Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk II by Airfix

1/48 scale
Kit No. A05133
Retail: $39.00
Decals: Two versions, both Royal Air Force – No. 112 Squadron, Libya 1941; and No. 26 Squadron, England 1941
Comments: Engraved panel lines; highly detailed cockpit; pilot figure; optional aperture for fuselage mounted photo-reconnaissance camera; optional position landing gear; detailed oil cooler intake with option for open or closed cooling gills; separately mounted rudder and elevators; boxed-in wheel wells and detailed landing gear; multi-part canopy; multi-part spinner

History

The Curtiss P-40 had its origins in a modification of the Curtiss P-36, a radial-engined monoplane fighter ordered into limited production (210 aircraft) by the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1937. In that same month, based on the availability of an in-line, liquid-cooled Allison engine which offered a chance of improved performance, the Army also ordered the modified P-36 into production with the new powerplant — and designated it the XP-40. The USAAC was well aware of the shortcomings of the P-36, and knew that its search for a truly modern fighter was not yet over.

The XP-40 with its redesigned nose section and belly radiator scoop was first flown in October 1938, developing 1,160 hp at takeoff and 1,000 hp at 10,000 feet. Its maximum speed was 342 mph at 12,200 feet, faster than the British Hawker Hurricane, but still slower than the Supermarine Spitfire and most importantly, the Messerschmitt Bf 109E. Its overall design and performance continued to reflect the Army’s belief that fighters would mostly engage the enemy at lower altitudes and within 250 miles of their airfields; their primary duties would be coastal protection and close air support. High altitude performance and long range were not required.

In January 1939 the Army Air Corps invited aircraft manufacturers to submit bids for a new fighter. The desired specifications indicated that the Army’s thinking had not changed: Minimum top speed was to be 310 mph at 15,000 feet, time to climb to that altitude was to be in the range of 4.5 to 6 minutes, with an endurance of two hours at 280 to 335 mph — coming out to a maximum range of 670 miles. In the coming war, fighters would engage at up to 35,000 feet, and have a range with drop tanks in excess of 2,000 miles, but as of early 1939, necessity had not yet given birth to such aircraft.

Curtiss entered the XP-40. Among the competing submissions were the Lockheed XP-38, featuring turbo-supercharged engines, and the Bell XP-39 with its engine mounted behind the cockpit. Both were sophisticated and complex designs that would ultimately have their day. But the Army selected the XP-40; it could not match the performance of the others, particularly the XP-38, but it was less expensive and could be produced in quantity at least a full year ahead of the other designs; and it was based on a proven airframe, the P-36, that was already in production and was then undergoing production facility expansion to meet a large order placed by the French government for its export version, the H-75. The Bell and Lockheed designs would not enter production for two years, and it would be 1943 before the P-38 could enter the fight in appreciable numbers.

On April 27, 1939 the Air Corps announced a contract for what it considered its first modern fighter. Curtiss Aircraft was to produce 524 machines at a cost of $12.8 million. It was the largest warplane contract placed since 1918, and dwarfed the orders placed for the pre-production YP-38 and YP-39 planes. In two weeks, another contract for the Republic YP-43 Lancer (which would ultimately lead to the superb P-47 Thunderbolt) followed. These developments signaled the Army’s efforts to prepare for a possible war, less than six months before Germany invaded Poland.

The modifications to the P-40 that would mark its entire production run (ending on November 22, 1944 with 15,000 aircraft manufactured) began with the first batch of aircraft to leave the Curtiss factory: the coolant radiator was moved from the belly to the nose, gills were added, and new exhaust manifolds were installed. Later the long intake above the cowling for the single-speed supercharger that would be a hallmark of the early models was added. Deliveries began in May 1940.

Tomahawk Mk. I

The first batch of Tomahawks, as the British called the fighter, were actually 140 P-40A’s that had been intended for France, but could not be delivered once France surrendered to Germany just one month after the plane went into production. These Lend-Lease aircraft (dubbed H-81A by Curtiss) were so urgently needed that they were delivered to the RAF with French instruments and lettering still in place. These aircraft were lightly armed by European standards, carrying just four machine guns (two .50 caliber machine guns in the nose and one .30 caliber gun in each wing) and lacked armor protection or bullet-proof windscreens, nor did they have self-sealing fuel tanks. The RAF quickly modified these planes, eliminating the lone .30 caliber wing guns and replacing them with two .303 Browning machine guns in each wing. They were designated Tomahawk Mk. I and assigned to RAF training squadrons.

As more aircraft became available and modifications continued, the British sent them abroad. The first overseas unit to get the Tomahawk was No. 112 Squadron serving with the Desert Air Force in North Africa. It was 112 Squadron that would become famous for its shark teeth insignia on the engine cowlings, and it was one of the main Allied air units that attacked Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the aftermath of the Battle of El Alamein, harassing the Germans with frequent strafing attacks as they retreated all the way back to Tunisia. 112 Squadron’s shark mouth nose art would soon be copied by the American Volunteer Group (the Flying Tigers) in China, who would go on to even greater fame in the annals of air combat, widely popularizing the shark’s teeth motif in the process.

P-40B/Tomahawk Mk. II

In September 1940 the USAAC adopted the new version of the Curtiss fighter as the P-40B. They began reaching U.S. squadrons in February 1941 and were deployed to Hawaii and the Phillipines. The overwhelming majority of the Hawaiian-based fighters would be destroyed on the ground in the Pearl Harbor attack — although two would get airborne to challenge the Japanese.

The P-40B had the same dimensions as earlier models, but was heavier (owing to modifications like the installation of armor plate protection), with a corresponding decline in overall performance. This meant the top speed fell by 5 mph to 352 mph, the service ceiling was down to 32,400 ft., and the climb rate declined to 2,860 feet per minute. Its fuel capacity gave it a range of 730 miles, which could be stretched to 1,230 miles on the minimum cruise setting.

Operational Record

In Europe as well as North Africa, the P-40 was no match for aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and could only engage in hit-and-run attacks when pilots were lucky enough to achieve both surprise and an altitude advantage. But the P-40 was rugged and could absorb significant punishment and keep flying. It was often successfully employed as a fighter-bomber against infantry and armor, strafing Rommel’s troops, supply lines, and even enemy airfields when the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica could be caught unawares. It was also used for photo-reconnaissance, although it was withdrawn from this activity when faster aircraft such as the Spitfire and P-51A Mustang became available.

Owing to their solid ground attack capabilities, several hundred Tomahawks were kept in reserve in England through the Summer of 1941, when concern about a possible German invasion finally began to subside. The RAF began to issue them to Army cooperation squadrons, and in August 1941 they replaced the two-seat Lysander aircraft previously employed in this role. After the June 1941 German invasion of Russia, Tomahawk IIB’s from the British reserve force were shipped to the Soviet Union, accompanied by 49 more direct from the U.S.A. P-40’s were soon thrown into the fight against the Nazis on the Moscow and Leningrad fronts, and were the first American planes to see action on the Eastern Front.

The Flying Tigers

The most famous P-40’s were the 100 sent to China to equip the American Volunteer Group in their fight against the Japanese. General Claire Lee Chenault, commander of the AVG, had been thwarted in his effort to get these aircraft, and the planes were reportedly shipped only after the personal intervention of President Roosevelt. The P-40 could not cope with the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, but was able to hold its own against the A5M Claude and the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa. When the Flying Tigers deviated from the hit-and-run tactics strictly laid down by Chenault, their losses could mount, given the superiority of some Japanese aircraft. But they inflicted serious damage on Japanese air operations in China, accounting for 286 aircraft destroyed by the time they were forcibly absorbed into the U.S. 23rd Fighter Group after Pearl Harbor, in the Summer of 1942.

The P-40 was a rugged, hard-hitting fighter that was nonetheless a compromise between the need for high performance and the equally desperate need to get a modern, if barely adequate, fighter into the hands of America and its Allies on the eve of World War II. Despite its shortcomings, the best testament to its versatility and combat-worthiness is the fact that it served in every theater of war, and remained in production until just nine months before the end of the conflict, by which time 15,000 had been delivered to the Allied Powers.

Construction

Assembling this kit lived up to Airfix’ reputation for trouble-free builds — with the added pleasure of a high degree of accuracy, since this mold was newly tooled as of 2017. The fit of the kit was superb, right down to the separately mounted wing fillets joining the upper surface of the wing to the fuselage. Generally this kit required only minimal amounts of puttying here and there, mainly along the join seam of the fuselage halves.

The only notable tricky parts are the following:
1. Don’t overlook the small clear plastic parts (D06 and D07) that appear to be little windows over the fuel tank that was situated behind the cockpit — it is better to cement them in before cementing the cockpit to the left fuselage half. I committed this sin but was still able to get the clear part cemented in where it belonged, although it would have been easier if I’d done it as I’m suggesting.

2. If you opt for the photo-reconnaissance version as I did, be advised that the decal for the fuselage roundel does not quite fit the dimensions of the window for the camera aperture as it’s supposed to — some trimming will be necessary.

3. Airfix thoughtfully provide two two-part canopies, allowing for two slightly different versions of windshield. This was a Godsend, because I managed to damage both the windshield (a glue mishap) and the canopy (stepped on the first one), and had to rely on the others as replacement parts. The canopy in particular is remarkably thin, and, as I discovered, easily breakable, so use caution when handling it. I recommend using canopy masks for this part although I was able to manage without them.

My only complaint, if it can be called that, is that many Kittyhawks went into the field without the dorsal antenna provided in the kit. I was able to find as many reference photos of early P-40’s without the antenna as I did of those aircraft that carried it. Based on my research, the photographic evidence was a toss-up, so I left the antenna off.

Painting

The P-40 is painted primarily in Gunze acrylics, a camouflage scheme of Middlestone (Gunze Sangyo H71) and Dark Earth (Mr. Hobby H72) over Azure Blue (Mr. Hobby 370), this latter color regrettably being discontinued since Mr. Hobby in its questionable wisdom has elected to eliminate its entire 300 series of paints, a truly fine line of acrylics. The spinner and wheels are done in Model Master British Crimson, an outstanding enamel that approximates Blood Red and is, alas, also out of production, Model Master having elected some time ago to eliminate its entire line of enamels.

Although Airfix provide a decal for the shark’s mouth, I opted to paint it on myself in striving to make it look as realistic as possible. I used both acrylics and enamels for this, and with breaks for drying time and corrections, the job took about four days. Detailing was done with MiG Dark Wash on the panel lines, and the exhaust details were achieved using a combination of Model Master Rust, an acrylic, and Engine Oil, an AK Interactive acrylic.

Markings

The decals used are for a machine flown by Sgt. William Earl Houston of Royal Air Force No. 112 Squadron, operating from Libya during 1941. The Airfix decals are excellent, which is typical of all markings accompanying their more recent releases (since 2011).

Conclusion

An excellent 1/48 scale kit of this early version of the P-40. Prior to this, the latest version of the P-40 I’d built was the Revell P-40E in the same scale, and to be honest my favorite version is the P-40N, the last to go into production in large numbers. This kit was therefore my first introduction to the P-40 B/C, since I’d never built the old Monogram kit. I was so pleased with this bird that as it neared completion, I went online and bought another one…I don’t think a modeler can give higher praise.

References

• Profile Publications No. 35: The Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk; Copyright 1965 by Ray Wagner and Profile Publications Limited, London and Watford.
• Fighter by Ralf Leinburger; Copyright Parragon Books Limited 2008; Bath, United Kingdom.