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Aviation / Aerospace

Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk

Single-Seat. Single-Engine Monoplane Fighter Aircraft [ 1941 ]

The Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk designation covered P-40B and P-40C Warhawk models destined for Europe and elsewhere.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/01/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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The Curtiss P-40 "Tomahawk" became an offshoot of the classic American P-40 "Warhawk" monoplane fighter and were made up of early-form production Warhawks - namely the P-40, P-40B and P-40C models becoming the "Tomahawk I", "Tomahawk IIA" and "Tomahawk IIB" respectively. The B- and C-models were slightly improved forms of the base P-40 with more machine gun firepower and increased survivability and these marks gained considerable fighting experience in the skies over Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Southeast Asia and along the East Front. Lend-Lease ensured availability to many of the primary Allied players including Britain, Australia, Canada and the Soviet Union.

The initial U.S. Army order for Warhawks constituted 524 aircraft of which 199 of these were of the P-40 mark with the export designation of Hawk 81A being assigned. Deliveries began in June of 1940. These aircraft were very lightly armed by comparison to frontline fighters of the day - 2 x 0.50 caliber heavy machine guns fitted to the engine cowling were all that the pilot could muster against a target. Additionally these aircraft were delivered without cockpit armoring of any kind and - perhaps most importantly - lacked self-sealing fuel tanks despite Curtiss designers having the experience of observing the expanding air war over Europe.

Because of the need for modern fighting aircraft in Europe, powers like Britain and France came to the United States for help and this led to easing of foreign sales for American aero companies. Both countries then ordered the new American fighter in number and Curtiss obliged. Despite the numbers eating into a standing U.S. Army order, the branch adopted a wait-and-see policy against the aircraft for it knew the design could be made better at the expense of combat exposure brought on through foreign service.

The French order came to naught for the country fell to the Germans before any P-40s could be delivered. These, instead, went to the British but they lacked armoring and self-sealing fuel tanks. These were designated as "Tomahawk Mk I". The aircraft proved to be poor performers as fighters against modern German foes and were ultimately relegated to the low-level tactical reconnaissance role (P-40s generally suffered in high-altitude fighting, making them inferior to enemy aircraft like the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 series fighters).

For the British order it was requested that wing armament be added - four 0.30 caliber machine guns in all, two per wing. This was to be coupled with the existing 0.50 caliber set already in the engine cowling to promote far better firepower than originally anticipated by Curtiss. This promptly led to a quick wing redesign to make the room necessary for the new gun installations. The new four-gunned wings proved tempting enough that the U.S. Army pulled forty-four of them from Curtiss lines, added them to P-40 fuselages and created the P-40G designation. Some of this stock was sent to the Soviets via Lend-Lease while the rest stayed in the American inventory.©MilitaryFactory.com

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The original French order for Warhawks, now becoming British Tomahawk Is, were further addressed to acquiesce to new British requirements for the P-40. Ninety aircraft were modified to have armoring and self-sealing fuel tanks, reversed throttle controls and British instrumentation - producing the "Tomahawk IIA" designation. Twenty-more were added as new-builds from Curtiss lines.

Then came an order for 930 "Tomahawk IIB" models which replaced the original American 0.30 caliber wing guns with British 0.303-inch guns. This variant was also given provision for a jettisonable ventral fuel tank, featured British instrumentation and installed with an updated fuel delivery system.

Tomahawks were fielded by British and Commonwealth forces over Europe, during the North African Campaign, across Southeast Asia and around the Mediterranean. It was in the desert campaign that the Warhawk received its iconic "shark's mouth" nose decal - a detail later featured on American-piloted P-40s in China against the Japanese.

About 100 aircraft of the British order were sectioned off for delivery to China following a Chinese government purchase of the modern fighter. These were assembled locally and eventually fielded with volunteer American pilots at the controls through the "American Volunteer Group" - or AVG. The AVG served as indirect American involvement against Japan with the force made up of Army, Navy and Marine airmen.

For the various services of the world employing the Tomahawk, the type served well for its time though it was outclassed as a frontline fighting machine in short order. Those that managed to fight on for a period longer were done in by lack of spares. Others were simply surpassed technologically by the arrival of superior Supermarine Spitfires and North American P-51 Mustangs.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1941

Origin

United States

Status

RETIRED
Not in Service.

Crew

1

Production

1,180
UNITS

Curtiss-Wright Corporation - USA

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Australia; Canada; France; Soviet Union; United Kingdom; United States

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

Length

31.7 ft
(9.66 m)

Width/Span

37.3 ft
(11.36 m)

Height

12.3 ft
(3.75 m)

Empty Wgt

5,600 lb
(2,540 kg)

MTOW

7,606 lb
(3,450 kg)

Wgt Diff

+2,006 lb
(+910 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk IIA production variant)

Installed: 1 x Allison V-1710-33 liquid-cooled inline piston engine developing 1,040 horsepower.

Max Speed

351 mph
(565 kph | 305 kts)

Ceiling

32,398 ft
(9,875 m | 6 mi)

Range

730 mi
(1,175 km | 2,176 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,860 ft/min
(872 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk IIA production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
2 x 0.50 caliber heavy machine guns in engine cowling
4 x 0.30 caliber OR 0.303 inch medium machine guns in wings (two guns to a wing).

OPTIONAL:
Conventional drop bombs carried under the wings.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 3

Mounting Points

-

3

1

2

-

HARDPOINT(S) KEY:

X

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

COLOR KEY:

Fuselage Centerline

Fuselage Port/Wingroot

Fuselage Starboard/Wingroot

Wing/Underwing

Wingtip Mount(s)

Internal Bay(s)

Not Used

Note: Diagram above does not take into account inline hardpoints (mounting positions seated one-behind-the-other).

P-40 Tomahawk - Base Series Designation

P-40 "Tomahawk Mk I" (P-40 / Hawk 81A) - Original fighter form.

P-40B "Tomahawk Mk IIA" (P-40B) - 4 x wing machine guns; cockpit armoring; self-sealing fuel tanks.

P-40C "Tomahawk Mk IIB" (P-40C) - Self-sealing fuel tanks, ventral jettisonable fuel tank; bomb provisions.

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