Best resource for RAAF P-40s?

[Procopius]

I recently purchased Pentland's The Kittyhawk in Service, but've been advised it's far from the last word on the subject. Can anyone steer me in the direction of the latest and best books or resources on the subject of RAAF P-40s? I'd really appreciate it.

[Sydhuey]

ADF serials web page and the Quarterly newsletters by Gordon Birkett, he is THE Kittyhawk Man for RAAF P-40's. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/home.htm

[72modeler]

I'm thinking @LDSModeller or @tonyot might be your guys; failing that, the Stuart Wilson monograph on the  Spitfire, Mustang, and Kittyhawk in Australian Service would be a good reference, if you can find one! Possibly also in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces  series, No. 38 Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces of the RAF and Commonwealth.

Mike

[LDSModeller]

1 minute ago, 72modeler said:

I'm thinking @LDSModeller or @tonyot might be your guys; failing that, the Stuart Wilson monograph on the  Spitfire, Mustang, and Kittyhawk in Australian Service would be a good reference, if you can find one! Possibly also in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces  series, No. 38 Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces of the RAF and Commonwealth.

Mike

Hi Mike,

 

Thank you for the kind mention, but Syd in his post above, gave the best

course of action for Procopius's query above that

 

Thanks

 

Alan

[Mark Joyce]

One of my favorite books is Russell Brown's "Desert Warriors: The Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa 1941-1943."  Hard to find now, and not necessarily geared towards modeller's, nevertheless it's a great read with some nice photographs and well-done plane profiles.

 

I can also recommend Michael Veitch's "44 Days: 75 Squadron and the Fight for Australia" and Peter Ewer's "Storm over Kokoda: Australia's Epic Battle for the Skies of New Guinea, 1942." Again, not necessarily modelling books but they get the juices flowing.

 

I'm sure there are others besides these and the others already mentioned, but they are ones that come to mind.

 

Here are a couple of websites:

https://www.3squadron.org.au/

https://www.450squadronraaf.org.au/home.html

They and others probably have Facebook pages but I don't do Facebook.

 

"Buz" is a frequent commentator on this forum and has loads of useful information about the P-40s you are interested in as well.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[JohnMacG]

If you're looking for EARLY RAAF use of the Kittyhawk by No75 Squadron over Aus/New Guinea -go for - South Pacific Air War Volume 2: The Struggle for Moresby March - April 1942. Widely available on Amazon/E-Bay

Much info, pics & csvs.

[Peter Roberts]

Magpie 22 - looks in here from time to time

 

[Ed Russell]

19 hours ago, Sydhuey said:

ADF serials web page and the Quarterly newsletters by Gordon Birkett,

http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a29.htm

Yes indeed. Gordon Birkett and Buz Busby are the Kittyhawk experts along with Steve Mackenzie. Anything these guys write is worth reading.

[Hornet133]

@ProcopiusTo gather the info in one post:

 

Pentland's The Kittyhawk in Service

Pentland's RAAF Camouflage & Markings books

ADF serials web page and the Quarterly newsletters by Gordon Birkett (http://www.adf-serials.com.au/home.htm) - good for background info on the airframes, not so good for markings & colours

Stuart Wilson monograph on the  Spitfire, Mustang, and Kittyhawk in Australian Service

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces  series, No. 38 Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces of the RAF and Commonwealth

Russell Brown's "Desert Warriors: The Australian P-40 Pilots at War in the Middle East and North Africa 1941-1943

Michael Veitch's "44 Days: 75 Squadron and the Fight for Australia"

Peter Ewer's "Storm over Kokoda: Australia's Epic Battle for the Skies of New Guinea, 1942

South Pacific Air War Volume 2: The Struggle for Moresby March - April 1942

https://www.3squadron.org.au/

https://www.450squadronraaf.org.au/home.html

 

The following researchers who post regularly on Britmodeller, Aussie Modeller forums etc

Craig Buzby 'Buz'

Peter May 'Ozhawk40'

'Magpie22'

myself (Steve Mackenzie) 'Hornet133'

 

May I suggest you go thru my articles on IPMS (NSW) website - www.ipmsnsw.com/magazine for many on RAAF P-40s. These are written from the modeller's point of view.

 

Steve Mackenzie

 

[Red Rat]

Not a modelling reference, but if you can track down "Bluey Truscott" by Ivan Southall, it's good for a bit of background flavour. It's one of the books passed onto me by my father when I was a kid, something that fostered an interest in aviation that endures to this day. It probably covers Bluey's experiences with 452 squadron Spitfires more than his time on Kittyhawks but there's a good section on Milne Bay and he was a pretty interesting guy. Actually, you might find the Spitfire coverage worth the admission charge anyway (I must admit to following your posts like some sort of stalker...).

 

If the links posted above by Steve pique your interest about 3 & 450 squadrons, there are biographies of Nicky Barr and Clive Caldwell that flesh out the official histories nicely.

There is also "You Live But Once", the autobiography of own personal hero, Bobby Gibbes but it's as rare as rocking horse manure. My wife tracked down a copy for me at exorbitant expense and it's now one of my prized possessions.

 

I look forward to seeing some Procopius magic performed on some RAAF subjects - you might even inspire me to dust off some of the stash!

 

Dave

[malpaso]

But the Pentland book is a nice thing in itself.  Sometimes I prefer older books where everyone involved actually had to make a strong effort to get a quality production published, whereas it seems now a book can be churned out without concern as to grammar, proofing or writing style.  And my copy had survived 45 years with its Kookaburra publications customer evaluation sheet still present when I got it!  Probably a bit late to submit now...

Cheers
Will 

[rhagger]

some colour film from Milne Bay including Kittyhawks if of any help

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C217951

regards,

Robert