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 USAAF Curtiss P-40N Warhawk fighter that was piloted by Major Gerald Johnson, who was attached to the 9th Fighter Squadron "Flying Knights", 49th Fighter Group, then deployed to The Philippines during October 1944. Pre-order! Ship Date: January 2025.

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

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "I Shall Return" - Returning to the Pacific in October 1944, Major Gerald Johnson was one of the first USAAF fighter pilots to arrive at Tacloban on Leyte in the Philippines, as P-38s from the 49th Fighter Group touched down on the freshly carved airstrip. The strip was under attack night and day as the Japanese tried to destroy the American foothold on Leyte. Four hours later, Johnson shot down two enemy planes, over Balikpapan, in Borneo. Thirteen days later, he shot down two more enemy planes, on the lead up to the Philippines campaign.

During the spring of 1945, the 49th Fighter Group occupied Clark Field and were concentrating on providing ground support roles. They were particularly effective in delivering napalm bombs which devastated enemy installations and made an invasion of the Luzon unnecessary.

On November 11th, he downed two more Zeros over Ormoc Bay, and on December 7th, the third anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, he shot down three Oscars and one Nakajima Ki-49 "Helen" bomber over Cebu, for which he received his second Distinguished Service Cross. These victories brought him to a total of 21 aerial victories, a quadruple ace, and he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became Deputy Commander of the 49th Fighter Group until March 1945.

Johnson served as 49th FG commander from March to July 1945, and became one of the youngest colonel in the USAAF. He scored his last aerial victory on April 2nd, when he shot down a Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo", during a fighter sweep over Hong Kong.

During World War II, Johnson flew a total of 265 combat missions. He was credited with the destruction of 22 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus two probables and one damaged, which includes 20 in P-38 Lightning and two in P-47 Thunderbolt.