www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org - U.S.A.A.F. Resource Center

Type: Single Seat Fighter-Bomber
Origin: Curtis
Models: See Variants List
First Flight:
Prototype (XP-40): October 14, 1938
Service Delivery: May 1940
Final Delivery: December 1944
Number Produced: 15,000

Powerplant:
XP-40:
  Model: Allison V-1710-19
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: 1,050 hp

P-40 (Model 81):
  Model: Allison V-1710-33
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: N/A

P-40D/Tomahawk IIB (Model 81-A3):
  Model: Allison V-1710-39
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: 1,150 hp

P-40F:
  Model: Packard V-1650-1 Merlin
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: 1,300 hp

P-40K:
  Model: Allison V-1710-73
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: N/A

P-40M:
  Model: Allison V-1710-71
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: N/A

P-40N & P-40P:
  Model: Allison V-1710-81, -91, or -115
  Type: 12-Cylinder liquid cooled Vee
  Number: One    Maximum horsepower: 1,200 hp

Dimensions:
Wing span: 37 ft. 4 in. (11.38m)
Length: 33 ft. 4 in. (10.16m)
Height: 12 ft. 4 in. (3.76m)
Wing Surface Area: 236 Sq. Ft. (21.92m²)

Weights:
Empty: 6,200 lb. (2812 kg)
Loaded: 8,850 lb. (4014 kg)

Performance:
Maximum Speed : 343 mph (552 kph) at 15,000ft.
Climb to 14,000 ft.: 6 minutes 42 seconds
Service Ceiling: 31,000 ft. (9450m)
Range with Auxillary Fuel at 10,000 ft.: 1,080 miles

Armament:
Tomahawk Mk. IIA
Two .50 machine guns above engine.
Two 7.7mm machine guns in wings.

P-40N
Six .50 machine guns in wings.

Payload:
Up to 1,500 lb. (680 kg)

Variants:
P-40A: Retrospective designation of a single camera-carrying P-40 (40-326).
XP-40F: Experimental aircraft combining a Rolls-Royce Merlin 28 with a P-40D airframe.
P-40F: Production version of XP-40F utilizing Packard built Merlin.
XP-40G: single experimental airframe with armament and fuel tank changes.
P-40G: 43 P-40s retrofitted with Tomahawk IIA wings. 16 sent to Russia in late 1941, and in October 1942 those in US Service were redesignated RP-40G.
P-40J: Proposed turbocharged version. Not built.
P-40K: Re-Engined P-40E. 1,300 Built, 21 of which went to the RAF which designated them Tomahawk Mk. III.
P-40L: Similar to P-40F with equipment changes. 700 built.
P-40M: Re-Engined P-40K. Almost 400 built for RAF who designated them Kittyhawk Mk. III.
P-40N: Major production version. 5,200 built. Changes comprised lightening, new engine and improved equipment. Supplied to Australia, China, South Africa, UK (RAF designation Kittyhawk Mk. IV) and Soviet Union.
P-40P: 1,500 aircraft to be equipped with Packard engine, built to P-40N specification instead.
XP-40Q: Two P-40Ks and one P-40N equipped with two-stage superchargers and bubble canopies.
P-40R: Trainer conversion from P-40F & P-40L with Allison powerplant replacing Merlin.
TP-40: Two-seat pilot transition traners converted from P-40s.

Sources:
Gunston, Bill - The Encyclodepia of the Worlds Combat aircraft, 1976, Chartwell Books, Inc., New York
The Complete Encyclodepia of World Aircraft, 1997, Barnes & Nobles Books, ISBN: 0 7607 0592 5