The P-40 was the best known Curtiss-Wright designed airplane of the Second World War. It was also one of the most controversial fighters, vilified by many as being too slow, lacking in maneuverability, having too low a climbing rate, and being largely obsolescent by contemporary standards even before it went into production. The inadequacies of the P-40 were even the subject of a Congressional investigation after the War ended.

While these criticisms were certainly valid, it is also true that the P-40 served its country well, especially in China and Burma, during the opening phase of the War in the Pacific when little else was available to the US Army Air Corps. Along with the P-39 Airacobra, the P-40 was the only American fighter available in quantity to confront the Japanese advance until more modern aircraft could be delivered to frontline squadrons.

The P-40N (manufactured from 1943-44) represented the final production model of the P-40. The P-40N featured a stretched rear fuselage to counter the torque of the more powerful, late-war Allison engine, and the rear deck of the cockpit behind the pilot was cut down at a moderate slant to improve rearward visibility. A great deal of work was also done to try and eliminate excess weight to improve the Warhawk's climb rate. Early N production blocks dropped a .50 in (12.7 mm) gun from each wing, bringing the total back to four; later production blocks reintroduced it after complaints from units in the field. Supplied to Commonwealth air forces as the Kittyhawk Mk IV. A total of 553 P-40Ns were acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force, making it the variant most commonly used by the RAAF. Subvariants of the P-40N ranged widely in specialization from stripped down four-gun "hot rods" that could reach the highest top speeds of any production variant of the P-40 (up to 380 mph), to overweight types with all the extras intended for fighter-bombing or even training missions. The 15,000th P-40 was an N model decorated with the markings of 28 nations that had employed any of Curtiss-Wright's various aircraft products, not just P-40s.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a USAAC Curtiss P-40N Warhawk fighter that was attached to the 89th Fighter Squadron "Burma Banshees", 80th Fighter Group, then deployed to Assam Valley, Naggaghuli Base, India, during 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 6-inches
Length: 5-inches

Release Date: February 2018

Historical Account: "Burma Banshees" - The 89th Fighter Squadron was originally known as the 89th Pursuit Squadron, formed March 17th, 1942, as part of the 80th Pursuit Group. The Group was composed of the 88th, 89th, and 90th Pursuit Squadrons, and was established at Selfridge Field, Michigan on January 13th, 1942. The 80th Pursuit Group moved to Mitchell Field, New York, in July 1942 to train in the Republic P-47 "Thunderbolt". While there, Lieutenant Freeling Clower designed the distinctive squadron patch still used today by the 89th Fighter Training Squadron; the skull and ace of spades symbolized death in the sky for the opponents, while the clouds and the thunderbolts were for the P-47 "Thunderbolt", the highest flying fighter of its time. In February of 1943, orders came through for the Far East instead of Europe as previously expected, so the 80th Pursuit Group moved to Richmond, Virginia to train in the Curtiss P-40 "Tomahawk".

In May of that year, the 80th Pursuit Group departed the United States for India where they convoyed some 2,200 miles overland to the Assam Valley of the China-Burma-India theater of operations. The 80th Pursuit Group compiled an impressive combat record, providing top cover for cargo aircraft flying "the Hump," delivering bombs on targets in Burma, and engaging Japanese aircraft in air-to-air combat. Their nickname, the "Burma Banshees," was given to them by the natives because of the high-pitched whistling noise the P-40 made during dive bomb runs. The 80th Pursuit Group was deactivated on October 4th, 1945.