This must be seen (DC-4)

Well, we had better planes.

Oh, wait... P-40's... no, not that...

How DID they do it?

 

The P-40 was better airplane than it has been credited, though not as good as the Me-109 or Zero , it proved its self in a stop gap roll until the P-51 and P-47 came into use. Persistence, tactics, and the bravery of our outgunned pilots had something to do with it but to think of going into action sometimes with less than 300 hours total and maybe 12 hours in type is scary.

 

I think that the P-40E was nearly as good as the Bf 109E and F, especially in the hands of a good pilot, and especially at the low altitudes where most of the fighting over the African desert took place. Heck, the AVG proved that it could mix it up with the Japanese Oscar, which had similar performance to the Zero. Training and tactics could go a long way to overcoming some degree of technical inferiority.

 

The ultimate version of the P-40 was the N, I think. It was lightened by 2200 pounds, had better equipment (pumps and filters and stuff) and the aft fuselage was lengthened by two feet, giving it much better directional control and it was a pretty agile airplane in the hands of an experienced pilot.

 

Thanks, I was thinking of the early P-40 vs. Zero. My Father-in-Law was a Flying Tiger.

He used to describe the Zero as "a plane the size and weight of a Bonanza with a big ol' radial screwed onto the front".

 

Yep - man, what a series of events leading up to that crash...shame.