Warplanes of the USA: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Tomahawk, and Kittyhawk

Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks

The aim of this website is to locate, identify and document Warplanes from the Second World War preserved in the USA.  Many contributors have assisted in the hunt for these aircraft to provide and update the data on this website.  Photos are as credited.  Any errors found here are by the author, and any additions, corrections or amendments to this list of Warplane Survivors of the Second World War in the United States of America would be most welcome and may be e-mailed to the author at hskaarup@rogers.com.

(USAAF Photo)

U.S. Army Air Force Curtiss P-40F Warhawk fighters on a training flight out of Moore Field, near Mission, Texas, in 1943. The lead aircraft in a formation of P-40's is peeling off for an "attack" in a practice flight at the Army Air Forces advanced flying school. Selected aviation cadets were given transition training in these fighter planes before receiving their pilot's wings.

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps gave the plane, and after June 1941, the USAAF adopted the name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B, and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.

The P-40's lack of a two-speed supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that this was not the case: the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also inflicting a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft. Based on war-time victory claims, over 200 Allied fighter pilots – from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the US and the Soviet Union – became aces flying the P-40. The P-40 offered the additional advantages of low cost and durability, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolescent as a fighter.

A total of 13 Royal Canadian Air Force units operated the P-40 in the North West European or Alaskan theaters. (Wikipedia)

(USAAC Photo)

The eleventh Curtiss XP-40 in flight, circa in 1939. It was used for test purposes by the Materiel Division of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

Curtiss P-40 fighters preserved in the USA by aircraft type, serial number, registration number and location:

Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk IIA (Serial No. 41-13297), based at Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts. Airworthy.

Of the 13,738 P-40s built, only 28 remain airworthy, with three of them being converted to dual-controls/dual-seat configuration. Approximately 13 aircraft are on static display and another 36 airframes are under restoration for either display or flight.

(Ken Fielding Photo)

(Articseahorse Photo)
Curtiss P-40C-CU Tomahawk IIb, RAF (Serial No. AH935),  (Serial No. 41-13390), c/n 16194, ex-Soviet Air Force 194, ex-14th Army,147th FighterRegiment "53", ex-1st Combined Air Division, 20th Guards Fighter Regiment, "71", Reg. No. N2689, Flying Heritage Collection, Everett, Washington.  Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk IIB, RAF (Serial No. AK295), based at Lewis Air Legends in San Antonio, Texas. Airworthy.

(Jasdulan Photo)

(kitmasterbloke)

Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk Mk. IIb, RAF (Serial No. AK255), c/n 14737, ex-Soviet Air Force, "7", painted in the markings of naval aviator Bob Neale, the American Volunteer Group (AVG) leading ace with 15½ kills.  National Museum of Naval Aviation, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.

Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk Mk. IIb, RAF (Serial No. AK301), c/n 14783, ex-Soviet Air Force, Tom Wilson, The Curtiss Hawk Factory, Griffin, Georgia.

Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk Mk. IIb, RAF (Serial No. AK302), ex-Soviet Air Force, Suffolk, Virginia.

(Michael Rehbaum Photo)
Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA (Serial No. 41-35918), Military Air Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK752), c/n 15133,  ex-RAF Kittyhawk IA, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1028), ex-133 Sqn, ZR-J, ex-132 Sqn, FN-H, Reg. No. N440PE, James E. Smith, Stonehenge Air Museum in Lincoln County,  Fortine, Montana.  Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK753), c/n 15134, ex-Soviet AF, "Shirley II", Reg. No. N4420K, Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Airworthy.

(先従隗始 Photo)
Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk IA, RAF (Serial No. AK827), RCAF (Serial No. 1038), c/n 15208, Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk IA, RAF (Serial No. AK863), RCAF (Serial No. 1034), c/n 15244, Reg. No. N7205A, in storage at Fagen's Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota.

(Ad Meskens Photo)

(HawkeyeUK Photo)

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK875), USAAF (Serial No. 41-13575), c/n 15349, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1047), No. 111 Squadron, No. 194, "Lope's Hope", Reg. No. N1048N.  This aircraft is preserved in the National Air and Space Museum (NASM), Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK899), c/n 15370, RCAF (Serial No. 1051), No. 111 Squadron, Reg. No. N94466, "11456 Old Exterminator", EAA, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK905), c/n 15376, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1052), "474580", 47, Reg. No. N40PE, Frasca Air Museum, Champaign, Illinois. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK933), c/n 15404, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1057), ex-Pearl Harbor, "SneakAttack", SU-E, Warhawk Air Museum, Boise, Idaho. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK940), c/n 15411, ex-RCAF (Serial No.1058), No. 111 Sqn & ex-133 Sqn, "X", "Vancouver XIII" & "Popeye X",  Reg. No. N940AK, Banta Aviation, Livermore, California.

(runarut Photo)

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AK979),  ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1064), No. 111 Sqn, ex-Tora Tora Tora, "67", Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, ex-RAF (Serial No. AK987), ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1068), USAAF (Serial No. 42-65406), 104, c/n 18731.  National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AL138),  c/n 18782, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 1079), No. 111 Sqn, LZ-S, Ken Hake, Tipton, Kansas.

(先従隗始 Photo)

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AL152), c/n 18796, RCAF (Serial No. 1082), ex- Tora Tora Tora, 27, 15P, "Hold'n my Own", Reg. No. N95JB, War Eagles Air Museum, Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk Mk. IA, RAF (Serial No. AL171), c/n 18815, RCAF (Serial No. 1084), Reg. No. N62435, Weeks Air Museum, in storage at Fantasy of Flight, Polk City, Florida.

Curtiss P-40E-CU Kittyhawk Mk. IA, (Serial No. 41-5709),  c/n 16701, privately owned in Dover, Delaware. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E-CU Kittyhawk Mk. IA (Serial No. 41-13570), c/n 16786, ex-Soviet AF 20 GIAP, 14th Army "51".  This aircraft was shot-down 1 June 1942.  Jefferson City, Missouri.

Curtiss P-40E-1CU Kittyhawk (Serial No. 41-35918), c/n 18439, RAF (Serial No. ET564), ex-Soviet Air Force, 108, Reg. No. N1941P, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Norfolk, Virginia.

(USAAF Photo)

Curtiss P-40K-10-CU Warhawk (Serial No. 42-9985), c1943.

Curtiss P-40K Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-45946), being restored to airworthiness by private owner in Anchorage, Alaska.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk IA, RAF (Serial No. ET573), based at Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk IA (Serial No. 40-401), being restored to airworthiness by private owner in Sonoma, California.

(kitmasterbloke Photo)

Curtiss P-40K-1CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-45984), c/n 15794, ex-5th AF/49th FS/7th FS, 30 "Swing It", being restored for static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.

Curtiss P-40K-1CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-46111), c/n 15921, RAF (Serial No. FR318), ex-Soviet Air Force, Tom Wilson, The Curtis Hawk Factory, Griffin, Georgia.

(Kogo Photo)

Curtiss P-40K-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-9733), c/n 21117, ex-11th AF,  33, Reg. No. NX4436J, privately owned in Wilmington, Delaware. Airworthy.

(airforcefe Photo)

Curtiss P-40K-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-9749), c/n 21133, 88, 11th Air Force, Reg. No. N239FR, previously with the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon, now with the Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40K-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-10083), c/n 21467, ex-Soviet Air Force, Fagen's Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40K-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-10178), ex-RAAF (Serial No. A29-183), ex-77 Sqn, AM-H, Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona.

(Smiertspionem Photo)

(Gary Todd Photo)

Curtiss P-40K-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-10256), c/n 21640, ex-Soviet Air Force, Reg. No. N401WH, Aleutian Tiger, Texas Flying Legends Museum, Houston, Texas.  Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40K-15CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 42-102 TBC), c/n 234279, ex-11th Air Force, Airpower Inc, Chelan, Washington.  This aircraft has not been recovered from its Aleutian crash site in Alaska.

Curtiss P-40K Kittyhawks (Serial Nos unknown).   Kenneth A. Hake, Tipton, Kansas has two P-40Ks recovered from Alaska being restored to one composite airframe.

Curtiss P-40M Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 43-5508), privately owned in Houston, Texas. Airworthy.

Curtiss  P-40M-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 43-5788), c/n 27466, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 832), ex-5 OTU, San Antonio, Texas.

(TMWolf Photo)

(Ad Meskens Photo)
Curtiss P-40M-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 43-5795),  c/n 43-27483, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 845), ex-5 OTU, 00, "The Jacky C II", Reg. No. NX1232N, American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, New York. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40M-10CU Kittyhawk Mk. III (Serial No. 43-5813), c/n 27501, ex-RZNAF, Reg. No. NZ3119, Tri-State Warbird Museum, Batavia, Ohio. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40N-1CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-104818), c/n 28580, ex-RAAF (Serial No. A29-405), HU-S, ex-78 Sqn, stored pending restoration by private owner in California.

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-104961), c/n 28723, ex-5th AF/49th FG, 8th FS, being restored for static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, Arizona.

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-104977), privately owned in Elizabeth, Colorado. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105120), privately owned in Wilmington, Delaware. Airworthy.

(Alan Wilson Photo)

(Goshimini Photo)
Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105192), c/n 28954, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 858), F, ex-133 Sqn, 78, ex-Pearl Harbor, Planes of Fame, Chino, California.  Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhwk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105270), Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill AFB, Utah. This aircraft is actually a composite of a P-40E fibreglass replica and a wrecked P-40N recovered from Alaska. The dataplates were unreadable so the Hill Aerospace Museum chose the serial number of a scrapped P-40 that had been flown by the same squadron that the wrecked aircraft belonged to.

Curtiss P-40N-5|CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105306), privately owned in Sonoma, California. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105861), c/n 29621, ex-5th Air Force, 49th FG, 8th FS, "Suzy", Lafayette, Louisiana.  Fuselage section from (Serial No. 42-104959).

Curtiss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105867), c/n 29629, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 867), 48, Reg. No. N1226N, Commemorative Air Force (P-40 Sponsor Group), Fredericksburg, Texas.  Airworthy.

(Dsdugan Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)
Curtiss P-40N Kittyhwk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105927), c/n 29689, Museum of Aviation Robins AFB, Warner Robins, Georgia.

Cirtoss P-40N-5CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-106096), c/n 29858, ex-3rd Air Force, 335BU, Dale Mabry Field, Tallahassee, Florida.

Curtiss P-40N-15CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-106396), c/n 30158, ex-RCAF (Serial No. 880), N, No. 135 Sqn, ex-Pearl Harbor, Warhawk Air Museum in Boise, Idaho. Airworthy.

Curtiss P-40N-25CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-24362), ex-3rd Air Force, 342 CCTS, Lawton, Iowa.

(Gillfoto)

Curtiss P-40N-25CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7084), c/n 32824, ex-TP-40N, ex-Pearl Harbor, 306, "Miss Josephine", Palm Springs Air Museum, Palm Springs, California.  Airworthy.

(Goshimini Photo)
Curtiss P-40N-30CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7192), c/n 32932, "O'Riley's Daughter", Reg. No. N10626, Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington.

Curtiss P-40N-30CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7305),  c/n 33047, Lawton, Iowa.

Curtiss P-40N-30CU Kittyhawk (Serial No. 44-7396), c/n 33136, 5, ex-2nd Air Force, 268th CCTU, ex-2nd Air Force, 232th CCTU, Reg. No. N40PN, Cavanaugh Flight Museum Addison, Texas.

(Michael Barera Photo)

(Cory W. Watts Photo)
Curtiss P-40N-35CU Kittyhwk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7619), c/n 33359, IC-Y, ex-372nd FG, Air Zoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Curtiss P-40N-35CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7983), c/n 33723 , Reg. No. N9950, Skyfire Corporation, Dover, Delaware.

(Valder137 Photo)
Curtiss TP-40N-40CU Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-47923), c/n 33915, Reg. No. N923, Fantasy of Flight, Polk City, Florida. Operated by museum owner Kermit Weeks, it is the world's only airworthy trainer-variant P-40.

(Perry Quan Photo)
Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 44-7369) - based at Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas. Airworthy.

(Bill Larkins Photo)

Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk, ex-USAAF (Serial No. 42-105191), ex-RCAF (Serial No. 856), at Hayward Airport, California, July 1948.

Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-104959), being restored to airworthiness by private owner in Wilmington, Delaware.

Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk Mk. IV (Serial No. 42-105526), being restored to airworthiness by private owner in Santa Rosa, California.

(Ruhrfisch Photo)

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (Serial No. unknown), wreckage, Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, Hammondsport, New York.

(dsdugan Photo)

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, National Museum of WWW, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Replicas

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, replica, mounted on plinth at entrance to the March Field Air Museum, March ARB (former March AFB), in Riverside, California.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, replica, mounted on pylon at Peterson AFB, Colorado.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, replica, mounted on pad at Wheeler AAF (former Wheeler AFB), Hawaii.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, replica,  mounted on pylon at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts.

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (Serial No. 191), replica,  suspended from wires in the USS Kidd Veterans Museum in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

(Tony Hisgett Photo)
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk replica, suspended from wires in the Pacific Aviation Museum, Ford Island, Hawaii.

(USAAF Photo)

Curtiss XP-40Q-2A (Serial No. 245722), with clipped wings with four .50 cal machine guns.

(USAAF Photo)

Curtiss P-40 Twin Warhawk.

This is the only photo a P-40 with two Merlin engines mounted on top of the wings over the landing gear. (Serial No. 41-13456), belongs to a P-40C, however, the canopy is from an early Hawk 87.

(USAAF Photo)

Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of a P-40 fighter aircraft. She was head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP).