Supersonic26 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Hello everybody, I've been somewhat obsessed with building early P-40s in all kinds of markings recently and stumbled upon some pictures of an NMF P-40C flying at Duxford. The finish seems pretty normal for a US fighter ca. 1940, but I've been unable to find any information on who operated them or where. My other sources exclusively show early P-40s in olive drab over neutral grey (or the Flying Tigers camo) which is pretty puzzling! Can anybody shed some light on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
303sqn Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/16165810724 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDriskill Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 (edited) Per Dana Bell's recent excellent book on the early P-40 ("P-40 Warhawk," Aircraft Pictorial 5, by Classic Warships Publishing), only the first three aircraft off the production line were delivered in bare metal finish. P-40 CU, nos. 39-156, 39-157, and 39-158. They carried wing insignia and the red, white, and blue rudder stripes. These early machines had no wing guns, and various other differences from later ones. The book has several excellent photos of them, and like all the titles in this series, is well done and highly recommended. I was able to google some nice images of 39-156, too. Edited January 23, 2021 by MDriskill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11bravo Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Can't help with that specific aircraft but I know I've seen pictures in the past of early P-40's in NMF but most if not all were retired combat aircraft being used in stateside training units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 You could build this machine, used as a trainer in 1943 and in NMF: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:51st_Fighter_Squadron_Curtiss_P-40C_41-13442.jpg https://www.bravobravoaviation.com/en/curtiss-p-40-warhawk/245-p-40-cu-warhawk-51st-fs-seymour-island-army-airfield-1943.html Cheers Markus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic26 Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 Cheers guys, that's exactly what I needed! So it would either be the very early production CUs with army insignia or training aircraft with air force insignia. Thanks 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
303sqn Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 If you clicked on the link I gave you you would have found out exactly what it is. "During the restoration it was decided to finish the aircraft in the scheme of a P-40 based at Chanute Field, Illinois. Our aircraft wears the scheme of 39-159, a P-40C that was stripped of it’s olive drab camouflage paint and used as a personal ‘hack’ for base commanders." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 This one was flown to Canada for comparison flights with a Spitfire. Chris 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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