The Curtiss P-40 had a production run of 13,738 aircraft, making it the third most produced US fighter of WWII. Famous as the "shark-mouthed" aircraft of the legendary American Volunteer Group -- "Flying Tigers" -- the P-40 was first flown in 1938, and was used by the United States and many of its Allies throughout the war. This volume tells the story of this iconic aircraft -- from design and construction to combat use to detailed images of existing examplesthrough carefully researched photos, some of which have never before been published, and which are reproduced in remarkable clarity. These stunning photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, put the reader in the skies with this historic aircraft.
The first USAAF fighters to engage the Japanese in World War 2, a handful of P-40s rose to defend Pearl Harbor from attack on the morning of 7 December 1941. Warhawk units were also heavily involved in the ill-fated fight to stem invading Japanese forces in the Philippines and Java between December 1941 and April 1942 and again in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands between January 1943 and March 1944. This book examines The Warhawk's wartime exploits and all of its aces including 'aces-in-a-day' Mel Wheadon and Joe Lesika.
This book details the colourful experiences of the elite pilots of the AAF's Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces in the 'forgotten' China-Burma-India theatre during WW2. Inheriting the legacy of the American Volunteer Group (AVG), units such as the 23rd FG 'held the line' against overwhelming Japanese forces until the arrival of the first P-38s and P-51s in 1944. The Warhawk became synonymous with the efforts of the AAF in the CBI, being used by some 40 aces to claim five or more kills between 1942-45. This volume is the first of four covering the exploits with the P-40 during World War 2.
Although the P-40 and the Bf 109 joined the air war over North Africa at nearly the same time in 1941, the German fighter had already racked up a considerable combat career, dating back to 1937 in Spain. In contrast, the P-40 was a bit of an unknown quantity and was making its combat debut in the hands of the RAF's Desert Air Force. Discover how the huge differences between the veteran Bf 109 and the new P-40 determined the tactics they adopted and the ultimate outcome of their epic confrontation in this new book. The author covers all aspects of the aerial battle, from the small, agile Bf 109's ability to operate more effectively at high altitudes through to the P-40's advantage in manoeuvrability, which outweighed its poor high altitude performance.
Flown by the American Volunteer Group in China known as the "Flying Tigers," the P-40 Warhawk earned a reputation for its toughness in combat. Facing odds of 6 to 1 in most combat situations, AVG pilots relied on their skill, daring and their aircraft's superior diving speed to achieve victory. By war's end the Tigers had destroyed more than 1200 Japanese planes, with another 700 listed as probables. Their own losses came to 573 aircraft. Originally printed by the U.S. Army Air Force for pilots transitioning to the P-40, this flight manual contains detailed information about one of history's great planes. Originally classified as "restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. Some color images appear in black and white, and some pages have been slightly reformatted. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.
The thrilling story behind the American pilots who were secretly recruited to defend the nation’s desperate Chinese allies before Pearl Harbor and ended up on the front lines of the war against the Japanese in the Pacific. Sam Kleiner’s The Flying Tigers uncovers the hidden story of the group of young American men and women who crossed the Pacific before Pearl Harbor to risk their lives defending China. Led by legendary army pilot Claire Chennault, these men left behind an America still at peace in the summer of 1941 using false identities to travel across the Pacific to a run-down airbase in the jungles of Burma. In the wake of the disaster at Pearl Harbor this motley crew was the first group of Americans to take on the Japanese in combat, shooting down hundreds of Japanese aircraft in the skies over Burma, Thailand, and China. At a time when the Allies were being defeated across the globe, the Flying Tigers’ exploits gave hope to Americans and Chinese alike. Kleiner takes readers into the cockpits of their iconic shark-nosed P-40 planes—one of the most familiar images of the war—as the Tigers perform nail-biting missions against the Japanese. He profiles the outsize personalities involved in the operation, including Chennault, whose aggressive tactics went against the prevailing wisdom of military strategy; Greg “Pappy” Boyington, the man who would become the nation’s most beloved pilot until he was shot down and became a POW; Emma Foster, one of the nurses in the unit who had a passionate romance with a pilot named John Petach; and Madame Chiang Kai-shek herself, who first brought Chennault to China and who would come to visit these young Americans. A dramatic story of a covert operation whose very existence would have scandalized an isolationist United States, The Flying Tigers is the unforgettable account of a group of Americans whose heroism changed the world, and who cemented an alliance between the United States and China as both nations fought against seemingly insurmountable odds.
During the first three days of the Japanese assault on American Pacific bases in December of 1941, the 24th Pursuit Group, the only unit of interceptor aircraft in the Philippine Islands, was almost destroyed as an effective force. Yet the group's pilot, doomed from the start by their limited training, an inadequate air warning system, and lack of familiarity with the few flyable pursuit aircraft they had left, fought on against immensely superior numbers of Japanese army and navy fighters.
In the summer of 1943, the United Nations began Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily. The Eagles over HUSKY - the airmen of the Allied air forces - played a crucial role in the assault. The Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica provided a significant part of the Axis force meant to defend the island and throw the Allies back into the sea. The Allied air forces foiled this effort and inflicted losses on a German Air Force badly needed on other fronts. Raids on mainland Italian railway transport crippled Axis resupply efforts. The same strikes brought pressure on the Italian state to denounce Fascism and join the Allied side. Army commanders relied heavily on tactical air power to destroy Axis forces in Sicily. The result was a strategic victory which forced Nazi Germany to stand alone in defense of southern Europe. Most histories of the campaign focus on the escape of German forces across the Strait of Messina. Eagles over Husky challenges the notion that the Allied militaries bungled total victory in Sicily. It assesses one of the greatest air battles of the Second World War. This is a topic that has been relatively unexamined by historians of the campaign, who tend to focus on army matters. Eagles over Husky tells the integrated story of the air war waged during the Battle of Sicily. The author draws upon experiences, perspectives, and sources from both Allied and Axis camps to inform the analysis and enhance the narrative.
