P-40E-1CU 41-36084 RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET730 Polly Australian War Memorial
Curtiss P-40 Survivors, highlights the history of many well known flying and static displayed Curtiss P-40s in the United States. A list is also provided of other P-40s on display around the world; including location, model and serial numbers, brief history, nicknames/markings, and conditions.
In December 1944, the last P-40 was accepted by the USAAF after 13,738 aircraft were produced. By this date, however, both the Republic P-47 as well as the North American P-51 had eclipsed the P-40 in every area of performance, range and armament. With the next generation aircraft already on development (the Lockheed P-80, Republic P-84 as well as the North American P-86) the Curtiss P-40 was truly obsolete.
Close to the fall of 1944, the USAAF had already surveyed/retired/scrapped the majority of the early versions (P-40B/P-40L) and was in the midst of transiting the remaining combat units from the P-40N to the either P-47D or P-51D. As the war drew to and end, the only remaining P-40 were in several advanced training units (Operational Training Units – OTU’s). These aircraft quickly were struck-off charge and placed into storage.
Unlike the aircraft which remained in production till the last date of the war (where brand new aircraft were flown directly to storage), those P-40’s that remained were truly worn-out, high-time aircraft. The vast majority of these aircraft were scrapped.
Most foreign users of the P-40 also quickly retired there usage as well – the Royal New Zealand Air Force retired their last P-40 in 1947 (but did not scrap the aircraft until 1962) and the last military to use the P-40 operationally was the Brazilian Air Force who used them until late 1950’s.
In 1947 the Royal Canadian Air Force put their P-40’s up for sale at a price of $ 50.00 each. Mr. Fred Dyson purchased 35 aircraft (P-40E/M/N’s) and barged them down from Vancouver Canada to Seattle where he found a ready market for these aircraft. Numerous example of the RCAF fleet of P-40’s were also purchased by farmers looking to strip the aircraft of hardware, which was in short, supply after the war. These RCAF aircraft for the next 30 years would be preponderance of the remaining examples of the P-40 family. One interest fact however; the P-40E’s and M’s were declared experimental aircraft by the FAA and had strict restrictions placed on there operations. The P-40N however, was placed in the limited category (typical for most warbirds). To bypass the stringent FAA limitations, many P-40E’s were licensed by the owners as P-40N’s.
What also propelled the P-40 to popularity was just as the USAF was announcing the retirement of the P-51 mustang in 1950, the Korean War put these plans on hold. People who wanted a high performance aircraft had to settle for these Canadian P-40. It was not until the late 1950’s that once again the P-51 became available but by this time, the Kittyhawks/Warhawks had found a popular niche in the aviation community. The airshow display was becoming popular and having an aircraft, which could be painted in spurious AVG markings, made them a popular entertainer.
In the mid 1970’s to late 1980’s, collectors from the United States started traveling to former South Pacific battlefield airfields and recovered the second generation of P-40 survivors. A vast majority of these airframes were RNZAF and RAAF combat veterans. These recovered P-40’s are still being taken from storage and after a considerable amount of time and resources, being returned to airworthy status.
The third generation of P-40’s survivors became available with the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s and numerous example were discovered and recovered from former WWII Arctic battlefields near Murmansk. Other examples also included airframes being recovered from Alaskan wartime crashes during this same time frame.
There are still numerous example of wrecked P-40’s that have yet to be recovered in China, United States, Canada as well as Russia in addition to the South Pacific sites. One difficulty being faced by those wishing to recover the crashed aircraft from New Guinea is that this government has decreed that these wrecks are to remain where they crashed (and allowed to deteriorate due to weather/vandalism or scrap dealers) with no plans other than hostility, many of these restorable airframes will be lost.
With over 100 aircraft either flyable, on display or under restoration the P-40 population remains in steady growth.
Individual histories[]
Currently empty.
P-40 Survivors[]
Each line describes one remaining complete or partial airframe. Each line is broken down into several sections:
Aircraft number
History
Markings
Holder
Location
Condition
P-40M-10CU c/n 27483 43-5795 (N1232N)
ex-RCAF Kittyhawk III 845 ex-5 OTU
"00 The Jackie C II "
NA-50 Inc
Long Island City, NY
(A)
Aircraft Number describes the type of aircraft and model P-40M-10CU it's c/n 27483 & s/n 43-5795 and current registration (N1232N).
History tells the military history (oldest to newest):
ex-RCAF Kittyhawk III 845,
ex-5 OTU
Markings deals with current markings, codes first then name: 00 The Jackie C II
Holder is current owner or museum: NA-50 Inc
Location deals with eith location where it might be seen or owners address: Long Island City, NY
Condition:
(D) = Display
(A) = Airworthy
(S) = Stored
(R) = Under restoration
(W) = Wreck
(U) = Unknown
If Latitude & Longitude points are given, aircraft is on permanent outside display and can be seen using Google maps.
P-40B CU Curtiss-Buffalo[]
Curtiss P-40B G-CDWH at Duxford 2008, the world's oldest airworthy type.
P-40B-CU c/n 16073 41-13297 (G-CDWH), ex-73rd PS "284", " 284 ", The Fighter Collection, Duxford, England (A) [1][2]note: restored using parts from P-40B's 39-285 & 39-287
Hawk 81A-3 (P-40C) Curtiss-Buffalo[]
Hawk 81A-3 / Tomahawk IIb AK255, US National Museum of Naval Aviation
Hawk 87A-3 c/n 18796 AL152 (N95JB) ex-RAF Kittyhawk IA, ex-RCAF 1082, ex-Tora Tora Tora "27/15P", " 38 Hold'n my Own ", War Eagles Air Museum, Santa Teresa, NM (A) [25][26][27]
P-40E-CU c/n 19177 41-25158 (ZK-RMH), ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET433, ex-USAAF ex-USAAF 347th FG/68th FS, ex-RZNAF NZ3009, ex-14 Sqn,ex-4 OTU FE-F, , " 88 ", Old Stick & Rudder Company, Hood Aerodrome, Masterton, North Island, New Zealand (A) [31][32] note: wings from NZ3201
P-40E 41-35918 Military Air Museum in Virginia Beach, Va
P-40E-1CU c/n 18439 41-35918 (N1941P) ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET564, ex-Soviet AF, " 108 ", The Fighter Factory, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Norfolk, VA (A) [33][34][35][36]
P-40E-1CU c/n 18505 41-35984, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET630, ex-Soviet AF, "V A29-113 "Precision Aerospace/Pacific Fighters Museum, Wangaratta Airport, Wangaratta, Australia (R) [37]
P-40E-1CU c/n 18539 41-36018, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET664, ex-Soviet Navy 25, Pioneer Aero Auckland, New Zealand (S)
P-40E-1CU c/n 18605 41-36084, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET730, ex-RAAF A29-133, ex-75 Sqn "S Polly" - 1 kill, " S Polly ", Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia (D) [38]
P-40E-1CU c/n 18626 41-36105 ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia ET751, ex-RAAF A29-114 "HU-B Come in Suckers!", " HS-B "Vintage Wings of Canada, Ottawa/Gatineau Airport, Ottawa, Canada (R)
P-40E-1CU c/n 18906 41-36385, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia EV131, ex-RNZAF NZ3039, ex-36 Sqn., Museum of Transport & Technology, Auckland, NZ (D)
P-40E-1CU c/n 18931 41-36410, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia EV156, ex-RNZAF NZ3043, John R. Smith, Nelson, New Zealand (S)
P-40E-1CU c/n 19364 41-36843, ex-RAF Kittyhawk Ia EV589, ex-Soviet AF, Murray Griffiths, Deniliquin, NSW (R)
P-40E-CU unknown s/n, ex-AVG "68" John Blackburn, Lake Dianchi (Lake Kunming), China (W)
P-40E-CU 40-598/13473/241 (N64598) currently being restored back to flying. ex-11th AF, Alaska Air Museum, AK (S)[39]
P-40F CU Curtiss-Buffalo[]
P-40F-1CU 41-14112, ex-13th AF/18th Fg/44th FS "Bone Crusher", The Old Aeroplane Company", Tyabb, Victoria, Australia (R)[40][41][42]
P-40N-5CU c/n 28759 42-104977, ex-5th AF / 49th FG (Pilot: Joel Thorvaldson) - crashed: September 1943 - Tsili Tsili, Mike Spaulding, North Queensland, Australia (R)
P-40N-5CU c/n 28813 42-105051, ex-RAAF Kittyhawk IV A29-462 ex-86 Sqn, Keith W. Hopper, Townsville, Queensland, Australia (R) (R)
P-40N-5CU c/n 28954 42-105192(N85104) ex-RCAF Kittyhawk IV 858 ex-133 Sqn "F", ex-Pearl Harbor, Planes of Fame, Chino, CA (A)[66]
P-40N-5CU c/n 29234 42-105472, Bruno Carnovale, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (S)
P-40N-5CU c/n 29269 42-105513, ex-5th AF/49th FG/7th FS "20 Keystone Kathleen" Ian A. Whitney/Australian Aerospace Museum, Essendon Airport, Essendon, Victoria, Australia (R) [67]
P-40N-5CU c/n 29282 42-105526, ex-5th AF/49th FG/7th FS "The Saint", Pioneer Aero Restorations, Auckland, New Zealand (R)
P-40N-5CU c/n 29472 42-105710, ex-RAAF Kittyhawk IV A29-528 ex-78 Sqn "HU-V", Neil Bird (S) note: parts from A29-1134
P-40N-5CU c/n 29606 42-105844, ex-RCAF Kittyhawk IV 864 ex-133 Sqn "T", Pioneer Aircraft Restoration Ltd, Auckland, NZ (S)
P-40N-5CU c/n 29621 42-105861 (N49FG), ex-5th AF / 49th FG / 8th FS, " Suzy ", Lafayette, LA (R) [68]
note: fuselage section from 42-104959
P-40N-5CU c/n 29629 42-105867(N1226N), ex-RCAF Kittyhawk IV 867, " 48 ", Commemorative Air Force, Midland, TX (R)[69]
P-40N-5-CU 42-105915Little Jeanne
P-40N-5CU c/n 29675 42-105913, ex-5th AF/49th FG/7th FS, Monty Armstrong, Melbourne, Victoria (S)
note: forward fuselage & wings only
P-40N-5CU c/n 29677 42-105915 (VH-KTI), ex-5th AF/49th FG/7th FS "12 Little Jeanne", "12 Little Jeanne ", Precision Aerospace/Pacific Fighters Museum, Wangaratta Airport, Wangaratta, Australia (R)[70]
