The Oscar at the Canal

[PAT303]

Yeah I'm aware of those attempts, though IIRC they basically came to nothing, and I thought the Hindustan effort was about assembling planes shipped as kits, nothing more (correct me if I'm wrong). The Chinese made Hawks were all fixed undercarriage Hawk 75H or M types, and their production ended when the factories were overrun by the IJA. So I think all of the P-36 / Hawk 75 were manufactured in 1940 or prior, or maybe 1941 at the latest if Chinese factories were still making them. And same would apply to any spare parts specifically made for that aircraft, though there was of course overlap with P-40s and other aircraft which used the same engines as the Hawk 75, Wright 1820 Cyclone or P&W R-1830 Twin Wasp depending on type. I think some of the spares and extra airframes that the RAF used came from Iran and other far off places, orphaned shipments that eventually ended up in the UK etc.

Frankly I think if they had managed to keep production going and ramp it up a bit, the IAF could have used some Mohawk IV for a few of their squadrons instead of the Hurricane IIs they ended up flying well into 1945. Spitfires would obviously be much better.

What was needed over Asia were LF models, the RAF fought a low to medium altitude fight with fighters optimized for high altitude, Mk V LF's would have made a huge difference and as for the Hurricane, sending pilots out in those things in 1942-43 as a death sentence.

 

[PAT303]

P-40 was still clearly useful though the whole time it was in use.

Massive understatement in my opinion, the P51 gets the girls but the war was won with the P40, the single most influential American fighter of the ar.

 

[Steamed_Banana]

Yep, that old chestnut.

It was mentioned repeatedly as a problem, though even the middling ranged aircraft like the P-40, Mohawk, and Spit VIII were lacking somewhat in range for the Theater. The P-51A and P-38, though not spectacular in combat in the CBI, had the range to meet the long range missions. P-47 had pretty good range too with external tanks. The Beaufighter as well though they used it mainly as a strike aircraft. The Mossie had trouble with the wet conditions during Monsoon season especially.

 

[Steamed_Banana]

Massive understatement in my opinion, the P51 gets the girls but the war was won with the P40, the single most influential American fighter of the ar.

Important warplane for much of the war but also flawed the whole time, it's a nuanced situation. A bit like the Wildcat / Martlet, the Hudson, the Boston, the Beaufighter, and the Ki-43. It wasn't ideal in every sense but it worked a bit better than expected most of the time. Even the Spitfire was hyped due to it's stellar role in the BoB, but in the middling periods esp. with the Spit V it was flawed and struggling somewhat, yet through a lot of adjustments in tactics and small fixes and improvements it still pulled through when needed. By the time the Spit VIII arrived I think it was almost the ideal fighter plane for WW2.

The P-51 was also, IMO, extremely important, but perception of it is skewed because in it's successful Merlin-engined form, it was really so late to arrive in the war. Americans tend to think in terms of 1944-1945 when they were "kickin' ass", rather then 1940-42 when the US weren't even in it, and 1942 when they were getting their "ass kicked" or 1943 when through a nightmarish grind the war pivoted from losing to starting to win on all fronts. But 1944 was also a period of tough fighting and it's when the victory was secured, and in that period the P-51 and the Hellcat really mattered a lot for the US and the Allied cause in general. It's just not the whole war.

For me though, I find the earlier periods of the war more interesting.

 

[Steamed_Banana]

What was needed over Asia were LF models, the RAF fought a low to medium altitude fight with fighters optimized for high altitude, Mk V LF's would have made a huge difference and as for the Hurricane, sending pilots out in those things in 1942-43 as a death sentence.

They were still using Hurricanes in combat into 1945, incredibly!