Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk - Detailed Walkaround
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- Опубликовано: 4 ноя 2020
- The P-40 airplane is a single seat, all-metal low wing monoplane designed for medium altitude pursuit and interception of hostile aircraft. Let's have a closer look at this one found at the RAF Museum London.
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#Militaryaviationmuseum #p40 #walkaround
The best feature of the large nose was that it provided ample space for painting pinups as well as shark mouths.
The P-40 may have been a bit outdated and underpowered compared to its contemporaries, but it was a rugged and reliable machine, and damn if it wasn't one of the coolest-looking WWII fighters!
Curiously, I might push back on the bit that it was outdated! It certainly gave German Bf-109s a good thrashing in North Africa and the Mediterranean, and Ki-43 / A6Ms something similar in the Pacific. It was an incredibly versatile and very capable fighter at those lower altitudes seen in those respective theaters.
The only aspect I'd say is outdated is the Canopy
The P40 was the most maneuverable American aircraft of the war due to Curtis' tendency to create wing and tail surfaces large enough to be very lightly loaded. The aircraft was hampered mostly by its engine which could not perform at high altitude--high altitude operations were not considered essential when the aircraft was designed. At medium/low altitudes the P40 was a match for most anything in the air at the time and its phenomenal ability to dive made it virtually uncatchable. Saburo Sakai himself said he considered the P40 to be the most formidable Allied aircraft he faced when proply handled by the pilot.
@@rengarcia5189 I wonder which was more maneuverable, the Curtiss P-40 War Hawk or the Bell P-39 Airacobra.
I am curious can we hot rod p-40N to go 630 kph with 130 octane fuel
Thanks for this Bismarck! I was going to make a comment about my grandfather working on this type, and then you mentioned this aircraft's origin, and I was stunned.
My Grandfather was an armourer/fitter in 80sqn RAAF (Tail code BU) and spent his war service on the Island hopping campaign in the south-West Pacific area in support of the US marines. There is every chance that he worked on this exact aircraft at some point. In the close air support role, they nicknamed them the "Kitty-bombers" as this model had been fitted to carry bombs, unlike early models.
As to the non-standard IFF gear, Australian delivered P-40N's were straight off the factory floor from the US in all aspects, right down to the dark khaki green and USAAF markings. Australian squadrons just painted over the US markings with the Australian roundel upon receiving them. All allied aircraft in the S.W.P.A. had extensive white allied recognition panels (wing leading edges, and the entire tailplane)
The US spec nature would probably explain most of the differences from a British version that this donor aircraft's has.
Glenn Curtis was a pretty colorful character and a major competitor of the Wright brothers in early military aviation. A museum is dedicated to him in his hometown of Hammondsport NY. Thanks for the video.
Under recognized. Also, a bit of a motorcyclist.
P-40: "It just works"
That is just every American plane. It just works.
@@falconflyer5821 History suggests otherwise.
At the battle of Milne bay these things flew off a iron mesh mat in a swamp straight into a strafing run , one of the underrated aircraft of ww2 , poor performance above 12000 feet isn't an issue over a battlefield .
From being a cannibalized airframe to being the benefactor of later such cannibalizations, what a fun cycle this aircraft must have been through.
What goes around, comes around :)
The P-40 is of great significance in Australia because it was the only aircraft available to defend Darwin and Port Moresby in 1942. Those used at the Battle of Milne Bay repeatedly wore the gun barrels out from shooting Japanese soldiers out of the trees.
The Australians sure put it to great use!!! Thank you to Australia for your HUGE contribution to winning the war in the Pacific theater during world war 2.🇺🇸👍🙏
That was our own 'Battle of Britain' moment.
@@thethirdman225 That's true, but it was also much more than that, it was the first time the Japanese were defeated and stopped dead in their tracks from their Pacific rampage, not only from the air but on the ground as well, the tenacity of the Australians should never be forgotten, that was the first big victory against the Japanese and it was a HUGE ONE, you Aussies are wonderful spectacular people!!!🇺🇸👍
Kris, It was a special pleasure for me to view this episode. For in early July, of 1993, I visited England with a tour company, specializing in visiting spots of special interest to devotees of WWII Aviation History. I won't lie, the Duxford Air Show, the humbling visit to the chapel at St. Paul's dedicated to the American Serviceman - It's circular Stained Glass Window, showing every U.S. State & Territory - In particular a leather bound memoriam - Just to see Mustang Ace George Preddy's name, on it's printed page. The Memorial to The Pilots of Allied Nations that flew with the RAF at St. Crispin's Church, in London. Yes, the same St. Crispin as in "the Band of Brothers Speech" / " ...upon St. Crispin's Day !" - from Shakespeare's "Henry V ".
And the visit to Fighter Command, in Uxbridge ! All rank high, in my memory.
But, That P-40 in this episode; is an old friend. I took a lot of still shots of It. The Good News is, I may be fairing, almost as well, as that " old kite".
Brrrriiiiliantly done technical and historic walkaround, especially pointing out model difference likely caused by operational history and subsequent restoration efforts. By any metric this is a Gold Standard quality work!
I also like the drawn areas to clearly indicate what you are talking about, a lot of effort!
(and your welcome :-) )
Thank you and Thank you ;)
I'm not sure how long I've been watching you, but I'm thinking in the region of 5 years (as that's when I started working from home). The quality of your production has constantly increased.
I have to say you are at the point of being as professional as broadcast television. Keep up the good work, I'm hoping you can keep this channel going, even WHEN you get headhunted by some production company.
How is your comment from 3 days ago?
My grandfather served with the RFC and then the RAF and he told me you could always spot o P40 pilot because they would always wear their watch upside down. If they didn't the face would get smashed on the canopy rails when going to full throttle.
I think operating the hydraulic hand pump to verify gear was locked might have also had something to do with it.
thanks for the very cool info, makes sense....I notice some ppl today also still do this, but very few..for regular desk jobs it actually makes it easier to read the time quickly...
The War Memorial in Canberra has a very good one with a great North Africa diorama. “Much maligned by those who never flew her in battle.”
Thanks for this great video, you dished out a lot of great info in this one. Somehow the P-40 is the only plane that ever really looked right to me with the Shark's mouth.
One of the most underrated airplane of ww2, good to see it in on your great channel 👍
Beautiful clean lines - it was, like, the daddy archetype of most WWII Allied fighters. If they'd been able to get a super-charged Merlin in these things (or even had enough Merlins available), it could've ruled the skies for the first half of the war. With its Allison, it was a fantastic, reliable work horse, never to be underestimated.
Actually, some 330 were provided with Packard built Merlins late in the war.
@@michaelburke5907 Great to know, thanks for this info. Too bad they didn't try it earlier in the war, before the Mustangs and Lightnings and Thunderbolts were there to keep up with the 109s and 190s, and Corsairs & Hellcats with the Zeros.
@@pbasswil by that time the p51D was in full production, clearly superior to the P40E, so it made no sense to continue the P40 projects for front line aircraft. Supplemental and export models were still produced , but the P51 was the better choice.
@@michaelburke5907 Agreed, that's why I wrote "...in the first half of the war".
Not really "the daddy archetype of most" of anything, given the types you could reference either pre-date or are contemporaneous to it, and it didn't realle see much service until late 1941 anyway. The P-51 was built to British requirement, the P-47 wasn't inspired by it either.
About 15 years when I was a kid, I walked into a department store and came across a game cover with a “Shark Mouth” P-40. I bought it, “Heroes of the Pacific”, and World War II has been my passion ever since. I have always had a soft spot for this plane, looks great!
Love that game
I got the chance to work on the P-40 that John Belushi used for the movie 1941. Cool aircraft!
My father and I painted this aircraft in Hawkins Tx in the early 90s. Great video thanks for sharing it. I haven’t seen her since we finished it. AWESOME
My Grandfather John Cheetham worked on these when attached to 112 Squadron Western Desert, which originally had Gloster Gladiators. He was an aircraft rigger with 53 RSU originally serving with 113 Squadron (Blenheim mk4's) during the Greek campaign then returning to Western Desert( Egypt) after 113 was decimated.
Thank you for such an informative walk around. My Father was a P-40 crew chief all the way across the Pacific in the island hopping campaign. Like many he didn't like to speak of the experience very much. I think if he would have served today he'd have been diagnosed with PTSD. Not that he himself was exposed to a lot of combat. He had what I now recognize as Survivors Guilt. Due to the pilots who died flying planes he had worked on. The sad fact was that the P-40 was outclassed by most Japanese fighters. He did relate once to witnessing one of his planes being shot down over the water within a 1/4 mile of the airstrip. The pilot trying to dive away from the fight being pursued by a Zero and flying straight into the sea. The Zero hammering the plane all the way down. It was one of the very few stories he told and he had tears in his eyes more than 30 years after the event.
This might be the most under-rated Fighter-Bomber that the Allies fielded during the war. For something that has such a mediocre reputation, they fought in every theatre of war and made excellent accounts of themselves from the Flying Tigers to the RAF in the desert campaigns. It's awesome to see one make your review!
Much appreciated, a less remembered plane of WW2. Best wishes from Northern Ireland.
Thanks for another great video! The Curtiss P-40 was one of the unsung heroes of WWII, garnering a lot of negative comments from journalists due to its pre-war design. But it available in quantity right away. and was so rugged that pilots who flew them for a long time swore by them -- particularly against all Japanese aircraft, after Chennault worked out the P-40's "slash & dash" dogfighting style. Also, I read that the AVG pilots in China learned that the Japanese had a certain superstition regarding sharks which is why the AVG began haphazardly painting the shark mouth on their airplanes. The Chinese people saw the planes with that emblem and began referring to the AVG as "Our Flying Tigers."
Which could explain why anime and manga don't do stories featuring these planes and Sharks mouth paint jobs
Great video on a great plane, thanks a lot.
I like the fact that the markings show a plane serving in Italy in 1944, as this is my favorite area and time of WW2.
My dad was RAAF ground crew in WWll in the Pacific Theatre. I have his Allison Engine operation manual with instructions for installation and service for both P40 and P38.
It's a shame that the restoration is not 100% accurate, but, you covered the aircraft as well as you could, and provided the information of what was missing. You probably won't be able to visit air and space museums in America very soon, (Thanks COVID), but at least one museum, the Planes Of Fame Air Museum, in Chino, California, (a suburb of Los Angeles), has all of their aircraft kept in flying condition. Having been there, I can attest that the planes on display actually leak oil and other fluids, especially the radial-engined planes. While good for the casual observer, to see the functionality, the idea of flying a rare, sometimes irreplaceable aircraft leads to memories of crashes, sometimes fatal, of these one-of-a-kind airplanes. Only a couple of years ago, one of four Northrop N-9M did crash while "showing off", killing the pilot and destroying the aircraft. My response to reading this news article, especially after the plane had just gone through a lengthy restoration, was, "what a waste". It was sad to see a person killed, but to crash a fairly unique aircraft was inexcusable. Keeping aircraft in flying condition is a great idea, but take the fluids out of them and leave them as static displays. Have a screen showing these aircraft in flight so people can see and hear them in their glory. Flying them to destruction is not only a tragic waste, it deprives future generations from seeing and learning what life was life in the past. For myself, I was born after World War II was over, (in fact, when the Korean War started). I never saw these planes in their numbers that the war saw. I did grow up a few miles from an Air National Guard Base and saw, and heard, all kinds of early jet fighters as I grew up. As I grew old enough, the Space Race began. It was a great time to be alive. However, there are few of those aircraft around, even in museums, as most of them were under-powered and quickly replaced by better aircraft. An example that comes to mind was the US Navy fighter, the Vought F7U Cutlass, a tailless twin-engine fighter that, unfortunately, was under-powered and thus, under-performed. Are there any of these around any longer? What if they had replaced the engines? Was there anything else wrong with the plane? I don't know, I'm not an expert, but I haven't seen any in the museums that I've visited. I now live in Portland, Oregon, just a few miles from the Evergreen Air And Space Museum, home of the Howard Hughes H-4 Hercules, better known as "The Spruce Goose". A totally unique aircraft. Next to it, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a North American F-86 Sabre and its US Navy variant, the rare FJ-3 Fury with its four 20 mm cannons and folding wings. There are many aircraft, with unfortunately, some being kept outdoors, including a MiG-29 Fulcrum, a Grumman F-14A Tomcat, and a Boeing 747 . These need to be inside, but the building only has so much room. Ah well, I've taken up enough of your time. Good story and have a good day, Chris.
Very good analysis/history of the P-40! I've read a lot of pilot accounts flying it. Given its ruggedness and wild handling characteristics, some of them are downright funny; although the pilots didn't think so at the time. Most important was that it was adept at getting them home again -- or at least back on terra firma without dying in the process.
* Of mention too, is the fact that the classic P-40 came to be when the AAC insisted that water-cooled engines be on all aircraft in their contest. Curtiss hurriedly removed the radial engine from their P-36 Hawk and ... voila'! However, they did not (or could not) include a two-stage supercharger which would've given it excellent high altitude power and flight characteristics. As such, the Brits weren't fond of it on the Island because it was inferior in a dogfight to the Me & Bf 109's. But it otherwise shone in nearly all other theaters and regions where it was deployed.
*In particular, by the time it reached quantity later in the Pacific Theater, its pilots knew it well enough to really raise havoc with most Japanese fighters. Japanese pilots really did not like to take on the challenge of a P-40. It was hard to shoot down and was much faster. Of note also, while the P-40 could not land on a carrier, it could launch from them and land later on an island base.
*Lastly this P-40N is an excellent example of the lengthening of the later-model fuselages which improved the capabilities of the airframe in nearly every way.
Wonder when this P-40N was with RAAF 80 Squadron it got it's known damage at Noemfoor Island air base. Because when the Kittyhawks return from attack missions. The pilots would like to clown around and show off their skills by seeing who could fly closest to the sand on the beach near the runway. The ground crews would judge the winner. There is old news film footage of 80 Squadron doing this at The Australian War Museum
This was a good subject aircraft to cover. She is a beauty.
The RAAF used them reasonably effectively in the South Pacific, Darwin and Papua New Guinea. The were tough and hit hard. Also were great fighter bombers. No outright match for the Zero but if you knew what you were doing they were effective.
Flown to the aircrafts strengths they were more than a match for the Oscar and Zero.
a collector from England who owned a p40 said something very interesting about this plane in a doco from the early 90s.he said with a merlin in the p 40 it would be as good as any of the other top fighters of this era.he really stated how well made and the handling capabilities of this fine warbird..he also owned spitfires,p51s,a corsair and a hell cat so i found it very interesting indeed.i wonder why they never made it with the merlin packard during the war
They did nothing n the F as L Models but the Merlins were a priority on the Mustang and as such not it many Merlin versions compared to the Allison Versions also to tell the difference look at the nose the Allison has the Scoop whereas the Merlin has no scoop
My great great grandfather which was a navigator and top gunner in the b24 was always escorted by the p40's in Burma. He loved them as they saved him against the Japanese forces. Just a beautiful aircraft.
Below 20000 feet it was one of the finest fighters of the war. Superb ailerons, rugged as all hell, dove like a brick and had good armament. Quite on par with other 1940 through early 42 fighters.
If I had to fly a US fighter in 1941 or 2 that would be my choice.
Excellent, concise, more than I ever knew about P-40 technical details in under 15 min. How did you know that the propeller is not correct? I get how museums like to alter markings to display a desired aircraft, but I think they should stick to the airframe’s true operational history. Maybe the RAF Museum just felt they had to have a shark mouth paint job.
Both the aircraft and your presentation can be summed up in two words: Pure class!
One of the coolest looking planes ever built.
The Warhawk is my favorite WWII era plane. Thanks much for the vid post! Wish there were still more of these around.
Of note, the landing gear rotates 90 degrees as it rotates rearward so that the wheels are flush with the underside of the wing.
Also, the F6F and the Skyraider had similar landing gear arrangements (possibly the same design?).
Excellent look at a pivotal fighter plane. Thanks, Chris.
Chris, thanks for these. I know it’s challenging during Covid but your videos are really appreciated.
Cheers Marc
This really *is* a detailed walkaround. Well done!
Even without the shark mouth nose art, the P-40 shares the same sleek and intimidating presence as the Bf-109. One look at it and you know instantly this plane is built for shooting down other planes.
Great! My favourite WW2 fighter. Don't know why. Maybe because it was the first fighter built around shark mouth like the A-10 was built around the cannon ;)
It's always a good day when there's a new Military Aviation video. Thanks very much!
One of my favorites... thoroughly enjoyed your coverage. Thanks!
Once again, great work Chris !
Love the choice of music in the intro, it just fits so well!
The P-4o was an underdog. It fought over better than expected. Was available in quantity early in the war.
Loved this video. Thank you. While most people I know gravitate towards the P51 or Spitfire; I'm a P40 fan. My favorite warbird.
Bismarck
Thank you for this very good video.
Those small labels on the screen you introduced in this video, showing the access panels and other gadgets are great.
Keep up the good work!
Best.
Probably an outdated design by the beginning of WW2, it was still a capable fighter. I love it.
Not really outdated, just vulnerable to Japanese zero , until tactics changed. In 1940/41, all allied fighters were just as vulnerable to zeros. It’s just that the P40s were so widely used early in the war, that so many were lost. Later models, like this one in the video, were competitive with zeros and Me109s, if flown well by pilots using proven tactics. One of the few aircraft to be used extensively for the entire 6 years of the war, by every allied airforce. Sidenote... when Australia replaced its P40s with mk5 spitfires, the pilots initially wanted their old P40s back, as the spits were less suitable for the typical conditions of tropical warfare. They eventually modified the spitfires to get the job done, but this shows just how the rugged and dependable P40 was so crucial for much of the war.
Excellent job. Love your knowledge of the aircraft and noted differences as displayed.
Best plane walkaround! Love those white graphics that identify and highlight the plane's details.
If you find yourself in London, definitely make time to visit the RAF museum. It's a bit of a walk from the nearest Underground station, but well worth it.
Great overview as usual , not too much , not too little, nice detail shots 👍
Just wanted to say I love the music. Nice tune and fits the video style. Props to the editor
Love the P-40. First model I had was a revel 1/32 scale P-40 . It is so aggressive looking. Great feature using the visual tag comment overlay in,the video Chris.
Great video & I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much.
Hendon (Colindale) is brilliant and I have spent many hours there and in the RAF Museum next door. It is a long walk from the tube (Underground) station though.
Thanks for another great video Chris.
Hendon is such an awesome place, love seeing the he 162 there
This museum is my facourite place on earth
Air museums are fantastic. Since my dad was USAF, I grew up on air bases. During the bulk of the 80's, my dad was stationed at Travis AFB in California (fyi: located near San Francisco Bay.) The mom of one of my best friends, at the time, was an associate curator for the base air museum, so I got to see the place a lot and even got behind the scenes access of the museum which included such things as restorations in progress. It was always fun and extended my love and knowledge of (mostly) military aircraft.
Great video, as usual. Thanks for posting; it was really interesting.
Nice! The N is my favourite P-40 version since the Dutchies used it too.
A very comprehensive walkaround and plenty of pretty shots of this beautiful bird!
Love that plane...High quality video! Greetings from Brazil!
Was FX760 also a P-40N? One interesting thing about the P-40N - if you compare it with older P-40 models, you'll see they moved the horizontal stabilizer further forward compared to the vertical stabilizer. I'm not sure why this was done, but the only other WW2 single engine fighters that share this layout were the A6M Zero and the Ki-84 Hayate. The A7M also had it, but it didn't go into mass production.
Exceptional video. Thank you.
Excellent as always.
OMGOMG. My favourite warbird! I've been waiting for this :)
My favorite fighter plane from WW2 History.👍
The kittyhawk my favourite plane! Its flies so magically.
In wt the plane i flew most im rank 5 and its still my favorite plane
Question in War thunder how much dpes one have to grind to get the P40 and I am guessing it becomes available after getting the P36?
@@omartorres5688 You dont have to grind that far but yes it is after the P36. It may take a few hours to get.
@@Seelz Ade they easy planes to fly in game?
@@omartorres5688 yes, it flies well. It has very good armament and turning
Many people think that the American volunteer pilots of the "Flying Tigers" in China came up with the shark's mouth drawing on the nose. However, one of the veteran pilots of that organization stated that they witnessed some Australian Air Force P-40s with that logo and it looked so good that they copied it. I'm not sure if it was the British or the Australians who thought up that design, but the shape of the nose of the plane just lent itself so well to that image.
Excellent video , educational and informative. Thanks Bismark,,, Jeremy in Alabama.
The P-40 has long been my favorite aircraft, I'm American so I'm slightly biased, BUT my father is British and was in the RAF and I'd be disowned if I didn't also adore the Spitfire and Hurricane with their due reverence.
Cheers, I'm looking to build a P40 model of the USAAF 99th Fighter Squadron so this is all useful knowledge.
My favourite world war 2 warbird in my favourite livery.
Thanks for posting.
Great video. This makes me very much desire later P-40 variants in IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles
I purchased the P-40 DLC for IL2, I have yet to play it in a campaign but am looking forward to it!
I love the attention to detail in this walkaround :) Although, it's giving me a lot of extra scribing work adding some of the panels and hatches that are not on the kits :D oh well..
great presentation and historical commentary, well done sir, thank you! now how about taking her up for a spin? that would be awesome!
Thanks I hope they let you do some more at Hendon and Cosford
Just how was the pilot supposed to access the survival gear? Was it close enough behind the seat to grab if ditching? Or would he have to unscrew fasteners on a panel? Maybe it's a stupid question, but I cannot imagine a more stressful situation than ditching a damaged bird, then wrestling out a life raft or pack...
I believe these guys relied on their inflatable life vest, the Mae West, vs any sort of life raft. I might be wrong on that one.
I'm guessing that survival gear was more along the lines of a more comprehensive kit if you had to belly land the craft behind enemy lines. Or it could have even been a tool kit for emergency repair on an improvised airfield. I'll have to look that up. Everything that I've primarily seen with pilot survival gear at that time was rigged to their harness or an additional backpack.
I believe the first shark mouth paintings on the cowl of the P-40 were with Claire Chennault's First American Volunteer Group (The Flying Tigers) which defended the Republic of China from Japanese aggression from 1941-1942.
Just curious, what does the (?) symbolise? I’ve never seen that symbol used before on aircraft markings
I pretty sure that they couldn’t identify the correct letter to go there
You see it occasionally. There's a Hawker Hurricane that was LK ?.
Squadron commander's aircraft in certain squadrons. 112 and 87 were known for it. 112 did it on both their P-40s and P-51s.
Love the p40 beautiful aircraft.
Thanks mate
One of my favorite WWII aircraft...
What he described as the gun camera port was actually meant for cockpit ventilation. The gun camera would have been positioned in the right land gear fairing. But other than that, a great presentation!!!
A piece of useless trivia; some fighter pilots assigned to the ground attack role preferred the P-40 because it wasn't as sluggish as the P-47 at low altitudes and because its cooling system wasn't considered as vulnerable as the P-51.
This has always been my favorite war bird of all time.
Love the Mosquito, Corsair and P-40 but can't decide which is #1.
I was there last weekend love the place
My all-time favorite WWII fighter! ... Not the best, compared to other fighters such as the P-51, or perhaps even the ME-109, but certainly not bad either - particularly at mid-altitudes. ... What I will give to have one to fly it around the country!
From a maintainer. Red /, Rt trim tab cable has improper hardware, should have castellated nut and cotter key.
I like attention to detail 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Great episode! By the way, you've covered nearly all of the famous WW2 planes - the one gap is with the Japanese army fighters - Nakajima KI-43, KI-44, and KI-84? Together about 9000 were built.
One of my favorites at Rank II.
like always amazing video Bismarck, well done. If you have chance can you do Hurricane at some point?
Da war ich auch schon. Geiles Museum!
Absolut!
Disappointing that this aircraft wasn't restored with its original No. 80 Squadron RAAF markings. Museums these days tend to be much more diligent when it comes to respecting the historical provenance of their exhibits so hopefully this will be rectified in the future.
5:26 Linen. Not canvas. Great video!
My Favourite P-40 variant:)
Very detailed, many doors.
Great video as always and, for me, the best 'walkaround' I've seen for a long time. Can I respectfully ask that you note the correct convention for RAF squadron numbers? 112 sqn would properly be said as 'one one two.' The nomenclature is that for up to three digits the number would be said as it reads eg, 1 sqn and say, 56 sqn, being 'one' or 'fifty six.' Three digits are normally said as individual numbers as in 601 being 'six oh one'. Of course, being British we have to have exceptions to prove the rule like 'treble one' (111), so it can be a minefield! Never, ever, use the practice of adding letters to the number like, 1st, or 617th!
Thanks for the upload - subscribed.
My favorite American plane of ww2. I know not many agree but I just really love the plane.