kenbu
07-18-2008, 04:26 AM
In an on-going thread the P51 Mustang is romping ahead as the best U.S. fighter of WWII, I can`t argue this as even long after the war Mustangs were in service all over South America and in the the 1960`s the RAF got a Spifire XIX out of mothballs for training purposes.Why? because Indonesia was still fielding P51 `s and there was a chance that British jets would be facing off to them over Borneo and they needed a fast piston fighter to train up against,.
BUT, I still think the Curtiss P40 was the most IMPORTANT U.S. fighter of the War.Consider this ;when America`s back was up against the wall ,it was the P40 that gave them something to cheer about .In the hands of the AVG ,pilots like Pappy Boyington,Tex Hill and Charles Bond held the line in China against the all conquering Japanese.The Japanese flew wonderfully aerobatic kites ,like the Mitsubishi "Claude", which on paper could fly rings around the much heavier P40.But the P40 was above all tough and durable,using it`s superier diving speed against the slower (but more agile JAA fighters) and shrugging off damage that would have brought a Spitfire ,Fiat G.50 or even a P51 down.On 7th Dec 1941 over Pearl ,two P40B`s manged to shoot down 8 Japanese aircraft!,but despite this the image of the all-conquering Zero was born!
Curtiss`s Hawk75 /P36/40 series lacked glamour (with the odd exception), but like the tough Hurricane (overshadowed by the Spitfire), it got the job done and helped to buy time for more advanced types to come into service.
The P40 served everywhere, with everybody!!; Western Desert,Sicily,Burma ,China,Soviet Union( over Moscow ,Leningrad..),Panama,Puerto Rico, U.K.(flying sweeps over the channel with 2,26,231and 241 Sq. until displaced by the Mustang 1),Pacific,Aleutians ;the list goes on....
The Hawks were piloted by Brazilians,South Africans,Brits,Canadians,Americans,Soviets,Turks,F ree French,Australians,Kiwis ,Czechs,Chinese...not forgetting the earlier radial engined Hawk75`s, flown by Finns (like Kalevi Tervo,15.5 kills!!!) against the Russians!
Sure it wasn`t the best fighter, but it was tough ,it packed a decent punch and it was a brilliant fighter bomber too.Over 16,000 were built and as I said before; it helped slow down the onslaught and bought invaluable time.It`s battle honours include,The Solomons,Guadalcanal, Sicily,New Gunea,China ,Leningrad,Italy ...not bad for an obsolete also-ran!!!
Take care
Kenny
BUT, I still think the Curtiss P40 was the most IMPORTANT U.S. fighter of the War.Consider this ;when America`s back was up against the wall ,it was the P40 that gave them something to cheer about .In the hands of the AVG ,pilots like Pappy Boyington,Tex Hill and Charles Bond held the line in China against the all conquering Japanese.The Japanese flew wonderfully aerobatic kites ,like the Mitsubishi "Claude", which on paper could fly rings around the much heavier P40.But the P40 was above all tough and durable,using it`s superier diving speed against the slower (but more agile JAA fighters) and shrugging off damage that would have brought a Spitfire ,Fiat G.50 or even a P51 down.On 7th Dec 1941 over Pearl ,two P40B`s manged to shoot down 8 Japanese aircraft!,but despite this the image of the all-conquering Zero was born!
Curtiss`s Hawk75 /P36/40 series lacked glamour (with the odd exception), but like the tough Hurricane (overshadowed by the Spitfire), it got the job done and helped to buy time for more advanced types to come into service.
The P40 served everywhere, with everybody!!; Western Desert,Sicily,Burma ,China,Soviet Union( over Moscow ,Leningrad..),Panama,Puerto Rico, U.K.(flying sweeps over the channel with 2,26,231and 241 Sq. until displaced by the Mustang 1),Pacific,Aleutians ;the list goes on....
The Hawks were piloted by Brazilians,South Africans,Brits,Canadians,Americans,Soviets,Turks,F ree French,Australians,Kiwis ,Czechs,Chinese...not forgetting the earlier radial engined Hawk75`s, flown by Finns (like Kalevi Tervo,15.5 kills!!!) against the Russians!
Sure it wasn`t the best fighter, but it was tough ,it packed a decent punch and it was a brilliant fighter bomber too.Over 16,000 were built and as I said before; it helped slow down the onslaught and bought invaluable time.It`s battle honours include,The Solomons,Guadalcanal, Sicily,New Gunea,China ,Leningrad,Italy ...not bad for an obsolete also-ran!!!
Take care
Kenny