Editing Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (section)

===Chinese Air Force===

====Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group)====
[[File:Hells Angels, Flying Tigers 1942.jpg|thumb|3rd Squadron Hell's Angels, Flying Tigers over China, photographed in 1942 by AVG pilot [[Robert T. Smith]].{{Refn|Smith commented on the challenge of taking this photo while "scanning the surrounding sky every few seconds to make sure no Jap fighters were about to ambush us".<ref>Ford, Daniel. [http://www.warbirdforum.com/rttommis.htm "R.T. Smith's photo of the AVG Tomahawks".] ''warbirdforum.com''. Retrieved: 20 July 2011.</ref>|group=N}}]]
The [[Flying Tigers]], known officially as the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), were a unit of the [[Republic of China Air Force|Chinese Air Force]], recruited from amongst US Navy, Marine Corps and Army aviators and ground crew.

AVG leader Claire Chennault received crated Model Bs which his airmen assembled in Burma at the end of 1941, adding self-sealing fuel tanks and a second pair of wing guns, such that the aircraft became a hybrid of B and C models.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zbr_z99E54QC&pg=PA47 |page=47 |title=Claire Chennault: Flying Tiger |last=Rice |first=Earle |date=2003 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=9780791072172}}</ref> These were not well-liked by their pilots: they lacked [[drop tank]]s for extra range, and there were no bomb racks on the wings. Chennault considered the liquid-cooled engine vulnerable in combat because a single bullet through the coolant system would cause the engine to overheat in minutes. The Tomahawks also had no radios, so the AVG improvised by installing a fragile radio transceiver, the RCA-7-H, which had been built for a Piper Cub. Because the plane had a single-stage low-altitude supercharger,<ref>02-5AD-1 V-1710-35 Operating and Flight Instructions dated 1941-10-25</ref> its effective ceiling was about {{convert|25000|ft|m}}. The most critical problem was the lack of spare parts; the only source was from damaged aircraft. The planes were viewed as cast-offs that no one else wanted, dangerous and difficult to fly. But the pilots did appreciate some of the planes' features. There were two heavy sheets of steel behind the pilot's head and back that offered solid protection, and overall the planes were ruggedly constructed.<ref>Schultz, Duane. 1987. ''The Maverick War, Chennault and the Flying Tigers''. St. Martin's Press, 335 pp.</ref>

Compared to opposing Japanese fighters, the P-40B's strengths were that it was sturdy, well-armed, faster in a dive and possessed an excellent rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of the Japanese Army air arm's [[Nakajima Ki-27]]s and Ki-43s, nor the much more famous Zero naval fighter in slow, turning dogfights, at higher speeds the P-40s were more than a match. Chennault trained his pilots to use the P-40's particular performance advantages.<ref>Rossi, J.R. [http://www.flyingtigersavg.22web.org/tiger1.htm "History: The Flying Tigers - American Volunteer Group - Chinese Air Force".] ''flyingtigersavg.22web.org'', 1998. Retrieved: 4 August 2011.</ref> The P-40 had a higher dive speed than any Japanese fighter aircraft of the early war years, for example, and could exploit so-called "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The AVG was highly successful, and its feats were widely publicized by an active cadre of international journalists to boost sagging public morale at home. According to its official records, in just {{frac|6|1|2}} months, the Flying Tigers destroyed 297 enemy aircraft for the loss of just four of its own in air-to-air combat.

In early 1942, the AVG received a small number of Model E's. Each came equipped with a radio, six .50-caliber machine guns, and auxiliary bomb racks that could hold 35-lb fragmentation bombs. Chennault's armorer added bomb racks for 570-lb Russian bombs, which the Chinese had in abundance. These planes were used in the battle of the [[Salween River]] Gorge in late May 1942, which kept the Japanese from entering China from Burma and threatening Kunming. Spare parts, however, remained in short supply. "Scores of new planes...were now in India, and there they stayed—in case the Japanese decided to invade... the AVG was lucky to get a few tires and spark plugs with which to carry on its daily war."<ref>Schultz, Duane. 1987.</ref>
[[File:Vintage-018.jpg|thumb|P-40N Warhawk N1226N, restored in the markings of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Confederate Air Force air show, Greater Southwest International Airport (AKA Amon Carter Field), Tarrant County, Texas, 1969.]]

====4th Air Group====
China received 27 P-40E models in early 1943. These were assigned to squadrons of the 4th Air Group.<ref>Demin, Anatolii, translated by George M. Mellinger. [http://www.planesandpilotsofww2.totalh.com/ChineseAviationAgainstJapan.html "Changing from 'Donkeys' to 'Mustangs' Chinese Aviation In The War With Japan, 1940–1945".] ''Planes and Pilots of World War Two'', June 2000. Retrieved: 4 November 2011.</ref>