Hasegawa 1/72 Kittyhawk Mk.1a RNZAF WW2 Fighter (00721)

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Hasegawa 1/72 Kittyhawk Mk.1a RNZAF WW2 Fighter (00721)
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation started designing a single-wing, fighter aircraft with radial engine, retractable landing gear and all-metal construction in 1934. The resulting aircraft they dubbed the Hawk 75 and the American military called it the P-36 Mohawk. By 1937, over 1,300 had been delivered when the Curtiss-Wright Corporation decided to make a major modification by installing an Allison liquid-cooled engine. This alteration was successful and started a long series of models, the first named the P-40 Warhawk by the Americans. The rest of the aircraft was essentially unchanged from the P-36.

By 1940, the RAF was accepting delivery of the new aircraft that they called the Tomahawk I. In comparison with the Messerschmitt Me-109 or the Supermarine Spitfire V it was decidedly inferior except in manouverability at low altitudes and having a tough construction. The Tomahawk was used in Britain as a trainer and an army cooperation aircraft. It was sent to the Orient, India and North Africa to augment the Hawker Hurricanes. This was the common solution to inferior aircraft, even if the Japanese, Germans and Italians were flying better fighters. The RAF, Royal Australian Air Force and the South African Air Force flew them as ground-attack aircraft in support of the 8th Army in North Africa. Unfortunately, for many pilots they were also forced to use this inferior aircraft as an escort fighter for light and medium bombers against Me-109s and Maachi 202s. It showed up badly against both aircraft, with a high loss rate. The P-40D, named the Kittyhawk I by the English and the Warhawk by the Americans, had an improved Allison engine that allowed for a shorter nose and had the fuselage mounted 0.50 caliber machine guns moved to the wings to allow for a hefty six 50 caliber machine guns that would become the standard suite of armament for all American fighters. A Packard Merlin-engined version was produced for export to Russia, but no models were received by the English, Australian or South African squadrons flying the Kittyhawk. Many versions of the aircraft were developed all in an attempt to improve the performance of the inadequate Allison engines (the one pictured above is a P-40M). None of the modifications made up for this engine's lack of power. Overall, the various models of the P-40 made it the second most numerous fighter aircraft produced by the Allies during WWII. They had a production run of some 13,738.

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