- Yes
- No
Hello and welcome to my suggestion for the next iteration of the Curtiss Kittyhawk (aka P-40) in British Service, I feel these could come to game to diversify and add different playstyles to the lower ranks of the British Tech Tree.
History
Spoiler
As the war heated up it was clear that Britain and other allied nations neither had the Industry to build, nor the Money to buy the sheer number of aircraft needed to combat the Axis powers that now controlled almost all of Europe and a large chunk of Asia, This is where lend lease came in, where the US, who had a massive military-industrial complex, would give Aircraft, Equipment and ships free of charge to allied nations to be used until returned or destroyed (in most cases it was the latter). Amongst this equipment were several types of Aircraft that the UK had already bought out of their own pocket, including the Curtiss Kittyhawk, In order to differentiate between the two orders new designations were often issued with the Kittyhawk Mk.Is being delivered under lend lease now being dubbed Kittyhawk Mk.IAs.
Whilst it is true that the Kittyhawk Mk.Is were based on the earlier P-40D model, compared to the Mk.A being based off the newer P-40E model, the modifications to most of the Mk.Is (6 x 12.7mm MGs instead of 4) made it almost indistinguishable from the newer models, meaning many squadrons ended up with a mix of the Mk.I and Mk.IA models
In service the Kittyhawk Mk.IAs served very similar roles to the earlier Mk.Is, still being outclassed by the more advanced german fighters, however proving deadly in the ground attack roles instead, either strafing ground targets with its 6 x 12.7mm Machine guns or dropping bombs on them with its mix of bombs up to 500 lbs in size, despite the aircraft being obsolete by the German Bf 109F series becoming more and more prominent, most of the Axis aircraft were older types such as the Bf 109E or italian C.200s which the Kittyhawk was more than a match for, scoring Hundreds of aerial kills during its time in North Africa.
The Kittyhawks would also find themselves in other Commonwealth Forces as well, with Canada, Australia and South Africa all using the aircraft in large numbers especially after more modern aircraft began to replace the Kittyhawks in RAF squadron service. In Australian service they found themselves deployed to the Far east such as New guinea where they proved effective at repelling the Japanese forces trying to advance in that area.
Images
Spoiler
A crashed Kittyhawk Mk.IA found in Egypt
A Kittyhawk Mk.IA in US markings on display
A Kittyhawk Mk.IA in flight above the English Countryside
A restored Kittyhawk Mk.IA in markings of No.3 Sqn RAAF
Specs/Armament
Spoiler
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 31 ft 8.5 in (9.665 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 3.5 in (11.367 m)
Height: 10 ft 8 in (3.25 m)
Wing area: 236 sq ft (21.9 m2)
Airfoil: root: NACA2215; tip :NACA2209
Empty weight: 5,922 lb (2,686 kg)
Gross weight: 8,515 lb (3,862 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Allison V-1710-39 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,240 hp (920 kW)
Propellers: 3-bladed Curtiss-Wright electric constant-speed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 361 mph (581 km/h, 314 kn) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
Cruise speed: 308 mph (496 km/h, 268 kn)
Range: 716 mi (1,152 km, 622 nmi) at 70% power
Service ceiling: 29,100 ft (8,900 m)
Time to altitude: 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in 6 minutes 15 seconds
Wing loading: 35.1 lb/sq ft (171 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (0.23 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns:
- 6 × 12.7mm (.50 cal) M2 Browning machine guns in the wings
Bombs (Total bombload: 2000 lbs):
-
up to a 1000 lbs bomb under the fuselage, or 2 x 500 lbs
-
up to 2 x 500 lbs under each wing
Place in game
Spoiler
I feel this would potentially be a good addition to the game to bring a bit of diversity to the lower ranks of the British Tech Tree as it currently focuses mainly on the Turnfighting playstyle around those BRs, whereas the Kittyhawks would be High performance Boom and Zoom fighters giving something different to the players of the UK Tree
This variant would also be one of the easiest to add due to the fact that it would be a reskin of the US P-40E already in game, with a few minor differences such as British Bombs to make it a bit more Unique.
Sources
