MODELS
P-40 AVG Flying Tigers
P-40 AVG Flying Tigers:
Officially named the American Volunteer Group (AVG), this band of American mercenaries, hired by China and led by General Claire Chennault, is legendary as the "Flying Tigers".
The Curtiss P-40 was an American single-engine, single-seat, low-wing, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that was used extensively in World War II. It was a direct adaptation of the P-36 Hawk to enable mass production of front line fighters without significant development time. By the time the last plane rolled off the production line in November 1944, a total of 13,738 P-40s had been manufactured. First flown in 1938, the P-40 has been operated by the air forces of 28 countries. The United States Army Air Corps made Warhawk the official name of all P-40s in the US. British Commonwealth air forces gave the names Tomahawk and Kittyhawk to different variants.
The P-40 had good agility, especially at high speed. It was one of the tightest-turning monoplane fighters of the war, although at lower speeds it was not comparable to highly maneuverable Japanese fighters. The P-40 lacked sophisticated innovations but had a very strong structure. Though inferior to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, operational range was good by early war standards, almost double that of the Supermarine Spitfire.
During 1941-1944, the P-40 played an important role with Allied air forces in five major theaters around the world: China, the Mediterranean Theater, the South East Asian Theater, the South West Pacific Area and in Eastern Europe. In the first major battles at Pearl Harbor, the Philippines and in the Dutch East Indies, Warhawks being flown by the US Army Air Force (USAAF) were destroyed by Japanese fighters. After improved tactics and training, the often outnumbered P-40s were able to triumph over the Imperial Japanes Navy and the Japanese Army Air Force in later battles. In the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, although the P-40 suffered heavy loses, many US P-40 aircraft had good combat records and were able to rack up high kill to loss ratios against the Germans and Italians.
Span: 17.75"
Length: 16"
