Editing Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (section)

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Assembly plant in Iran for American fighter warplanes destined for Russia, 1943 (27167675840).jpg|thumb|Assembly of P-40s for Soviet Union, somewhere in Iran, 1943]]
The [[Soviet Air Forces]] and [[Soviet Naval Aviation]] also referred to P-40s as "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks". In fact, the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk / Kittyhawk was the first Allied fighter supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement.<ref name="Gordon p. 435">Gordon 2008, p. 435.</ref>
The USSR received 247 P-40B/Cs (equivalent to the Tomahawk IIA/B in RAF service) and 2,178 P-40E, -K, -L, and -N models between 1941 and 1944.<ref name="Romanenko"/> The Tomahawks were shipped from Great Britain and directly from the US, many of them arriving incomplete, lacking machine guns and even the lower half of the engine cowling. In late September 1941, the first 48 P-40s were assembled and checked in the USSR.<ref name="Gordon pp. 436-437">Gordon 2008, pp 436–437.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hill |first=Alexander |year=2007 |title=British Lend Lease Aid and the Soviet War Effort, June 1941 – June 1942 |jstor= 30052890 |journal=The Journal of Military History |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=773–808 |doi=10.1353/jmh.2007.0206 |s2cid=159715267 }}</ref> Test flights showed some manufacturing defects: generator and oil pump gears and generator shafts failed repeatedly, which led to emergency landings. The test report indicated that the Tomahawk was inferior to Soviet "[[Klimov M-105|M-105P]]-powered production fighters in speed and rate of climb. However, it had good short field performance, horizontal maneuverability, range, and endurance."<ref name="Gordon p. 437">Gordon 2008, p. 437.</ref> Nevertheless, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were used against the Germans. The [[126th Fighter Aviation Regiment]] (IAP), fighting on the Western and Kalinin Fronts, were the first unit to receive the P-40. The regiment entered action on 12 October 1941. By 15 November 1941, the regiment had shot down 17 German aircraft. However, Lt (SG) Smirnov noted that the P-40 armament was sufficient for strafing enemy lines but rather ineffective in aerial combat. Another pilot, [[Stephan Ridny]] (a [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]), remarked that he had to shoot half the ammunition at 50–100 meters (165–340&nbsp;ft) to shoot down an enemy aircraft.<ref name="Gordon p. 437"/>

[[File:P-40 B Tomahawk NMNA.jpg|thumb|Hawk 81A-3/Tomahawk IIb ''AK255'', at the US [[National Museum of Naval Aviation]], is shown in the colors of the Flying Tigers, but never served with them; it began life with the RAF and was later transferred to the Soviet Union]]

In January 1942, some 198 aircraft sorties were flown (334 flying hours) and 11 aerial engagements were conducted, in which five Bf 109s, one Ju 88, and one He 111 were downed. These statistics reveal a surprising fact: it turns out that the Tomahawk was fully capable of successful air combat with a Bf 109. The reports of pilots about the circumstances of the engagements confirm this fact. On 18 January 1942, Lieutenants S. V. Levin and I. P. Levsha (in pair) fought an engagement with seven Bf 109s and shot down two of them without loss. On 22 January, a flight of three aircraft led by Lieutenant E. E. Lozov engaged 13 enemy aircraft and shot down two Bf 109Es, again without loss. Altogether, in January, two Tomahawks were lost; one downed by German anti-aircraft artillery and one lost to Messerschmitts.<ref name="Romanenko"/>

The Soviets stripped down their P-40s significantly for combat, in many cases removing the wing guns altogether in P-40B/C types, for example. Soviet Air Force reports state that they liked the range and fuel capacity of the P-40, which were superior to most of the Soviet fighters, though they still preferred the P-39. Soviet pilot Nikolai G. Golodnikov recalled: "The cockpit was vast and high. At first it felt unpleasant to sit waist-high in glass, as the edge of the fuselage was almost at waist level. But the bullet-proof glass and armored seat were strong and visibility was good. The radio was also good. It was powerful, reliable, but only on HF (high frequency). The American radios did not have hand microphones but throat microphones. These were good throat mikes: small, light and comfortable."<ref name="Drabkin p. 129">Drabkin 2007, p. 129.</ref> The biggest complaint of some Soviet airmen was its poor climb rate and problems with maintenance, especially with burning out the engines. <!-- statement already made; is there need to repeat it?---Tomahawks' Allison engine was regarded as "not very good but powerful as such". When pushed to full RPMs, towards maximum output, it began to "make metal dust".<ref name="Drabkin p. 130">Drabkin 2007, p. 130.</ref>----> VVS pilots usually flew the P-40 at War Emergency Power settings while in combat, which brought acceleration and speed performance closer to that of their German rivals, but could burn out engines in a matter of weeks.<ref name="Romanenko"/> Tires and batteries also failed. The fluid in the engine's radiators often froze, cracking their cores, which made the Allison engine unsuitable for operations during harsh winter conditions. During the winter of 1941, the 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment suffered from cracked radiators on 38 occasions. Often, entire regiments were reduced to a single flyable aircraft because no replacement parts were available.<ref>Mellinger 2006, pp. 24–25</ref> They also had difficulty with the more demanding requirements for fuel and oil quality of the Allison engines. A fair number of burned-out P-40s were re-engined with Soviet [[Klimov M-105]] engines, but these performed relatively poorly and were relegated to rear area use.<ref name="Romanenko"/>

{{Blockquote| quote=Actually, the P-40 could engage all Messerschmitts on equal terms, almost to the end of 1943. If you take into consideration all the characteristics of the P-40, then the Tomahawk was equal to the Bf 109F and the Kittyhawk was slightly better. Its speed and vertical and horizontal manoeuvre were good and fully competitive with enemy aircraft. Acceleration rate was a bit low, but when you got used to the engine, it was OK. We considered the P-40 a decent fighter plane.<ref name= "Drabkin p. 130">Drabkin 2007, p. 130.</ref>
|source=N. G. Golodnikov,<br />2nd Guards Fighter Regiment (GIAP),<br />Northern Aviation Fleet (VVS SF)<ref>Sokhorukov, Andrey, (translation) and James F. Gebhardt. [http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/golodnikov/part1.htm "Conversations with N. G. Golodnikov Part One. I-16 and Hurricane".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404055409/http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/english/articles/golodnikov/part1.htm |date=4 April 2009 }} ''lend-lease.airforce.ru'', 2008. Retrieved: 26 January 2009.</ref>}}

The P-40 saw the most front line use in Soviet hands in 1942 and early 1943. Deliveries over the Alaska-Siberia [[ALSIB]] ferry route began in October 1942. It was used in the northern sectors and played a significant role in the [[Siege of Leningrad|defense of Leningrad]]. The most numerically important types were P-40B/C, P-40E and P-40K/M. By the time the better P-40F and N types became available, production of superior Soviet fighters had increased sufficiently so that the P-40 was replaced in most Soviet Air Force units by the [[Lavochkin La-5]] and various later Yakovlev types. In early 1943, Lt D.I. Koval of the [[45th Fighter Aviation Regiment|45th IAP]] gained ace status on the North Caucasian front, shooting down six German aircraft flying a P-40. Some Soviet P-40 squadrons had good combat records. Some Soviet pilots became aces on the P-40, though not as many as on the P-39 Airacobra, the most numerous Lend-Lease fighter used by the Soviet Union.<ref name="Romanenko"/> However, Soviet commanders thought the Kittyhawk significantly outclassed the Hurricane, although it was "not in the same league as the [[Yakovlev Yak-1|Yak-1]]".<ref name="Drabkin p. 130" /><ref name="Gordon p. 437-438">Gordon 2008, pp. 437–438.</ref>