Editing Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (section)

===Royal Canadian Air Force===
[[File:118 Sqn RCAF pilots at Sea Island BC 1943.jpg|thumb|118 Sqn RCAF Kittyhawk pilots take a group picture on [[Sea Island (British Columbia)|Sea Island]] in 1943.]]

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

In mid-May 1940, Canadian and US officers watched comparative tests of a XP-40 and a Spitfire, at [[Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport|RCAF Uplands]], Ottawa. While the Spitfire was considered to have performed better, it was not available for use in Canada and the P-40 was ordered to meet home air defense requirements. In all, eight Home War Establishment Squadrons were equipped with the Kittyhawk: 72 Kittyhawk I, 12 Kittyhawk Ia, 15 Kittyhawk III and 35 Kittyhawk IV aircraft, for a total of 134 aircraft. These aircraft were mostly diverted from RAF Lend-Lease orders for service in Canada. The P-40 Kittyhawks were obtained in lieu of 144 P-39 Airacobras originally allocated to Canada but reassigned to the RAF.

However, before any home units received the P-40, three RCAF [[Article XV squadron]]s operated Tomahawk aircraft from bases in the United Kingdom. No. 403 Squadron RCAF, a fighter unit, used the Tomahawk Mk II briefly before converting to Spitfires. Two [[Close air support|Army Co-operation]] (close air support) squadrons: 400 and 414 Sqns trained with Tomahawks, before converting to Mustang Mk. I aircraft and a fighter/reconnaissance role. Of these, only No. 400 Squadron used Tomahawks operationally, conducting a number of armed sweeps over France in the late 1941. RCAF pilots also flew Tomahawks or Kittyhawks with other British Commonwealth units based in North Africa, the Mediterranean, South East Asia and (in at least one case) the South West Pacific.{{refn|After being evacuated from Singapore to Australia in 1942, F/L Thomas W. Watson RCAF served for a period with No. 77 Squadron RAAF.|group=N}}

In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy [[Aleutian Islands Campaign|occupied two islands]], [[Attu Island|Attu]] and [[Kiska]], in the [[Aleutian Islands|Aleutians]], off [[Alaska]]. RCAF home defense P-40 squadrons saw combat over the Aleutians, assisting the USAAF. The RCAF initially sent 111 Squadron, flying the Kittyhawk I, to the US base on [[Adak Airport|Adak]] island. During the drawn-out campaign, 12 Canadian Kittyhawks operated on a rotational basis from a new, more advanced base on [[Amchitka]],{{convert|75|mi|km|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Kiska]]. 14 and 111 Sqns took "turn-about" at the base. During a major attack on Japanese positions at Kiska on 25 September 1942, Squadron Leader [[Ken Boomer]] shot down a [[Nakajima A6M2-N]] ("Rufe") seaplane. The RCAF also purchased 12 P-40Ks directly from the USAAF while in the Aleutians. After the Japanese threat diminished, these two RCAF squadrons returned to Canada and eventually transferred to England without their Kittyhawks.

In January 1943, a further Article XV unit, 430 Squadron was formed at [[RAF Hartford Bridge]], England and trained on obsolete Tomahawk IIA.<ref>[http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/1w-1e/sqns-escs/page-eng.asp?id=394 Canadian Forces, "430 Squadron – History".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807191815/http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/1w-1e/sqns-escs/page-eng.asp?id=394 |date=7 August 2011 }} ''airforce.forces.gc''. Retrieved: 3 March 2011.</ref><ref name="Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks of the RCAF">[http://www.rcaf.com/Archives/archivesDetail.php?Curtiss-P-40-Kittyhawks-of-the-RCAF-13 "Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks of the RCAF".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205194746/http://www.rcaf.com/Archives/archivesDetail.php?Curtiss-P-40-Kittyhawks-of-the-RCAF-13 |date=5 December 2017 }} ''rcaf.com'', 2010. Retrieved: 3 March 2011.</ref> The squadron converted to the Mustang I before commencing operations in mid-1943.

In early 1945 pilots from No. 133 Squadron RCAF, operating the P-40N out of [[Victoria International Airport|RCAF Patricia Bay]], (Victoria, British Columbia), intercepted and destroyed two Japanese [[fire balloon|balloon-bombs]],<ref name="Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawks of the RCAF"/> which were designed to cause wildfires on the North American mainland. On 21 February, Pilot Officer E. E. Maxwell shot down a balloon, which landed on [[Sumas Mountain]] in Washington State. On 10 March, Pilot Officer J. 0. Patten destroyed a balloon near [[Saltspring Island]], British Columbia. The last interception took place on 20 April 1945 when Pilot Officer P.V. Brodeur from 135 Squadron out of [[Abbotsford, British Columbia]] shot down a balloon over Vedder Mountain.<ref>Coyle 2002, pp. 214–215.</ref>

The RCAF units that operated P-40s were, in order of conversion: 
*[[Article XV squadrons]] serving in the UK under direct command and control of the RAF, with RAF owned aircraft. 
**[[No. 403 Squadron RCAF|403 Squadron]] (Tomahawk IIA and IIB, March 1941) 
**[[No. 400 Squadron RCAF|400 Squadron]] (Tomahawk I, IIA and IIB, April 1941 – September 1942) 
**[[No. 414 Squadron RCAF|414 Squadron]] (Tomahawk I, IIA and IIB, August 1941 – September 1942)
**[[No. 430 Squadron RCAF|430 Squadron]] (Tomahawk IIA and IIB, January 1943 – February 1943) 
* Operational Squadrons of the Home War Establishment (HWE) (Based in Canada)
**[[No. 111 Squadron RCAF|111 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I, IV, November 1941 – December 1943 and P-40K, September 1942 – July 1943), 
**[[No. 118 Squadron RCAF|118 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I, November 1941 – October 1943), 
**[[No. 14 Squadron RCAF|14 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I, January 1942 – September 1943), 
**[[No. 132 Squadron RCAF|132 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk IA & III, April 1942 – September 1944), 
**[[No. 130 Squadron RCAF|130 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I, May 1942 – October 1942), 
**[[No. 163 Squadron RCAF|163 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I & III, October 1943 – March 1944), 
**[[No. 133 Squadron RCAF|133 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk I, March 1944 – July 1945) and 
**[[No. 135 Squadron RCAF|135 Squadron]] (Kittyhawk IV, May 1944 – September 1945).