I don't think anyone is disagreeing, but that's not why the P-40 was not replaced in theatre within the RAF. It was not replaced because of numbers. Having more is better. Let's not forget the Spitfire was a better fighter than the P-40 hands down and was not designed as a ground attack aircraft, but, as you said, sometimes good enough is good enough.
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I don't think anyone is disagreeing, but that's not why the P-40 was not replaced in theatre within the RAF. It was not replaced because of numbers. Having more is better. Let's not forget the Spitfire was a better fighter than the P-40 hands down and was not designed as a ground attack aircraft, but, as you said, sometimes good enough is good enough.
MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
It was obvious that as Operation Overlord approached the RAF had built themselves a serious dilemma. They were heavily equipped with a superb interceptor that was going to be of limited use in supporting the invasion. It was a poor fighter bomber - the Spit IX with two 500 lb bombs had an operational radius of about 90 miles and was very vulnerable to ground fire. Their best indigenous fighter bomber, the Typhoon, had relatively poor high altitude performance, the result of its single stage supercharger, very poor ditching characteristics, and an engine so unreliable that pilots were afraid to cross the Channel if the powerplant was acting up the least little bit. So in some respects, at least, the Tiffie was inferior to the Whirlwind it replaced.
So the RAF had to reconfigure itself as a Tactical Air Force to support the invasion while still performing their most important mission, The Air Defense of Great Britain. And they had to use Spitfires for both of those missions, just because, as you say, the numbers.
The attached superb photo of a Mustang Mk 1 shows one deployed to France for use in directing naval gunfire along the still-occupied coast of France and Holland north of Normandy. It replaced the Spit IX aircraft used by that unit previously. There was not a snowball's chance in hell of doing any daylight air fighting along that route. A P-40 would have been even better.
So the RAF had to reconfigure itself as a Tactical Air Force to support the invasion while still performing their most important mission, The Air Defense of Great Britain. And they had to use Spitfires for both of those missions, just because, as you say, the numbers.
The attached superb photo of a Mustang Mk 1 shows one deployed to France for use in directing naval gunfire along the still-occupied coast of France and Holland north of Normandy. It replaced the Spit IX aircraft used by that unit previously. There was not a snowball's chance in hell of doing any daylight air fighting along that route. A P-40 would have been even better.
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Snautzer01
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Kittyhawk wreck on truck desert
WW2 DESERT RAF CURTISS KITTYHAWK P40 - ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH | eBay
Original photograph of a Curtiss Kittyhawk being recovered by the RAF in the Western Desert Campaign.
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942 Pilots & P40E Kittyhawk USAAF 49th FG 7th FS Batchelor airfield Darwin
Press Photo 1942 Pilots & P40E Kittyhawk USAAF 49th FG 7th FS Batchelor Darwin | eBay
<p>Original Press Photo from 1943 shows what I believe to be a Curtiss P40E Kittyhawk fighter of USAAF 49th Fighter Pursuit Group, 7th Fighter Squadron based at Batchelor Airfield near Darwin, Northern Territory of Australia. </p><p>The large number 26 on the aircraft’s nose engine cowling...
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AH913 Western Desert Campaign
G
Geoffrey Sinclair
might be of interest to you thread on Britmodeller.com - Modelling with a British Flavour
WW2 DESERT RAF CURTISS KITTYHAWK P40 AH913 - ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH | eBay
Original photograph of a Curtiss Kittyhawk being recovered by the RAF in the Western Desert Campaign.
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stug3
Staff Sergeant
80TH FG 'The Burma Banshees'
Geoffrey Sinclair
Staff Sergeant
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Well the EBAY titles are wrong, it was a Tomahawk IIA, originally sent to Britain in 1940, then sent to the Middle East/Takoradi in September 1941 but reported still not arrived as of mid January 1942. A date on the photographs would be nice, stating the obvious it looks like those in messages 583 and 587 are the same aircraft.
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Camera carring in Pod like droptank
Camera carrying P40
Saw this one on Footnote and thought it would make a great and original model Information on this by Cmasher P-40 belly tank is modified to carry a motion picture camera by the 10th Combat Camera Unit in India. Aircraft is most likely assigned to the 51st Fighter Group.
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Army droptank nr 84
ORIGINAL WW2 CURTIS P-40 WARHAWK PLANES PHOTOS (2) | eBay
<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">WW2 WAR PLANE PHOTOS LOT OF 2</p> <br> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">CURTIS P-40 WARHAWK </p> <p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">DOUGLAS SBD DAUNTLESS OR A T6 TEXAN ??</p> <br> <p dir="ltr"...
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Baugher P-40F Warhawk 41-14077 wrecked at Hillsgrove AF, RI Nov 14, 1942
Named Blackjack
Named Blackjack
Org. Nose Art Photo: Crashed Landed P-40 Fighter Plane "BLACKJACK" (#41-14077)! | eBay
Take care. Should you have an issue with any item sold I am of course open to communication to rectify any issues. DO NOT DUPLICATE OR COPY!
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China Sharkmouth
ORIGINAL WWII PHOTO GI / CHINESE IN FRONT OF SHARK MOUTH P-40 AIRPLANE | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ORIGINAL WWII PHOTO GI / CHINESE IN FRONT OF SHARK MOUTH P-40 AIRPLANE at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
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decoy dummy atrappe
Original WWII RESTRICTED Photo DUMMY DECOY AAF P-40 WARHAWK FIGHTER Aircraft 24 | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Original WWII RESTRICTED Photo DUMMY DECOY AAF P-40 WARHAWK FIGHTER Aircraft 24 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
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The P-40 served on because, it was tough, dependable and good enough.
99% of the time it never saw an enemy fighter as its went about its day job bombing the Germans and harassing their lines of communications.
And when it did meet a Luftwaffe fighter? It was OK, nothing stellar, but good enough, it could hold its own to the end.
The little Grumman F4F Wildcat was also a deadly foe to the very end in the ETO, shooting down Me109G's right up to near VE Day, yet on paper, it too was totally outclassed.
99% of the time it never saw an enemy fighter as its went about its day job bombing the Germans and harassing their lines of communications.
And when it did meet a Luftwaffe fighter? It was OK, nothing stellar, but good enough, it could hold its own to the end.
The little Grumman F4F Wildcat was also a deadly foe to the very end in the ETO, shooting down Me109G's right up to near VE Day, yet on paper, it too was totally outclassed.
