament and very capable. The Merlin engine version is pleasantly suprising. Lots of dead German and Japanese people would say she's an awesome airplane 👍✌️☮️😁❤️
@2:09 seeing a P-40 flying next to a P-51 is such an awesome sight! Love both fighters but there's just something about the P-40 that looks so menacing. Like a school yard bully about to take your lunch money.
When I was a child, there was a Chinese restaurant (Golden Palace or Bowl - my memory is kind of foggy) in my hometown owned by a kindly old Chinese man and his family. On the walls along the waiting area of his restaurant were dozens of pictures of the Flying Tigers and their base. As I grew older, I found out the owner cooked for the Flying Tigers and all those pictures were his. Sadly, he retired and closed down the place after his only son was killed in Vietnam. Little known historical fact that among the 8.7 million American soldiers in that war, about 35,000 of them were Asian Americans.
It’s amazing that it was considered inferior and overshadowed by other fighters everywhere else during the war… and yet it put an absolute hurt on the Japanese with the Flying Tigers. 297 kills to 4 losses? Good lord it dominated!
I' m not sure how this works but here goes. The P40 and many aircraft including the early models of P51 mustangs and P 38 lightnings were powered the greatest of all , the venerable Allison V12 , Made in Idianapolis, Indiana. You folks may have heard of us, we have this auto race every year, um whats it called? Oh yeah THE INDY 500! Make fun of hoosiers but yall are welcome to come by anytime good people, good food
LoL, the Allison had many issues in WWII and never became effective at high boost or high altitude. Even the P-82 engines were a nightmare to maintain.
There was an old joke in an aviation cartoon collection... where a grizzled old pilot says "I spent my whole tour in a P-400" to which a young pilot replies.. "No such thing! What the hell is that?"" and he answers " a P-40 - with a Zero on its tail". lol (As the author of the cartoon collection pointed out..he was very quickly informed there WAS actually a P-400...it was the export version of the P-39)
Not mentioned is that the P-40 was essentially the U.S.' first front line fighter, which means the 40 flew against the best Japanese and German pilots. By the time the 51, 47, Corsair, and Hellcat arrived, many of the better Axis pilots were gone and being replaced by less experienced pilots.
As Bruce Willis's illness set in, he was exploited in a number of really poor films. He was at the point where he couldn't remember any of lines, and was essentially just there to be able to add his name to the credits for money. It was quite sad.
They were very good aircraft, just under powered and under gunned. If they had 8 50 calibre guns instead of the 6 30 calibre the fire power would have been awesome. And like they did with the mustangs replaced them with the more reliable British RR merlin, that would have more of an impact.
Nice little video. I waxed nostalgic, remembering a little go around between my dad and I many years ago. He was not a happy camper to be corrected by me regarding the mock ups in Flying Tigers. IDK what pissed him off more, that he had never noticed their not being authentic in all the times he saw it since it came out, or that a tweener noticed it immediately at roughly the same age as he was.
One peculiar thing about the P-40 - well, at least the P-40E, P-40M, P-40N, but I guess the P-40D as well, to some extent -, was that they had higher real world performance than "as advertised" or is printed in the aviation books even today. That's one almost completely overlooked reason why they were so successful throughout WW2. In context, most in the field WW2 fighters had lower performance than "as advertised" or in the books. Particularly Japanese and Soviet aircraft. Anyway, Allison released new boost levels for emergency power, for frontline combat during the war. Using those, the in-the-field P-40E would do 345.7 Mph at 2000 ft. Official factory figure is 325 Mph. The over-boosted P-40N would do 367 Mph at 2000 ft. Official figure is 345 Mph. Performance dropped rapidly at increasing altitudes however, just as before, the compressor being too small to keep up the pressure in thinner air, no matter what theoretical pressure you set it to. The reason the P-40 was not used in the European war, was that the air war in Europe was all about intercepting or escorting bombers, or achieve air superiority against intercepting fighters. That always meant high altitude fighting, something the normal Allison engine couldn't do (the P-38 used custom turbo-superchargers) (the P-40J was a turbo-supercharged variant, but they never bothered to successfully solve the plumbing problem of fitting it to the P-40, so came to nothing). In the Pacific and North Africa the P-40s did rather well though, and wrested air superiority away from Ki43s, Zeros, and won air superiority from Bf109Es and Bf109Fs.
The P-40s in Africa outnumbered the LW thanks to a couple years hard fighting in Malta and the Med by the RAF & RN, which cut german supply lines. Allison P-40s also needed top cover by P-40Fs & Spitfires.
During WW2 the Australian soldiers also called them the Tomorrowhawks since they were always being told the Tomahawks will be coming to give air cover tomorrow but rarely did.
Early Model P-40A to P-40C (Curtiss 81 Models) were called the Tomahawk by the Commonwealth Air Forces. The P-40D and later (Curtiss 87 models) were the Kittyhawk.
I believe there were some late-model aircraft (P-40N and later, if I’m not mistaken) that were equipped with Merlin engines instead of the Allison ones. I’ve heard many good things about those planes too
The only versions of the P-40 with the Merlin were the "F" and the "L." These a/c are easy to identify: there's no carburetor scoop just aft of the prop spinner. All other P-40's were powered by Allison V-1710 engines.
@@jeremiahwasabullfrog957 The V-1650 was indeed the Packard equivalent to the Merlin. However, it wasn't installed in American aircraft until the P-40F came into production
The P-40 managed to stay in circulation and production longer than it should have been was because it was actually better than what the reports the RAF had sent back stated to be. When the RAF tested the plane, it was underperforming in all its regards pre-war and thus, they hated it and went on with the Hurricane till they adopted the Spitfire. However when they reached Africa when Rommel came in with the Afrika Corp, suddenly the Hurricanes and Spitfire faced issues, especially the Spitfire. Early Spitfire Mk I has a huge carburettor issue and anti-sand and dust issue that often clog up the engine and filter of the plane making them way underpowered or at worse, seize up and potentially crash. Also, as the German BF-109 and the FW-190 got uparmoured into the F variant for the BF-109 and the A5 variant for the FW-190, the Hurricanes and Spitfire's .303 machine guns, despite being plenty, was not cutting it. That's when the P-40 came in and save the day, again. The P-40 could perform better at the lower altitudes that the African desert plains foresaw and with it being able to take way more dust abuse than the other two British planes, soon many pilots wanted the P-40 more than the other 2 planes in that particular combat area. Also, the P-40 was somehow able to take way more abuse than the Spitfire and comparable to the Hurricane in taking bullet punishments and again, one thing the pilots liked about the P-40 more than the other two was it's heavy armament at that point of time with it's .50cal vs .303. When the campaign in Africa started, majority of the planes flown by the Commonwealth was the Hurricane Mk I or II which come with 8x .303 for the former and 12x .303 for the latter. There was also the Mk IIB which has 4x 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons but that variant was rare. The Spitfire was also mostly Mk IIa which has 6x .303 machine guns and also the Mk IIb which takes off 2 MGs for a pair of 20mm cannons however, the cannon only holds limited rounds. Then this also saw quite a usage of the Mk V variant which comes purely with 20mm cannons but again, cannons wern't particularly good and often faces jamming issues. However, the P-40 was more reliable in that regards and due to it being able to carry about 2,500 rounds total, it could take the punishment to the Luftwaffe AND also Rommel's troops by doing constant ground strafing runs and then fight for it's life again. That's the versatility that the RAF needs for a strapped warzone and that's why more and more pilots in that region prefer the P-40 despite being called inferior early on but as it turns out, it isn't at all and in some ways or in fact, more than one, better than what the British could put out at that time.
LoL, what a huge pile of propaganda and revisionist history. Early P-40s had so many engine problems that even NAA looked to the Merlin XX as a solution in Mar 1941. Curtiss failed to provide proper induction filters until the M version in 1943. The Spitfire had the Volkes filter when it first arrived in the MTO (Malta) in Mar 1942. The smaller Aboukir filter followed in early 1943. Nice try.
@@bobsakamanos4469 Propaganda? Revisionist? ???? Your Spitfires sucked dicks early on in the Med. The P-40 might have a weaker engine than those two planes but it takes abuse like a champ in that theater better than any of the two fighters in that theater alone. And idk why you even brought up Malta as that's NOT what MTO means. MTO just means "Mediterranean Theater of Operations" and the P-40 did fucking well for a plane that was deemed "unworthy" by the Brits. 2:1 kill-loss ratio, produced 21 aces in the MTO alone and did tons of work as a pseudo-ground attack aircraft due to it's heavy guns, something the Hurricane cannot do with its .303s. The V variant of the Spitfire sent to the main African plains were often choking on dust thus yes, the filter you said started to get installed in those planes but you're still lacking the point that out of all the main interceptor units in the DAF (Desert Air Force), the Spitfire only took up 20% of all the fighter squadrons that adopted it and if it's good there, it would be way more being adopted by the universal DAF. Out of the 13 fighter wings of the DAF, only one.... ONE used the Spitfires by 1943 whereas the others used Hurricanes and P-40s so tell me how the actual flying fuck are you telling me that the Spitfires are way better when an older obsolete plane like the Hurricane was favoured more on the dusty desert and if the P-40 is as shit as you said, why the flying fuck would the DAF adopt more of that rather than the Spitfire when it was almighty in your words? "Propaganda master"?! Also, you forgot that the P-40 did bloody well outside the MTO also in Finland AND Russia itself where the Russians were using the P-40 to flatten the very same enemy that the Western Allies fought in the MTO and came out once again on top in astonishing numbers. Not only that, the USAAF would also use the P-40s in China against the Japanese early on in the war with them thanks to Claire Chennault with the AVG/Flying Tigers. Coupled with the fact that you called it shit, America still produced over 13,000 of these planes till end of war when other superior aircraft like the P-51 and P-47 were flying in the air taking scores left and right. If it was soo bad, why the hell did it become the 3rd most produced fighter by the Americans in the entirety of WW2? Could have been the P-38 but nooo... The P-40 took it so... Remind me... Why are they producing a "bad plane" till soo late into the war then!? Imagine trying to boost British pride when it was a hogwash trashheap then calling others for being "revisionist" when your planes were great in Europe but shit in Africa. Fucking check back the scores then yap again. The combat scenario in Malta is NOT the fucking same on the plains of Libya and Egypt so for the love of god... Do not yap shit you don't know about.
Movie TOBRUK (1967), with Rock Hudson, features a P 40 strafing the British Long Range Desert Group column disguised as a German prisoner transport convoy
Never forget the indefatigable Fairchlld PT-19. Forever immortalized as my FIRST pilot error! :D ! By the time I could afford another, I was flying RC.
It did really look like a Fighter Plane should, didn't it? By 1943 it really wasn't though. That it was a workhorse jack-of-all-trades is enough of a tribute.
@@tempestfury8324 much the same way that technically the first supersonic airliner was a DC-8 in its 1961 test flights... but the Tu-144 gets all the glory because it was actually designed to and could do it sustained and level....
@@bobsakamanos4469 : Don't you read? I never said any prop plane got close to mach 1. I said claims have been made by pilots in WWII. I doubt it's true but what is true is that claims were made. I wish people would actually read the comment before jumping to conclusions
@@tempestfury8324 Your interpretation is the problem here. You brought up "their claims" but didn't denouce them. I did, very clearly. Merry Christmas.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq The late great eccentric Spike milligan' interviewed a captured German officer, asked who he considered the best shock troops...?... without hesitation he said the Australians...however I did read that during the battle for Crete ,some Maori soldiers after a Haka chased the German paratroopers several miles from their positions , enabling the other ANZAC and British to withdraw..
As a brit I know this wonderful aircraft as the "kitty hawk" I first encountered one when my grandad (a ww2 royal marines commando) took me to Duxford museum in the early 80s . It was beautiful with its desert cammo and sharks mouth .
Johnny, that factoid about the remote control plane being an accident is unbelievably interesting now when I watch it I wonder what happened to those guys one of them looke like he got it pretty bad
As usual, if I had to choose between a P40 with 6 .50 guns or a Zero or ME109, I'd choose the P40. (I'm a Commercially Rated Pilot with Complex A/C hours) There are things Pilots should and do "drum into their heads"...with the P40 it MUST BE the Claire Chenault "order".... DIVING ATTACKS and no dogfighting. Do that and the P40 is vastly superior to either the Zero or 109. I assume flying a P40 would have been similar to flying a Hurricane. KNOW your strengths and AVOID any weaknesses.....DIVING ATTACKS!!!! One and Done....or One and Fly Away and Climb, REPEAT.
I kind of Did a Double Take if I was Going Nuts or High when YT Recommend me This... I was Not... And I was Like, another Repost? And It was... Welp... Gives me a Good Reason rewatch it again! And No Biggie on Reposting Stuff, its Understandable! Keep up the Awesome Work on these Kinds of Content Johnny! Keep the Good Shit Rolling, and Coming, my Friend!
Thanks brother I appreciate the continued support. I added some extra info in here so hopefully it wasn't too dry a rewatch :) It's probably something I'll be stuck doing once or twice a month.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Tbh, I didn't See the Extra Info and the Likes, but honestly, I couldn't Careless if its the Same topic over and over, as long as its a Topic of Interest I'll Happily Watch it Again, when it Pops up... Although I did Somewhat Notice that Some Data and Info where much Longer that the Original, that and the slight increase in the duration of the Video... I can be wrong, or not... Anyways... Keep up the Great Work, my Friend! See you in the Next Video!
6:15 Marion Morrison opted to stay in Hollywood during World War II, moving from B movies to leading man A-level movies. He wasn't about to become U.S. Marine PFC Lee Marvin, when he could be a "reel officer" and not face sudden death at "no-name ridge."
I read, at the time of the filming of the movie Pearl Harbor, that there were only four flying P-40s left. And all four were used in filming that movie. Supposedly two of those P-40s were from the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho. You can therefore guess how that museum got its name. I always wondered why half the flying P-40s in the world ended up in Nampa, Idaho. According to the video there are many more than four flying. I believe the Idaho museum still has both of its P-40s.
Outstanding achievement by Canada's finest...my old Da RIP ,guarded these great planes in North Africa, the Desert Air force decimated the supply lines of the Afrika Korps and limited the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe...only recently a perfectly preserved P40 was uncovered in the Western desert...cheers...E
Another big strength of the P-40 was it was available when it was needed, while its arguably superior replacements simply weren't. Like the M3 Lee/Grant, it's better to have something decent now to having nothing waiting for something great.
My Mums uncle is still swimming with the fishes after being shot down in a P40 Warhawk during a strafing run in the Solomen Islands. He was from Palmerston North New Zealand
My great uncle flew P40's in North Africa, but disappeared while on a mission, never to be seen again. He was awared the DFM (Distinguished Flying Medal) posthumously, for actions carried out before he disappeared. Ironically, he was from the same squadron (260) as that P40 that was found almost intact in the Egyptian desert back in 2012, and vanished only two days before that aircraft and pilot did. I wonder if, one day, my great uncle's P40 will also be found in a similar manner.
RIP grandpa 🙏
There was a German Ace in Africa who shot down an absolute ton of P40s, Spitfires, and various bombers. He would then follow the planes down to maro where they landed if he saw the crash as survivable he would then fly to the nearest allied base and lead them to rescue their comerades. He also personally rescued at least 20 pilots in his first tour in africa he downed over 35 aircraft, and saved 27 pilots.
god rest his soul
The plane was stripped out in the desert I dont think it was retrieved I was so bummed
@@madmanmechanic8847Great American history left for people who can't read or purify water to tear apart and sell to buy cheap man's cocaine
Interesting Fact: *There's was a prototype variant of the P-40 Warhawk called the XP-40Q, which was Curtis companie's attend to compete with North America's P-51 Mustang and Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, as well as try and keep their P-40 Warhawks in production.*
So a british version?
Some versions of the P-40 had a Merlin engine. The P40F for example.
That fact isn’t especially fun. Factual?….yes , fun?…. not so much.
Being an lover of the P40, in war-thunder and such, I would've loved this
@@TheWeirdLad no
I don't know why this plane is given so little coverage by war historians. You would think that the most produced U.S. plane, that was used all over the world would have a bigger coverage.
Thanks for giving it more accurate coverage. It and especially its pilots, and ground crew, need to be remembered just as much as the Mustang.
Same for the British Hurricane, did 90% of all the airkills during battle of britain but the Spitfire got all the fave because it was new and good for propaganda.
There were more P47's and p51's produced than p40's
@@dasmeltorp4705talk about Hurricane propaganda, LOL. It only accounted for about 53% of LW knocked down despite it comprising 60% of RAF fighters. Hurris had the worst kill ratio of the battle.
The US media always avoided the campaign in Africa & Italy because of all the mistakes they made, starting with the compromise of the Black Code in 1941. Their continued use of it caused a lot of deaths to Brits/Commonwealth in the MTO for the next year.
The lack of two stage supercharging for high altitude performance really hurt this plane and the Bell P-39 Airacobra. They were very capable at low altitudes and ground support/attack. Later versions began to catch up to the P-51 and P-47 performance but, late in the war adding additional fighter types to mass production would only complicate the manufacturing and supply chain for needs already covered. Its definitely one of the most intimidating and iconic air frames ever made. Well done JJ.
Thanks for that. I always appreciate extra info. I'll have to do a video on the P39.
J.J. Esq, most exactly!!
Actually, the P-40 performance changed very little, except for its increased bomb load. The intended N version with 4 guns and less fuel was rejected by operational Sqns, and they were upgraded to 6 guns and reinstalled the rear fuel tank.
I always think of the P-40 as being the American Hurricane (modern engine with old-style airframe). It's basically a P-36 Hawk, with a (much) bigger engine. It's what kept it inexpensive (important, when the P-38 and P-47 were quite complicated and pricy) And EVERYONE flew them.
But didn't the hurricane come after the p40? So wouldn't the hurricane be the british p40?
I have thought the same thing. Thats why I gets pissed off the historians which seem to 90% British don't have a bad word for the Hurricane but imply the P-40 was not a competitive airplane and complain about its not effective at high altitude-when the F-ing plane was not ever designed for high altitude fighting! Greg Airplane U-tube channel has a video detailing how most of the P-40's towards the end of the war were tuned with much high boost/horse power than the so called historians ever give them credit of having-up to 1790HP and possibly more depending on who was wrenching on it. It sounds like the Common Wealth Countries discovered they could really crank up the boost past the approved spec's and regular did.
@@johnballentine6638
This is an easy fact check. The first operational Hawker Hurricane rolled off the assembly line in 1937, a few months after first being test flown in 1936.
The first operational Curtiss P-40 rolled off the assembly line in 1939, after first being test flown in 1938.
Moreover, the Hurricane got upgrades faster because it was frequently engaged in battle starting 11 May 1940; whereas, the P-40 (or rather its first export variant the Tomahawk) was held in reserve until the British Commonwealth country (the Union of South Africa) started using it in north Africa in October 1940.
In October 1940, the German Bf 109E-7 had a drop tank, and high altitude capability (at least 30000 feet).
By comparison, in November 1941, the first P-40 with a drop tank (the P-40E) arrived in the Philippines. The P-40E max altitude was only 18000 feet. 10 hours after the Pearl Harbour surprise in December 1941, the P-40E could not even get to the altitude of the A6M2B Zeroes that were diving down on them and sweeping them from the sky.
Yes, the Curries P36A (Lindberg had one) had that Wright Double Cyclone radial, the P40 had the Allison V-1710, V12 engine, bit better performer, more streamlined.
The first "allied" fighter with removable undercarriage was the I-16 than the Hurricane. Not the P-36 or whatever else. Don't even think of the P-40 4:49 @@johnballentine6638
The P-40 is one of my favorite US planes in WWII. Although inadequate by mid war standards and overshadowed by the P-51 (Not unlike the British Hurricane), the P-40 played an important role in the early war, flying with many countries throughout the war and, when it was deemed ineffective as an air superiority fighter, remained in service as a ground attack aircraft thanks to its robust design. Although it has a reputation for being mediocre, over 200 of its pilots became aces and at least 20 of them double aces. It had a production run of nearly 14000 airframes and many variants and improvements were made over the course of the war.
The P-40, like the US Navy’s F4F Wildcat, held the line till better fighters came along. If used correctly, and in pairs, each could outfight the Japanese Zeros.
My favorite fighter of ww2, as a kid I bought several models of the P40
Powerful P-40 Warhawk. What a beautiful aircraft. Thanks johnny
Ugly one😉
Powerful? LoL,
Thanks again for a brief yet informative video Johnny. That Tora Tora Tora trivia bit at 4:55 in particular was quite a surprise. And seeing those Family Guy Avro Lancasters with US roundels and desert camouflage felt so... off.
Anyway, I'd thought I'd share some trivia that may or may not have been stated by people here:
-The last P-40 ace in the Mediterranean theatre was Captain James E. Fenex Jr. of the 316th Fighter Squadron, 324th Fighter Group. He shot down two German aircrafts on 29 March 1944 which, combined with his 3 previous kills, officially made him an ace.
-The last air-to-air kills credited to P-40 pilots in the Mediterranean theatre occurred on 13 May 1944 when 2nd Lt. James Dealy, 1st Lts. William R. King and Ken Scheiwe each shot down a German fighter.
-The last P-40 mission in the Mediterranean theatre was carried out on 18 July 1944.
-The last air-to-air kill credited to a P-40 pilot in the Pacific theatre and possibly World War 2 was made by Lt. Wei Shian-kow of the 26th Fighter Squadron, Chinese American Composite Wing (CACW) on 8 February 1945 when he shot down a Mitsubishi Ki-57.
-The last unit to operate the P-40 during World War 2 was the 27th Fighter Squadron, 5th Fighter Group of the CACW when they eventually traded their P-40s for P-51 Mustangs in June 1945.
-Richard Bong may have been US' top ace with 40 kills, but the pilot with the most confirmed kills was Major Thomas A. Reynolds Jr of the 7th Fighter Squadron, 3rd Fighter Group of the CACW, with 42 kills. However, Maj. Reynolds was not an *official* ace, as he only had *4 confirmed air-to-air kills,* while *the other 38 kills were aircrafts destroyed on the ground.*
Sources: Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 35 - P-40 Warhawk Aces of the CBI & Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 43 - P-40 Warhawk Aces of the MTO
Once again, a well-executed video Johnny.
Thanks for that. I wasn't even aware of that Composite Wing operating. My Father-in-Law was a young officer in the Chinese Army trying to keep the IJN from succeeding in their 1944 operations against the US AAF/AF (now Composite?) Air Groups in Central/Western China. Well, they tried.
So Curtiss-Wright, the company that produced the plane. Well, Glenn Curtiss, is actually a relative of mine. Both my great grandfather and my grandfather worked in that very factory, building these exact planes as well. It was an exceptional plane. I actually have a book my grandfather got when he left the company that they gave to all their leaving employees that is nothing but pictures during wartime production. Just a warehouse filled with P-40's, amongst many others.
That's really fantastic! Maybe someday you could share some of those pictures...😮
After the Pearl Harbor raid , General Doolittle commented that the P40 was worth about $40,000 dollars . As per the video the cost was about $53,000 dollars . How much was the real cost of a P40 ? How much would it have cost to get a P40 all the way out to Australia ?
Japanese ace Saburo Sakai stated that he felt a well flown P-40 was among the most formidable adversaries he faced.
One of the most underrated planes of ww2, thanks for putting my favorite plane of all time in the spotlight
The P-40 remains, to this day, one of my favourite fighter planes of all time and the film Tora Tora Tora is to blame. Can't help but love it!
Something else that you forgot to add about the P-40, is that while it couldn't turn inside the Zero or the Me-109, no Allied fighter, including the Spitfire or Mustang could turn inside of it at low level. The thing was a beast when flown in it's optimal flight envelope.
A small mistake that the Bf-109 was more agile. When the Germans of JG.27 flying Bf-109E first encountered P-40 Tomahawks in North Africa, they got into dogfights with them and soon realized it was a bad idea, the P-40 had better maneuverability (basically the only big advantage over the Bf- 109) and gave orders not to engage P-40's in dogfights.
Things soon got even worse for the Commonwealth when the Germans introduced a newer version of the Bf-109F into service which had even better acceleration and climb rate.
The introduction of the P-40 Kittyhawk Mk.1a did not change the situation much, because although more heavily armed and more powerful, the Kittyhawk was heavier and even less agile than the Tomahawk. Only well-coordinated team tactics allowed the Allies to have a fair fight in some circumstances.
Plus the fact that it could outdive almost everything out there and pull out at speeds that would tear the wings off of other planes.
True
Incorrect, the P-40 could not out turn a Spitfire, but at certain speeds, it had a good roll rate with ailerons geared for less force by the pilot. Climb rate was poor though.
109 tactic was peck & zoom, not horizontal dogfighting.
Well done. You picked great clips to reinforce your points, like the P-40 and Zero aileron rolling in "Tora Tora Tora", etc.
And including those hokey erzatz P-40s from John Wayne's "Flying Tigers" added a humorous note.
You can't take this stuff too seriously.
Great piece of work Johnny, and you included 1941, one of my favourite funny movies :)
Colonel "Madman" Maddox : Let me hear your guns!
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : My what?
Colonel "Madman" Maddox : Your guns! Ack, ack, ack, ack, ack!
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : [fires his airplane's guns] AHHHHHHHH!
My father was a P-40 pilot. Flight Leader M. W. Kuykendall, DFC, 1st Squadron, AVG.
Belushi in 1941 getting yanked off the wing when his chute fills up. Never laughed so hard!
P-40 was actually quite maneuverable .. had a terrific roll rate and could turn better than almost every other American fighter. Was a great plane.
It's one of my favourites. I don't exactly why it wasn't seen worthy to update the P40 like many other aircraft. Most of it's early war performance deficiencies could have been helped by a duel-stage supercharger, better armament etc. I don't think it would be any less worthy of updates than the BF109, Spitfire or Mustang. I'm sure there is some good reason. The fact that this was a simple, but reliable and tough aircraft for the early war period makes it really interesting and cool to me. The underdog, liked by the US, British Commonwealth and Soviets alike.
@@BigHorseFilm I actually contributed more to the war effort than many give credit. It fought hard through the entire war, getting phased out for faster , higher , longer ranges types , but it was still a great plane.
@@BigHorseFilm They did try to upgrade the P40. Three prototypes were built with an enhanced engine with two stage supercharger, new style-radiator, and changes to the body. But it was still outperformed by the P51 Mustang, so they stopped production in Nov. 1944.
Great job Johnny. I. had no idea that the highest scoring ace in the P 40 was an Aussie. Well done mate.
Thanks Carl. Gotta hand it to our Aussie allies!
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Hey thankyou mate. Your show is the best.
Thanks for info!
I wasn't aware the ME110 used the shark head design first which is a marvelous tidbit of knowledge.
The P-40 was a very effective aerial gun platform when it could be deployed in optimal conditions, but like every weapon it has its strengths & it's limitations. Brave & resourceful pilots made up the difference.
The Army Air Corps P-400 & P-39 also made great, though brief, contributions to the Guadalcanal Campaign. I do not know if they ever saw service beyond that or in any other theatre.
Came here for Wild Bill Kelso, was not disappointed! Also, there really needs to be a modern movie about The Flying Tigers. I read the book "When Tigers Ruled The Sky" by Bill Yenne, it's very good!
..Would like to get and read that book! Read, "God Is ,My Copilot" back in 1964. Great read!
Did you know that the engines were custom built for the Flying Tigers. Parts were balanced and precision fitted because factory engines (-39) were not very well made or reliable.
Great video Johnny 2:13 not sure if you know of the XP-40Q-2 which although a prototype did away with the complicated canopy and had a bubble canopy instead? The Q-1’s first flight reportedly occurred on 13 June 1943 from the Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York. It is not clear if the aircraft suffered another accident, or if Curtiss was unhappy with its configuration and decided to modify it further. In November 1943, the Q-1 had been modified and redesignated XP-40Q-2. The aircraft’s rear fuselage was cut down and a bubble canopy installed. Engine coolant radiators were positioned in the wings just outboard of the main gear. The oil cooler and engine air intake were relocated to the classic P-40 chin position, but the scoop was shallower and more elegant. The Q-2 retained the olive drab paint.
Keeping us up, that's what Johnny does best, I surmise you might have planned to make a video of the SH-3 Sea King in movies?
Take care, and all the best.
Kinda like a plane does
I like this idea! A future video for certain.
Love this classic plane. And for reasons known only to me, 1941 is my favorite P-40 film. 😉
..Belushi out for himself as a P40 pilot in that one..Specially the treetop level close-quarters "dogfight", where he fired almost point-blank on a Twin Beechcraft D18!! Friggin' hilarious!!
JJ never failed me. Amazing content
In “Pearl Harbor” take a close look at the “Zero” in echelon as the two P40s are chased between the stacks. It is either a T6 or an SNJ. They were frequent standins in movies like Tora Tora Tora and as far back as “God is My Copilot”. It is also noteworthy that the Japanese Val and Kate from Tora, Tora, Tora were actually a heavily modified Vultee BT13 and modified T6 respectively.
Two T.V. series the p-40 ,that I recall , was " Baa Baa Black sheep " . The other was & quite impressive was the animated , Saturday A.M. version of "Planet of the Apes " ! The aircraft had an ape profile ,bearing its teeth, painted on the nose . Credit to who drew ( no CGI in 70s) the plane . Good attention to detail considering it was a children's Saturday morning series! Two thumbs up!
The best war movie I've ever seen is "Only "old men" are going to battle" (1973) about the soviet fighter pilots. I highly recommend it. It doesn't have a lot dogfighting scenes, but it is the best presentation of atmosphere and spirit of the people of that time i've ever seen.
I also recommend "Dark Blue World" , a Czech-South African production about Czech pilots who escaped their occupied country to fly with the RAF.
One of my favourite ww2 aircraft built several modals of the p40 in avg flying tigers markings
Actually, at 9:50 the narrator mentions that the P 40 used high speed turns against a Zero, to which I can hear every veteran on WWII in the Pacific skies laughing! You NEVER tried to outturn a Zero. The P40 used high speed dives, shot and dived below their targets then using the momentum of the dive, climbed back up to their original height.
I volunteer in a museum and the P40 that's in display was actually in the infamous movie Tora Tora Tora
1941 Great Movie, with a p-40, M3 Lee tank and 40mm Bofors being the stars, also depicting the Japanese sub attack on a California Coastal Oil Refinery, though not very accurate historically
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : Kid, you gotta get that sub.
Wally Stephens : What sub?
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : The Jap sub.
Wally Stephens : Where?
Captain Wild Bill Kelso : The ocean, lame-o.
Well... who will forget when the Germans attacked Pearl Harbor??!
😅
IJN submarine sailor looking up: "Horrywud! Horrywud!" . Sorry, I'll show myself out.
Pearl Harbor, Valkyrie, 1941, all these movies feature our two P-40s (E model & N model) from the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa ID, we are proud to say!
I have flown her on simulation and if that is a true representation then she is far from obsolete. She's like a Hurricane. Tough, excellent armament and very capable. The Merlin engine version is pleasantly suprising. Lots of dead German and Japanese people would say she's an awesome airplane 👍✌️☮️😁❤️
..Yessirree!!..A free fighting machine for sure!
Hurricanes were quickly repaced by P-40s in the MTO. P-40F was a needed improvement to provide top cover to the Allison variants.
@2:09 seeing a P-40 flying next to a P-51 is such an awesome sight! Love both fighters but there's just something about the P-40 that looks so menacing. Like a school yard bully about to take your lunch money.
When I was a child, there was a Chinese restaurant (Golden Palace or Bowl - my memory is kind of foggy) in my hometown owned by a kindly old Chinese man and his family. On the walls along the waiting area of his restaurant were dozens of pictures of the Flying Tigers and their base. As I grew older, I found out the owner cooked for the Flying Tigers and all those pictures were his. Sadly, he retired and closed down the place after his only son was killed in Vietnam. Little known historical fact that among the 8.7 million American soldiers in that war, about 35,000 of them were Asian Americans.
Respect. For the old Gentleman, and for the story. As for his son, add regret to the respect.
My all time favorite war bird. It pervaded my dreams as a kid and I still get the urge to spend hundreds of dollars on models.
Lol was trying to find something to watch late and thankfully you delivered right on time
I got you!
Always a big fan with historical and movie episodes.
It’s amazing that it was considered inferior and overshadowed by other fighters everywhere else during the war… and yet it put an absolute hurt on the Japanese with the Flying Tigers. 297 kills to 4 losses? Good lord it dominated!
I' m not sure how this works but here goes. The P40 and many aircraft including the early models of P51 mustangs and P 38 lightnings were powered the greatest of all , the venerable Allison V12 , Made in Idianapolis, Indiana. You folks may have heard of us, we have this auto race every year, um whats it called? Oh yeah THE INDY 500! Make fun of hoosiers but yall are welcome to come by anytime good people, good food
LoL, the Allison had many issues in WWII and never became effective at high boost or high altitude. Even the P-82 engines were a nightmare to maintain.
There was an old joke in an aviation cartoon collection... where a grizzled old pilot says "I spent my whole tour in a P-400" to which a young pilot replies.. "No such thing! What the hell is that?"" and he answers " a P-40 - with a Zero on its tail". lol (As the author of the cartoon collection pointed out..he was very quickly informed there WAS actually a P-400...it was the export version of the P-39)
Sky Captain is one of my favorite childhood movies, cool to find out what kind of plane it was
Yess! Aircraft video, its always fun when i get to learn more about aircraft its too interesting to pass off
That shark mouth made this my favorite warplane growing up, love it
112 Sqn rules !
She’s not as beloved as the Mustang, but she sure is pretty
Not mentioned is that the P-40 was essentially the U.S.' first front line fighter, which means the 40 flew against the best Japanese and German pilots. By the time the 51, 47, Corsair, and Hellcat arrived, many of the better Axis pilots were gone and being replaced by less experienced pilots.
As Bruce Willis's illness set in, he was exploited in a number of really poor films. He was at the point where he couldn't remember any of lines, and was essentially just there to be able to add his name to the credits for money. It was quite sad.
"My name is Wild Bill Kelso, and don't you forget it."
-Captain "Wild Bill" Kelso, U.S Army Air Force
They were very good aircraft, just under powered and under gunned. If they had 8 50 calibre guns instead of the 6 30 calibre the fire power would have been awesome. And like they did with the mustangs replaced them with the more reliable British RR merlin, that would have more of an impact.
Nice little video. I waxed nostalgic, remembering a little go around between my dad and I many years ago. He was not a happy camper to be corrected by me regarding the mock ups in Flying Tigers. IDK what pissed him off more, that he had never noticed their not being authentic in all the times he saw it since it came out, or that a tweener noticed it immediately at roughly the same age as he was.
That beautiful aircraft never gets old, I’d say if again FLYING TIGERS BABY WOOO!
One peculiar thing about the P-40 - well, at least the P-40E, P-40M, P-40N, but I guess the P-40D as well, to some extent -, was that they had higher real world performance than "as advertised" or is printed in the aviation books even today. That's one almost completely overlooked reason why they were so successful throughout WW2. In context, most in the field WW2 fighters had lower performance than "as advertised" or in the books. Particularly Japanese and Soviet aircraft.
Anyway, Allison released new boost levels for emergency power, for frontline combat during the war. Using those, the in-the-field P-40E would do 345.7 Mph at 2000 ft. Official factory figure is 325 Mph. The over-boosted P-40N would do 367 Mph at 2000 ft. Official figure is 345 Mph. Performance dropped rapidly at increasing altitudes however, just as before, the compressor being too small to keep up the pressure in thinner air, no matter what theoretical pressure you set it to.
The reason the P-40 was not used in the European war, was that the air war in Europe was all about intercepting or escorting bombers, or achieve air superiority against intercepting fighters. That always meant high altitude fighting, something the normal Allison engine couldn't do (the P-38 used custom turbo-superchargers) (the P-40J was a turbo-supercharged variant, but they never bothered to successfully solve the plumbing problem of fitting it to the P-40, so came to nothing). In the Pacific and North Africa the P-40s did rather well though, and wrested air superiority away from Ki43s, Zeros, and won air superiority from Bf109Es and Bf109Fs.
The P-40s in Africa outnumbered the LW thanks to a couple years hard fighting in Malta and the Med by the RAF & RN, which cut german supply lines. Allison P-40s also needed top cover by P-40Fs & Spitfires.
"Sky Captain" was an awesomely fun movie. Truly underrated.
Gundam meets Pearl Harbor
The movie
During WW2 the Australian soldiers also called them the Tomorrowhawks since they were always being told the Tomahawks will be coming to give air cover tomorrow but rarely did.
Early Model P-40A to P-40C (Curtiss 81 Models) were called the Tomahawk by the Commonwealth Air Forces. The P-40D and later (Curtiss 87 models) were the Kittyhawk.
I believe there were some late-model aircraft (P-40N and later, if I’m not mistaken) that were equipped with Merlin engines instead of the Allison ones. I’ve heard many good things about those planes too
The only versions of the P-40 with the Merlin were the "F" and the "L." These a/c are easy to identify: there's no carburetor scoop just aft of the prop spinner. All other P-40's were powered by Allison V-1710 engines.
@@gordonbergslien30 Good to know! Thanks for the correction!
@@brendenhinspeter2939 Roger your last! I'm nothing if not a warbird nerd!
But wasn't the Packard 1650 the US production of the Merlin?
@@jeremiahwasabullfrog957 The V-1650 was indeed the Packard equivalent to the Merlin. However, it wasn't installed in American aircraft until the P-40F came into production
Thanks for the kiwi involvement being mentioned.
That Tora Tora Tora scene where it accidentally crashes is crazy....
Such a cool plane, love it´s looks and .50s.. First model I built was an Airfix Kittyhawk.
The P-40 Warhawk scenes in "The Raid on Rommel" (1971) are recycled footage from "Tobruk" (1966). Great video sir
Mine is specialized, great Tier V light fighter in World of Warplanes😊 Thx for the info about these films!
Tora Tora Tora one of the most impressive film of all time.
Excellent as always mate!!👍👍
I didn't know this plane existed lol, great video 👍
duh..
This seems a well made research video, not a bad aircraft I'd say. Keep up the good work Johnny!
The P-40 managed to stay in circulation and production longer than it should have been was because it was actually better than what the reports the RAF had sent back stated to be.
When the RAF tested the plane, it was underperforming in all its regards pre-war and thus, they hated it and went on with the Hurricane till they adopted the Spitfire. However when they reached Africa when Rommel came in with the Afrika Corp, suddenly the Hurricanes and Spitfire faced issues, especially the Spitfire.
Early Spitfire Mk I has a huge carburettor issue and anti-sand and dust issue that often clog up the engine and filter of the plane making them way underpowered or at worse, seize up and potentially crash. Also, as the German BF-109 and the FW-190 got uparmoured into the F variant for the BF-109 and the A5 variant for the FW-190, the Hurricanes and Spitfire's .303 machine guns, despite being plenty, was not cutting it. That's when the P-40 came in and save the day, again.
The P-40 could perform better at the lower altitudes that the African desert plains foresaw and with it being able to take way more dust abuse than the other two British planes, soon many pilots wanted the P-40 more than the other 2 planes in that particular combat area. Also, the P-40 was somehow able to take way more abuse than the Spitfire and comparable to the Hurricane in taking bullet punishments and again, one thing the pilots liked about the P-40 more than the other two was it's heavy armament at that point of time with it's .50cal vs .303.
When the campaign in Africa started, majority of the planes flown by the Commonwealth was the Hurricane Mk I or II which come with 8x .303 for the former and 12x .303 for the latter. There was also the Mk IIB which has 4x 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannons but that variant was rare. The Spitfire was also mostly Mk IIa which has 6x .303 machine guns and also the Mk IIb which takes off 2 MGs for a pair of 20mm cannons however, the cannon only holds limited rounds. Then this also saw quite a usage of the Mk V variant which comes purely with 20mm cannons but again, cannons wern't particularly good and often faces jamming issues.
However, the P-40 was more reliable in that regards and due to it being able to carry about 2,500 rounds total, it could take the punishment to the Luftwaffe AND also Rommel's troops by doing constant ground strafing runs and then fight for it's life again. That's the versatility that the RAF needs for a strapped warzone and that's why more and more pilots in that region prefer the P-40 despite being called inferior early on but as it turns out, it isn't at all and in some ways or in fact, more than one, better than what the British could put out at that time.
True....
LoL, what a huge pile of propaganda and revisionist history. Early P-40s had so many engine problems that even NAA looked to the Merlin XX as a solution in Mar 1941. Curtiss failed to provide proper induction filters until the M version in 1943. The Spitfire had the Volkes filter when it first arrived in the MTO (Malta) in Mar 1942. The smaller Aboukir filter followed in early 1943.
Nice try.
@@bobsakamanos4469 Propaganda? Revisionist? ????
Your Spitfires sucked dicks early on in the Med. The P-40 might have a weaker engine than those two planes but it takes abuse like a champ in that theater better than any of the two fighters in that theater alone.
And idk why you even brought up Malta as that's NOT what MTO means. MTO just means "Mediterranean Theater of Operations" and the P-40 did fucking well for a plane that was deemed "unworthy" by the Brits. 2:1 kill-loss ratio, produced 21 aces in the MTO alone and did tons of work as a pseudo-ground attack aircraft due to it's heavy guns, something the Hurricane cannot do with its .303s. The V variant of the Spitfire sent to the main African plains were often choking on dust thus yes, the filter you said started to get installed in those planes but you're still lacking the point that out of all the main interceptor units in the DAF (Desert Air Force), the Spitfire only took up 20% of all the fighter squadrons that adopted it and if it's good there, it would be way more being adopted by the universal DAF. Out of the 13 fighter wings of the DAF, only one.... ONE used the Spitfires by 1943 whereas the others used Hurricanes and P-40s so tell me how the actual flying fuck are you telling me that the Spitfires are way better when an older obsolete plane like the Hurricane was favoured more on the dusty desert and if the P-40 is as shit as you said, why the flying fuck would the DAF adopt more of that rather than the Spitfire when it was almighty in your words? "Propaganda master"?!
Also, you forgot that the P-40 did bloody well outside the MTO also in Finland AND Russia itself where the Russians were using the P-40 to flatten the very same enemy that the Western Allies fought in the MTO and came out once again on top in astonishing numbers. Not only that, the USAAF would also use the P-40s in China against the Japanese early on in the war with them thanks to Claire Chennault with the AVG/Flying Tigers. Coupled with the fact that you called it shit, America still produced over 13,000 of these planes till end of war when other superior aircraft like the P-51 and P-47 were flying in the air taking scores left and right. If it was soo bad, why the hell did it become the 3rd most produced fighter by the Americans in the entirety of WW2? Could have been the P-38 but nooo... The P-40 took it so... Remind me... Why are they producing a "bad plane" till soo late into the war then!?
Imagine trying to boost British pride when it was a hogwash trashheap then calling others for being "revisionist" when your planes were great in Europe but shit in Africa. Fucking check back the scores then yap again. The combat scenario in Malta is NOT the fucking same on the plains of Libya and Egypt so for the love of god... Do not yap shit you don't know about.
Someone owns a P40 with the shark teeth paint job at the local airfield. It's pretty sweet
These are great stories. Please keep them coming!
Movie TOBRUK (1967), with Rock Hudson, features a P 40 strafing the British Long Range Desert Group column disguised as a German prisoner transport convoy
Nice brief Johnny, I like your style.
Johnny: Talking about the different names of the P-40
The video: War Thunder Pilots being the greatest Pilots in history
If you're old enough to remember the old wire controlled flying model planes. There were 2, the Ju-87 and P-40.
Never forget the indefatigable Fairchlld PT-19. Forever immortalized as my FIRST pilot error! :D ! By the time I could afford another, I was flying RC.
Great video m8, all the best 👍
Best looking plane of any World War
Fight me!
It did really look like a Fighter Plane should, didn't it? By 1943 it really wasn't though. That it was a workhorse jack-of-all-trades is enough of a tribute.
She wasn't a hot rod, she was a tough as nails workhorse...and a damn fine looking one at that.
There's a chapter in James A Mitchener's South Pacific where about 20 New Zealand P40s turn up to protect a downed US airman
I did business with an Flying Tiger pilot. He was a transport pilot with them flying the Burma hump one of the first
Thx for the video 🙌 🙌
There is a theory that George Welch broke the speed of sound in a shallow dive in the F86 saber prototype before Chuck Yager did it in the X1
Claims had been made by pilots in Spitfires and P-47s. The main difference is that the X-1 broke the sound barrier in level flight.
@@tempestfury8324 much the same way that technically the first supersonic airliner was a DC-8 in its 1961 test flights... but the Tu-144 gets all the glory because it was actually designed to and could do it sustained and level....
@@tempestfury8324no prop warplane came close to mach 1.
@@bobsakamanos4469 : Don't you read? I never said any prop plane got close to mach 1. I said claims have been made by pilots in WWII. I doubt it's true but what is true is that claims were made.
I wish people would actually read the comment before jumping to conclusions
@@tempestfury8324 Your interpretation is the problem here. You brought up "their claims" but didn't denouce them. I did, very clearly. Merry Christmas.
Still upset about War Thunder not making the US. Variant of the P-40B a prem aircraft or putting it on the tech tree.
Good redo Johnny especially the Kiwi and Aussie references.
Thanks Martin! Thought I owed it to our ANZAC friends.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq The late great eccentric Spike milligan' interviewed a captured German officer, asked who he considered the best shock troops...?... without hesitation he said the Australians...however I did read that during the battle for Crete ,some Maori soldiers after a Haka chased the German paratroopers several miles from their positions , enabling the other ANZAC and British to withdraw..
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq PS....Spike Milligan' s autobiography was made into a film...
@@eamonnclabby7067 Thanks E! I'll have to check it out
As a brit I know this wonderful aircraft as the "kitty hawk" I first encountered one when my grandad (a ww2 royal marines commando) took me to Duxford museum in the early 80s . It was beautiful with its desert cammo and sharks mouth .
112 Sqn ruled the desert long before AGV was in a fight. Tough lads fought in the desert. My old man flew them at El Alamein.
The last Warhawk I encountered had 4 ER PPC's.
My Warhawk was usually kitted out with two ER PPCs, two Large Pulse Lasers, and (IIRC) a Flamer. We made many Spheroids cry.
Johnny, that factoid about the remote control plane being an accident is unbelievably interesting now when I watch it I wonder what happened to those guys one of them looke like he got it pretty bad
I don't recall if anyone got hurt but you can see some genuine terror in that scene for sure.
As usual, if I had to choose between a P40 with 6 .50 guns or a Zero or ME109, I'd choose the P40. (I'm a Commercially Rated Pilot with Complex A/C hours) There are things Pilots should and do "drum into their heads"...with the P40 it MUST BE the Claire Chenault "order".... DIVING ATTACKS and no dogfighting. Do that and the P40 is vastly superior to either the Zero or 109. I assume flying a P40 would have been similar to flying a Hurricane. KNOW your strengths and AVOID any weaknesses.....DIVING ATTACKS!!!! One and Done....or One and Fly Away and Climb, REPEAT.
P-40D and later couldn't complete with contemporary 109s. They outnumbered the LW in Africa and had top cover from Spitfires and 109F's.
@@bobsakamanos4469 I agree....NOT a dog fighter. GREAT DIVING GUN PLATFORM
@@krismurphy7711 you're a wise irishman! Mutal support and teamwork was the right formula - Stocky Edwards.
That p40 crash is HARROWING!!!
I love the occasional Bo Time gaming clips!
My son, who is 14, watched 'Red Tails' last night. We laughed and laughted. Horrible. Not even one P47 Thunderbolt.
I kind of Did a Double Take if I was Going Nuts or High when YT Recommend me This... I was Not... And I was Like, another Repost? And It was... Welp... Gives me a Good Reason rewatch it again!
And No Biggie on Reposting Stuff, its Understandable!
Keep up the Awesome Work on these Kinds of Content Johnny!
Keep the Good Shit Rolling, and Coming, my Friend!
Thanks brother I appreciate the continued support. I added some extra info in here so hopefully it wasn't too dry a rewatch :) It's probably something I'll be stuck doing once or twice a month.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq Tbh, I didn't See the Extra Info and the Likes, but honestly, I couldn't Careless if its the Same topic over and over, as long as its a Topic of Interest I'll Happily Watch it Again, when it Pops up... Although I did Somewhat Notice that Some Data and Info where much Longer that the Original, that and the slight increase in the duration of the Video... I can be wrong, or not...
Anyways...
Keep up the Great Work, my Friend!
See you in the Next Video!
love to see you do the mac-10 or 11. Love the vids!
6:15 Marion Morrison opted to stay in Hollywood during World War II, moving from B movies to leading man A-level movies. He wasn't about to become U.S. Marine PFC Lee Marvin, when he could be a "reel officer" and not face sudden death at "no-name ridge."
He was older an had a family. Can't fight a war of attrition without hollywood to lure young lads in.
I read, at the time of the filming of the movie Pearl Harbor, that there were only four flying P-40s left. And all four were used in filming that movie. Supposedly two of those P-40s were from the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho. You can therefore guess how that museum got its name. I always wondered why half the flying P-40s in the world ended up in Nampa, Idaho. According to the video there are many more than four flying. I believe the Idaho museum still has both of its P-40s.
Outstanding achievement by Canada's finest...my old Da RIP ,guarded these great planes in North Africa, the Desert Air force decimated the supply lines of the Afrika Korps and limited the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe...only recently a perfectly preserved P40 was uncovered in the Western desert...cheers...E
Mine flew with 112 sqn, cheers.
Another big strength of the P-40 was it was available when it was needed, while its arguably superior replacements simply weren't. Like the M3 Lee/Grant, it's better to have something decent now to having nothing waiting for something great.
Well done once again, have a good weekend man.
Thanks, you too!
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq time for a cheeky tipple...cheers/Skol/ slainte...
My Mums uncle is still swimming with the fishes after being shot down in a P40 Warhawk during a strafing run in the Solomen Islands. He was from Palmerston North New Zealand
awsome video man you should do a video on the p47 in the movies
It had a great look.
Everyone wants to put teeth on their aircraft- they look their best on the P-40👍
Two new videos within 24 hours? You are spoiling us.