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Summary: Curtiss Hawk 81A Tomahawk IIB aircraft Airplane blueprint for the Curtiss, Hawk, 81A, Tomahawk, IIB ... Aviation history and aircraft blueprints/plans. Curtiss-Hawk 81A Tomahawk IIB (early P-40 export version) Redirected from
P-40 -
The P-40 became known as the Tomahawk, the Kittyhawk, and finally the Warhawk in
different theatres.
Two myths about the
P-40 were that it was slow and not maneuverable. Compared to later
American and German aircraft with 400+ mph top speeds, a mere 345 mph at 15,000
feet (the top speed of the P-40C) doesn't seem that impressive. But remember, in
1940-41 the Warhawk's top speed essentially matched that of the
Spitfire 1A
(346 mph at 15,000 feet) and
Bf-109E (348 mph at 14,560
feet), and surpassed the
A6M-21 Zero (331 mph at 14,930 feet) and
Hawker Hurricane II (327 mph at 18,000 feet).
The famous
Mitsubishi Zero fighter was more maneuverable than the new Curtiss
fighter was, and because of this people came to believe the P-40 couldn't out
turn a hot air balloon. Of course they didn't take into account that the Zero
was the most maneuverable fighter of the time. In fact, the P-40 proved in
combat that it could out maneuver many of its rivals. Other positive attributes
of the P-40 were good armor, firepower, roll rate, and dive speed, making it one
of the best low altitude fighters of the war. Japanese pilots rated the Warhawk
their most dangerous foe at low altitude. (They considered the
P-38 Lightning best at high altitude and the
F4U Corsair the best overall). The P-40's chief drawback was a slow
climb rate, and climbing to escape an enemy was considered suicide.
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