In April 1939, the US Army Air Corps, having witnessed the new, sleek, high-speed, in-line-engined fighters of the European air forces, placed the largest fighter order it had ever made for 524 P-40s.
French Air Force An early order came from the French ''
Armée de l'Air, which was already operating P-36s. The Armée de l'Air'' ordered 100 (later the order was increased to 230) as the
Hawk 81A-1 but the French were defeated before the aircraft had left the factory and the aircraft were diverted to British and Commonwealth service (as the Tomahawk I), in some cases complete with metric flight instruments. In late 1942, as French forces in North Africa split from the
Vichy government to side with the
Allies, US forces transferred P-40Fs from
33rd FG to
GC II/5, a squadron that was historically associated with the
Lafayette Escadrille. GC II/5 used its P-40Fs and Ls in combat in
Tunisia and later for patrol duty off the
Mediterranean coast until mid-1944, when they were replaced by
Republic P-47D Thunderbolts.
British Commonwealth Deployment in North Africa, 23 December 1941 In all, 18
Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons, four
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), three
South African Air Force (SAAF) and two
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadrons serving with RAF formations, used P-40s. The first units to convert were
Hawker Hurricane squadrons of the
Desert Air Force (DAF), in early 1941. The first Tomahawks delivered came without armor, bulletproof windscreens or
self-sealing fuel tanks, which were installed in subsequent shipments. Pilots used to British fighters sometimes found it difficult to adapt to the P-40's rear-folding landing gear, which was more prone to collapse than the lateral-folding landing gear of the Hurricane or
Supermarine Spitfire. In contrast to the "three-point landing" commonly employed with British types, P-40 pilots were obliged to use a "wheels landing": a longer, low angle approach that touched down on the main wheels first. Testing showed the aircraft did not have the performance needed for use in
Northwest Europe at high-altitude, due to the service ceiling limitation. Spitfires used in the theater operated at heights around , while the P-40's Allison engine, with its single-stage, low altitude rated supercharger, worked best at or lower. When the Tomahawk was used by Allied units based in the UK from February 1941, this limitation relegated the Tomahawk to low-level reconnaissance with
RAF Army Cooperation Command and only
No. 403 Squadron RCAF was used in the fighter role for a mere 29 sorties, before being replaced by Spitfires.
Air Ministry deemed the P-40 unsuitable for the theater. UK P-40 squadrons ,
taxiing at
Medenine,
Tunisia, in 1943. The ground crewman on the wing is directing the pilot, whose forward view is hindered by the aircraft's nose. The Tomahawk was superseded in North Africa by the more powerful Kittyhawk ("D"-mark onwards) types from early 1942, though some Tomahawks remained in service until 1943. Kittyhawks included many improvements and were the DAF's air superiority fighter for the critical first few months of 1942, until "
tropicalised"
Supermarine Spitfires were available. DAF units received nearly 330 Packard V-1650 Merlin-powered P-40Fs, called Kittyhawk IIs, most of which went to the USAAF and the majority of the 700 "lightweight" L models, also powered by the Packard Merlin, in which the armament was reduced to four .50 in (12.7 mm) Brownings (Kittyhawk IIA). The DAF also received some 21 of the later P-40K and the majority of the 600 P-40Ms built; these were known as Kittyhawk IIIs. The "lightweight" P-40Ns (Kittyhawk IV) arrived from early 1943 and were used mostly as fighter-bombers. From July 1942 until mid-1943, elements of the US
57th Fighter Group (57th FG) were attached to DAF P-40 units. The British government also donated 23 P-40s to the Soviet Union.
Combat performance Tomahawks and Kittyhawks bore the brunt of
Luftwaffe and
Regia Aeronautica fighter attacks during the
North African campaign. The P-40s were considered superior to the Hurricane, which they replaced as the primary fighter of the Desert Air Force. Most air combat in North Africa took place well below , negating much of the Bf 109's superiority. The P-40 usually had an advantage over the Bf 109 in turning, dive speed and structural strength, was roughly equal in firepower but was slightly inferior in speed and outclassed in rate of climb and operational ceiling. The P-40 was generally superior to early Italian fighter types, such as the
Fiat G.50 Freccia and the
Macchi C.200. Its performance against the
Macchi C.202 Folgore elicited varying opinions. Some observers consider the Macchi C.202 superior. Caldwell, who scored victories against them in his P-40, felt that the
Folgore was superior to the P-40 and the Bf 109 except that its armament of only two or four machine guns was inadequate. Other observers considered the two equally matched or favored the
Folgore in aerobatic performance, such as turning radius. The aviation historian
Walter J. Boyne wrote that over Africa, the P-40 and the
Folgore were "equivalent". Against its lack of high-altitude performance, the P-40 was considered to be a stable gun platform and its rugged construction meant that it was able to operate from rough front line airstrips with a good rate of serviceability. The earliest victory claims by P-40 pilots include
Vichy French aircraft, during the 1941
Syria-Lebanon campaign, against
Dewoitine D.520s, a type often considered to be the best French fighter of the war. , loaded with six bombs. Some DAF units initially failed to use the P-40's strengths or used outdated defensive tactics such as the
Lufbery circle. The superior climb rate of the Bf 109 enabled fast, swooping attacks, neutralizing the advantages offered by conventional defensive tactics. Various new formations were tried by Tomahawk units from 1941 to 1942, including "fluid pairs" (similar to the German
rotte); the
Thach Weave (one or two "weavers") at the back of a squadron in formation and whole squadrons bobbing and weaving in loose formations.
Werner Schröer, who was credited with destroying 114 Allied aircraft in only 197 combat missions, referred to the latter formation as "bunches of grapes", because he found them so easy to pick off. From 26 May 1942, Kittyhawk units operated primarily as fighter-bomber units, giving rise to the nickname "Kittybomber". As a result of this change in role and because DAF P-40 squadrons were frequently used in bomber escort and close air support missions, they suffered relatively high losses; many Desert Air Force P-40 pilots were caught flying low and slow by marauding Bf 109s. Caldwell believed that
Operational Training Units did not properly prepare pilots for air combat in the P-40 and as a commander, stressed the importance of training novice pilots properly. Competent pilots who took advantage of the P-40's strengths were effective against the best of the
Luftwaffe and
Regia Aeronautica.
Billy Drake of 112 Squadron was the leading British P-40 ace with 13 victories. A total of 46 British Commonwealth pilots became aces in P-40s, including seven double aces. These were not well-liked by their pilots: they lacked
drop tanks for extra range, and there were no bomb racks on the wings. Chennault considered the liquid-cooled engine vulnerable in combat because a single bullet through the coolant system would cause the engine to overheat in minutes. The Tomahawks also had no radios, so the AVG improvised by installing a fragile radio transceiver, the RCA-7-H, which had been built for a Piper Cub. Because the plane had a single-stage low-altitude supercharger, its effective ceiling was about . The most critical problem was the lack of spare parts; the only source was from damaged aircraft. The planes were viewed as cast-offs that no one else wanted, dangerous and difficult to fly. But the pilots did appreciate some of the planes' features. There were two heavy sheets of steel behind the pilot's head and back that offered solid protection, and overall the planes were ruggedly constructed. Compared to opposing Japanese fighters, the P-40B's strengths were that it was sturdy, well-armed, faster in a dive and possessed an excellent rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of the Japanese Army air arm's
Nakajima Ki-27s and Ki-43s, nor the much more famous Zero naval fighter in slow, turning dogfights, at higher speeds the P-40s were more than a match. Chennault trained his pilots to use the P-40's particular performance advantages. The P-40 had a higher dive speed than any Japanese fighter aircraft of the early war years, for example, and could exploit so-called "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The AVG was highly successful, and its feats were widely publicized by an active cadre of international journalists to boost sagging public morale at home. According to its official records, in just months, the Flying Tigers destroyed 297 enemy aircraft for the loss of just four of its own in air-to-air combat. In early 1942, the AVG received a small number of Model E's. Each came equipped with a radio, six .50-caliber machine guns, and auxiliary bomb racks that could hold 35-lb fragmentation bombs. Chennault's armorer added bomb racks for 570-lb Russian bombs, which the Chinese had in abundance. These planes were used in the battle of the
Salween River Gorge in late May 1942, which kept the Japanese from entering China from Burma and threatening Kunming. Spare parts, however, remained in short supply. "Scores of new planes...were now in India, and there they stayed—in case the Japanese decided to invade... the AVG was lucky to get a few tires and spark plugs with which to carry on its daily war."
4th Air Group China received 27 P-40E models in early 1943. These were assigned to squadrons of the 4th Air Group.
United States Army Air Forces . and a captured P-40B in the Dutch East Indies, 1942 A total of 15 USAAF pursuit/fighter
groups (FG), along with other pursuit/fighter
squadrons and a few
tactical reconnaissance (TR) units, operated the P-40 during 1941–45. and in
the Philippines, USAAF P-40 squadrons suffered crippling losses on the ground and in the air to Japanese fighters such as the A6M Zero and Ki-43 Hayabusa respectively. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, most of the USAAF fighters were P-40Bs, the majority of which were destroyed. However, a few P-40s managed to get in the air and shoot down several Japanese aircraft, most notably by
George Welch and
Kenneth Taylor. In the
Dutch East Indies campaign, the
17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional), formed from USAAF pilots evacuated from the Philippines, claimed 49 Japanese aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 17 P-40s In the
Solomon Islands and
New Guinea Campaigns and the
air defence of Australia, improved tactics and training allowed the USAAF to better use the strengths of the P-40. Due to aircraft fatigue, scarcity of spare parts and replacement problems, the US
Fifth Air Force and
Royal Australian Air Force created a joint P-40 management and replacement pool on 30 July 1942 and many P-40s went back and forth between the air forces. The
49th Fighter Group was in action in the Pacific from the beginning of the war.
Robert M. DeHaven scored 10 kills (of 14 overall) in the P-40 with the 49th FG. He compared the P-40 favorably with the P-38: :"If you flew wisely, the P-40 was a very capable aircraft. [It] could outturn a P-38, a fact that some pilots didn't realize when they made the transition between the two aircraft. [...] The real problem with it was lack of range. As we pushed the Japanese back, P-40 pilots were slowly left out of the war. So when I moved to P-38s, an excellent aircraft, I did not [believe] that the P-40 was an inferior fighter, but because I knew the P-38 would allow us to reach the enemy. I was a fighter pilot and that was what I was supposed to do." The 8th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 49th, 343rd and 347th PGs/FGs, flew P-40s in the Pacific theaters between 1941 and 1945, with most units converting to P-38s from 1943 to 1944. In 1945, the 71st Reconnaissance Group employed them as armed
forward air controllers during ground operations in the Philippines, until it received delivery of P-51s. In the Battle of the Salween River Gorge of May 1942 the AVG used the P-40E model equipped with wing racks that could carry six 35-pound fragmentation bombs and Chennault's armorer developed belly racks to carry Russian 570-pound bombs, which the Chinese had in large quantity. Units arriving in the CBI after the AVG in the 10th and 14th Air Forces continued to perform well with the P-40,
claiming 973 kills in the theater, or 64.8 percent of all enemy aircraft shot down. Aviation historian Carl Molesworth stated that "...the P-40 simply dominated the skies over Burma and China. They were able to establish air superiority over free China, northern Burma and the Assam valley of India in 1942, and they never relinquished it." The 3rd, 5th, 23rd, 51st and 80th FGs, along with the 10th TRS, operated the P-40 in the CBI. CBI P-40 pilots used the aircraft very effectively as a fighter-bomber. The
80th Fighter Group in particular used its so-called
B-40 (P-40s carrying 1,000-pound high-explosive bombs) to destroy bridges and kill bridge repair crews, sometimes demolishing their target with one bomb. At least 40 US pilots reached ace status while flying the P-40 in the CBI.
Europe and Mediterranean theaters On 14 August 1942, the first confirmed victory by a USAAF unit over a German aircraft in World War II was initiated by a P-40C pilot. 2nd Lt Joseph D. Shaffer, of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, intercepted a
Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 maritime patrol aircraft that overflew his base at
Reykjavík,
Iceland. Shaffer damaged the Fw 200, which was finished off by a P-38F. Warhawks were used extensively in the
Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II by USAAF units, including the
33rd,
57th,
58th,
79th,
324th and
325th Fighter Groups. While the P-40 suffered heavy losses in the MTO, many USAAF P-40 units achieved high kill-to-loss ratios against Axis aircraft; the 324th FG scored better than a 2:1 ratio in the MTO. In all, 23 US pilots became aces in the MTO on the P-40, most of them during the first half of 1943. On 23 February 1943, during
Operation Torch, the pilots of the 58th FG flew 75 P-40Ls off the aircraft carrier to the newly captured Vichy French airfield, Cazas, near
Casablanca, in
French Morocco. The aircraft supplied the 33rd FG and the pilots were reassigned. The 325th FG (known as the "Checkertail Clan") flew P-40s in the MTO and was credited with at least 133 air-to-air kills from April–October 1943, of which 95 were Bf 109s and 26 were Macchi C.202s, for the loss of 17 P-40s in combat. The 325th FG historian Carol Cathcart wrote: Cathcart wrote that Lt. Robert Sederberg assisted a comrade being attacked by five Bf 109s, destroyed at least one German aircraft, and may have shot down as many as five. Sederberg was shot down and became a prisoner of war. The much-lightened P-40L was most heavily used in the MTO, primarily by US pilots. Many US pilots stripped down their P-40s even further to improve performance, often removing two or more of the wing guns to improve the roll rate.
Royal Australian Air Force , commander of
No. 76 Squadron RAAF, taxis along
Marston Matting at
Milne Bay,
New Guinea in September 1942
F/L Denis Baker scored the RAAF's last aerial victory
over New Guinea in this fighter on 10 June 1944. It was later flown by
W/O Len Waters. Note the dark blue tip on the
tailfin used to identify
78 Squadron. The Kittyhawk was the main fighter used by the RAAF in World War II, in greater numbers than the Spitfire. Two RAAF squadrons serving with the Desert Air Force,
No. 3 and
No. 450 Squadrons, were the first Australian units to be assigned P-40s. Other RAAF pilots served with RAF or SAAF P-40 squadrons in the theater. Many RAAF pilots achieved high scores in the P-40. At least five reached "double ace" status:
Clive Caldwell,
Nicky Barr,
John Waddy,
Bob Whittle (11 kills each) and
Bobby Gibbes (10 kills) in the Middle East, North African and/or
New Guinea campaigns. In all, 18 RAAF pilots became aces while flying P-40s. At the same time as the heaviest fighting in North Africa, the
Pacific War was also in its early stages, and RAAF units in Australia were completely lacking in suitable fighter aircraft. Spitfire production was being absorbed by the war in Europe; P-38s were trialled, but were difficult to obtain; Mustangs had not yet reached squadrons anywhere, and Australia's tiny and inexperienced aircraft industry was geared towards larger aircraft. USAAF P-40s and their pilots originally intended for the
US Far East Air Force in the Philippines, but diverted to Australia as a result of Japanese naval activity were the first suitable fighter aircraft to arrive in substantial numbers. By mid-1942, the RAAF was able to obtain some USAAF replacement shipments. RAAF Kittyhawks played a crucial role in the
South West Pacific theater. They fought on the front line as fighters during the critical early years of the Pacific War, and the durability and bomb-carrying abilities (1,000 lb/454 kg) of the P-40 also made it ideal for the ground attack role. During the
Battle of Port Moresby RAAF
75 destroyed or damaged some 33 Japanese aircraft of various types, with another 30 probables. General
Henry H. Arnold said of No 75 squadron: "Victory in the entire air war against Japan can be traced back to the actions which took place from that dusty strip at Port Moresby in early 1942." For example,
75, and
76 Squadrons played a critical role during the
Battle of Milne Bay, fending off Japanese aircraft and providing effective close air support for the Australian infantry, negating the initial Japanese advantage in light tanks and sea power. The Kittyhawks fired "nearly 200,000 rounds of half-inch ammunition" during the course of the battle. The RAAF units that most used Kittyhawks in the South West Pacific were 75, 76,
77,
78,
80,
82,
84 and
86 Squadrons. These squadrons saw action mostly in the New Guinea and
Borneo campaigns. Late in 1945, RAAF fighter squadrons in the South West Pacific began converting to P-51Ds. However, Kittyhawks were in use with the RAAF until the end of the war, in Borneo. In all, the RAAF acquired 841 Kittyhawks (not counting the British-ordered examples used in North Africa), including 163 P-40E, 42 P-40K, 90 P-40 M and 553 P-40N models. In addition, the RAAF ordered 67 Kittyhawks for use by
No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron (a joint Australian-
Dutch unit in the South West Pacific). The P-40 was retired by the RAAF in 1947.
Royal Canadian Air Force in 1943. A total of 13
Royal Canadian Air Force units operated the P-40 in the North West European or Alaskan theaters. In mid-May 1940, Canadian and US officers watched comparative tests of a XP-40 and a Spitfire, at
RCAF Uplands, Ottawa. While the Spitfire was considered to have performed better, it was not available for use in Canada and the P-40 was ordered to meet home air defense requirements. In all, eight Home War Establishment Squadrons were equipped with the Kittyhawk: 72 Kittyhawk I, 12 Kittyhawk Ia, 15 Kittyhawk III and 35 Kittyhawk IV aircraft, for a total of 134 aircraft. These aircraft were mostly diverted from RAF Lend-Lease orders for service in Canada. The P-40 Kittyhawks were obtained in lieu of 144 P-39 Airacobras originally allocated to Canada but reassigned to the RAF. However, before any home units received the P-40, three RCAF
Article XV squadrons operated Tomahawk aircraft from bases in the United Kingdom. No. 403 Squadron RCAF, a fighter unit, used the Tomahawk Mk II briefly before converting to Spitfires. Two
Army Co-operation (close air support) squadrons: 400 and 414 Sqns trained with Tomahawks, before converting to Mustang Mk. I aircraft and a fighter/reconnaissance role. Of these, only No. 400 Squadron used Tomahawks operationally, conducting a number of armed sweeps over France in the late 1941. RCAF pilots also flew Tomahawks or Kittyhawks with other British Commonwealth units based in North Africa, the Mediterranean, South East Asia and (in at least one case) the South West Pacific. In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy
occupied two islands,
Attu and
Kiska, in the
Aleutians, off
Alaska. RCAF home defense P-40 squadrons saw combat over the Aleutians, assisting the USAAF. The RCAF initially sent 111 Squadron, flying the Kittyhawk I, to the US base on
Adak island. During the drawn-out campaign, 12 Canadian Kittyhawks operated on a rotational basis from a new, more advanced base on
Amchitka, southeast of
Kiska. 14 and 111 Sqns took "turn-about" at the base. During a major attack on Japanese positions at Kiska on 25 September 1942, Squadron Leader
Ken Boomer shot down a
Nakajima A6M2-N ("Rufe") seaplane. The RCAF also purchased 12 P-40Ks directly from the USAAF while in the Aleutians. After the Japanese threat diminished, these two RCAF squadrons returned to Canada and eventually transferred to England without their Kittyhawks. In January 1943, a further Article XV unit, 430 Squadron was formed at
RAF Hartford Bridge, England and trained on obsolete Tomahawk IIA. The squadron converted to the Mustang I before commencing operations in mid-1943. In early 1945 pilots from No. 133 Squadron RCAF, operating the P-40N out of
RCAF Patricia Bay, (Victoria, British Columbia), intercepted and destroyed two Japanese
balloon-bombs, The RCAF units that operated P-40s were, in order of conversion: •
Article XV squadrons serving in the UK under direct command and control of the RAF, with RAF owned aircraft. •
403 Squadron (Tomahawk IIA and IIB, March 1941) •
400 Squadron (Tomahawk I, IIA and IIB, April 1941 – September 1942) •
414 Squadron (Tomahawk I, IIA and IIB, August 1941 – September 1942) •
430 Squadron (Tomahawk IIA and IIB, January 1943 – February 1943) • Operational Squadrons of the Home War Establishment (HWE) (Based in Canada) •
111 Squadron (Kittyhawk I, IV, November 1941 – December 1943 and P-40K, September 1942 – July 1943), •
118 Squadron (Kittyhawk I, November 1941 – October 1943), •
14 Squadron (Kittyhawk I, January 1942 – September 1943), •
132 Squadron (Kittyhawk IA & III, April 1942 – September 1944), •
130 Squadron (Kittyhawk I, May 1942 – October 1942), •
163 Squadron (Kittyhawk I & III, October 1943 – March 1944), •
133 Squadron (Kittyhawk I, March 1944 – July 1945) and •
135 Squadron (Kittyhawk IV, May 1944 – September 1945).
Royal New Zealand Air Force in front of his P-40,
Wairarapa Wildcat (
NZ3072/19) Some
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilots and New Zealanders in other air forces flew British P-40s while serving with DAF squadrons in North Africa and Italy, including the ace
Jerry Westenra. A total of 301 P-40s were allocated to the RNZAF under
Lend-Lease, for use in the Pacific Theater, although four of these were lost in transit. The aircraft equipped
14 Squadron,
15 Squadron,
16 Squadron,
17 Squadron,
18 Squadron,
19 Squadron and
20 Squadron. RNZAF P-40 squadrons were successful in air combat against the Japanese between 1942 and 1944. Their pilots claimed 100 aerial victories in P-40s, whilst losing 20 aircraft in combat
Geoff Fisken, the highest scoring British Commonwealth ace in the Pacific, flew P-40s with 15 Squadron, although half of his victories were claimed with the
Brewster Buffalo. The overwhelming majority of RNZAF P-40 victories were scored against Japanese fighters, mostly Zeroes. Other victories included
Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers. The only confirmed twin engine claim, a
Ki-21 "Sally" (misidentified as a
G4M "Betty") fell to Fisken in July 1943. The remaining RNZAF P-40s, excluding the 20 shot down and 154 written off, were mostly scrapped at
Rukuhia in 1948.
Soviet Union The
Soviet Air Forces and
Soviet Naval Aviation also referred to P-40s as "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks". In fact, the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk / Kittyhawk was the first Allied fighter supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement. The USSR received 247 P-40B/Cs (equivalent to the Tomahawk IIA/B in RAF service) and 2,178 P-40E, -K, -L, and -N models between 1941 and 1944. Test flights showed some manufacturing defects: generator and oil pump gears and generator shafts failed repeatedly, which led to emergency landings. The test report indicated that the Tomahawk was inferior to Soviet "
M-105P-powered production fighters in speed and rate of climb. However, it had good short field performance, horizontal maneuverability, range, and endurance." Nevertheless, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were used against the Germans. The
126th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP), fighting on the Western and Kalinin Fronts, were the first unit to receive the P-40. The regiment entered action on 12 October 1941. By 15 November 1941, the regiment had shot down 17 German aircraft. However, Lt (SG) Smirnov noted that the P-40 armament was sufficient for strafing enemy lines but rather ineffective in aerial combat. Another pilot,
Stephan Ridny (a
Hero of the Soviet Union), remarked that he had to shoot half the ammunition at 50–100 meters (165–340 ft) to shoot down an enemy aircraft. The biggest complaint of some Soviet airmen was its poor climb rate and problems with maintenance, especially with burning out the engines. VVS pilots usually flew the P-40 at War Emergency Power settings while in combat, which brought acceleration and speed performance closer to that of their German rivals, but could burn out engines in a matter of weeks. They also had difficulty with the more demanding requirements for fuel and oil quality of the Allison engines. A fair number of burned-out P-40s were re-engined with Soviet
Klimov M-105 engines, but these performed relatively poorly and were relegated to rear area use. The P-40 saw the most front line use in Soviet hands in 1942 and early 1943. Deliveries over the Alaska-Siberia
ALSIB ferry route began in October 1942. It was used in the northern sectors and played a significant role in the
defense of Leningrad. The most numerically important types were P-40B/C, P-40E and P-40K/M. By the time the better P-40F and N types became available, production of superior Soviet fighters had increased sufficiently so that the P-40 was replaced in most Soviet Air Force units by the
Lavochkin La-5 and various later Yakovlev types. In early 1943, Lt D.I. Koval of the
45th IAP gained ace status on the North Caucasian front, shooting down six German aircraft flying a P-40. Some Soviet P-40 squadrons had good combat records. Some Soviet pilots became aces on the P-40, though not as many as on the P-39 Airacobra, the most numerous Lend-Lease fighter used by the Soviet Union.
Japan The
Japanese Army captured some P-40s and later operated a number in
Burma. The Japanese appear to have had as many as 10 flyable P-40Es. For a brief period in 1943, a few of them were used operationally by 2
Hiko Chutai, 50
Hiko Sentai (2nd Air Squadron, 50th Air Regiment) in the defense of
Rangoon. Testimony of this is given by
Yasuhiko Kuroe, a member of the 64
Hiko Sentai. In his memoirs, he says one Japanese-operated P-40 was shot down in error by a friendly
Mitsubishi Ki-21 "Sally" over Rangoon.
Other nations The P-40 was used by over two dozen countries during and after the war. The P-40 was used by
Brazil,
Egypt,
Finland and
Turkey. The last P-40s in military service, used by the
Brazilian Air Force (FAB), were retired in 1954. In the air war over Finland, several Soviet P-40s were shot down or had to crash-land due to other reasons. The Finns, short of good aircraft, collected these and managed to repair one P-40M, P-40M-10-CU 43–5925,
white 23, which received
Finnish Air Force serial number KH-51 (KH denoting "Kittyhawk", as the British designation of this type was Kittyhawk III). This aircraft was attached to an operational squadron HLeLv 32 of the
Finnish Air Force, but lack of spares kept it on the ground, with the exception of a few evaluation flights. Several P-40Ns were used by the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force with
No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron RAAF against the Japanese before being used during the
fighting in Indonesia until February 1949. ==Variants and development stages==