Project Description

MPH

350

WEAPONS

6

SEATS

1

P-40N Warhawk

Role:  Single Seat Fighter Bomber

National Origin: United States

Manufacturer: Curtiss-Wright Corporation

First Flight: 1938

Primary User: US Army Air Forces, Royal Air Forces, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force

Number Built: 13,738

A total of 1,100 P-40N-5-CU Warhawks were manufactured. In 1943 a number of P-40Ns were assigned to squadrons in Papua New Guinea. The Mid America Flight Museum’s P-40N Warhawk flew in the 5th Air Force, 49th Fighter Group. It crashed in September of 1943 and was recovered in 2005 for rebuild. The restoration was completed by North Queensland Warbirds in Australia. It was imported into the United States in 2015.

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 33 ft 4 in
  • Wingspan: 37 ft 4 in
  • Height: 10 ft 8 in
  • Wing area: 236 sq ft
  • Airfoil: root: NACA2215 ; tip: NACA2209
  • Empty weight: 6,000 lb
  • Max. takeoff weight: 8,850 lb
  • Powerplant: 1 × Allison V-1710-115 V-12 piston engine rated at 1,200 hp
  • Propellers: 3-bladed Curtiss electric constant-speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 350 mph at 15,000 ft
  • Cruise speed: 308 mph
  • Range: 1,400 miles
  • Service ceiling: 31,000 ft
  • Rate of climb: 14,000 ft  in 6 minutes 42 seconds
  • Wing loading: 35.1 lb/sq ft
  • Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb

Armament

  • Guns: 6 × 0.50 in (12.70 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with 235 rounds per gun in the wings
  • Bombs: 250 to 1,000 lb (110 to 450 kg) bombs to a total of 2,000 lb (910 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the fuselage and two underwing)