The prototype Curtiss P-40 first flew in the autumn of 1938, it was the first mass-produced US single seat fighter. When the US entered WW2 in 1941 the Curtiss P-40 was the USAAF's standard fighter, by the end of production in 1944 no fewer than 13,783 P-40's had been built. The Curtiss P-40's performance was inferior to most axis fighters, but this shortcoming was partly compensated for by it's ruggedness which enabled it to survive damage which other fighter aircraft could not. The P-40 is best known for it's use by the Flying Tigers, Major General Claire Chennault's three American Volunteer squadrons operated against Japanese forces during their invasion of Indochina. Outclassed by the excellent Zero, P40 pilots resorted to surprise hit-and-run tactics to successfully destroy 286 Japanese aircraft (many still on the ground) with the loss of only eight of their own P-40's. The P-40's name Warhawk was only applied by the United States Army Air Force P-40s starting with the P-40F variant, a vastly improved fighter powered by the license built version of the British Rolls-Royce Merlin engine installed. It is interesting to note that Packard Merlin powered Curtiss P-40E's served RAF and its Allies as the Kittyhawk following the cancellation of French orders after their surrender to German forces in WW2. | 
