The Curtiss Kittyhawk

Called the Warhawk in American service, the Curtiss P-40 was the most numerous fighter type on hand when the United States entered the war in December 1941. A development of the Curtiss P-36, the P-40 was essentially a P-36 equipped with an inline Allison V12 V-1710. The French were the first to express an interest in this model, known as the H-81, having already ordered the export version of the P-36 (the H-75). The H-81 would later be purchased by the USAAC and the RAF (as the Tomahawk). Curtiss continued to improve the breed and a new production model, the H-87, was soon available with a new version of the V-1710 that had a spur-gear reduction mechanism, raising the engine thrust line. This caused the nose profile to be redesigned, hence the new designation. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), wanting to reinforce its defensive fighter force. Consequently, an agreement was reached with Britain and 72 Kittyhawk Mk.Is (P-40Es) bought by the British Purchasing Commission were diverted to Canada. Later on, other Kittyhawks were delivered and in all eight fighter squadrons were eventually equipped (Nos 14, 111, 118, 130, 132, 133, 135 and 163) and served until the end of the war, not only in Canada, but also in Alaska where the RCAF deployed a fighter squadron to reinforce the USAAF in the Aleutians and to fight against the Japanese. The book is illustrated with 40 photographs and 6 colour profiles.