- Yes
- No
Hello everybody. I’d like to introduce and suggest the Curtiss P-40K-5 Warhawk for USA Aviation, and this is one of my suggestions for the P-40 variants in the US Army Air Corps and US Army Air Force services. The P-40K was intended to be the last P-40 production variant before the Curtiss P-60; however, the P-60 project was canceled, and the Attack on Pearl Harbor led to the continuation of the Allison-powered Warhawk production. This aircraft was originally featured on the Future of the American Aviation Tree in War Thunder on June 30, 2014. Yet, there were no plans for it, so I made this suggestion to ensure it would get a place in War Thunder one day.
History
The P-40K was the next variant after the P-40F, and it was introduced with the more powerful Allison V-1710-73 engine, despite the success of the Merlin engine in the P-40F and P-40K due to the shortage of the Merlin engines. This new Allison engine was rated at 1,325 hp for takeoff and 1,150 hp at 11,800 and included an automatic control. The P-40K incorporated improved machine gun storage to reduce gun jamming in high G maneuvers. The modifications increased the weight, making the P-40K the heaviest Warhawk variant, which had impacted maneuverability and rate of climb.
On October 28, 1941, 600 P-40Ks were ordered for Lend-Lease supply to China, later requisitioned by the US Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force. The P-40K was initially planned to be the last production of the Warhawk; however, due to the failure of the Curtiss P-60 project and the Attack on Pearl Harbor, a decision was made to keep and continue the production of the Allison-powered P-40 Warhawk, with an updated order of 1,300 new P-40 aircraft. They were built and completed in four different production blocks.
The P-40K-1 and P-40K-5 were similar to late-production P-40Es with shorter fuselage except for the more powerful Allison engine, and they had a new fillet added to the base of the leading edge on the vertical stabilizer. The K-5 was added with a new rotary valve cooling. These K-1 and K-5 models had a short fuselage design; they had a small dorsal fillet at the base of the vertical stabilizer that was supposed to fix the same longitudinal stability problems as the fuselage.
The P-40K-10 and P-40K-15 were incorporated with the longer fuselage with an enlarged vertical stabilizer like the P-40F to address the decreased directional stability due to the extra power causing a swing during takeoff. The K-15 was a winterized subvariant for operations in extremely cold climates, and the emergency hydraulic system in these aircraft was deleted.
The first P-40K model rolled off the production line in August 1942, and the maximum speed was 362 mph at 15,00 feet. The extra horsepower on the P-40K gave it good performance at low altitude and was better than the P-40E.
192 P-40K-1 were diverted to the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease program as Kittyhawk III for the RAF alongside P-40Ms (Kittyhawk III name was also used for P-40Ms). The first batch was delivered and arrived in the Middle East in late 1942. 42 P-40Ks were supplied to the Royal Australian Air Force, and 25 P-40Ks were delivered to Brazil. At the final sum, 351 P-40Ks were built and delivered via Lend-Lease as Kittyhawk Mk. III.
Most of the P-40Ks in the US Army Air Forces service were deployed in the China Burma India theater in 1943, where they were widely used by the American units along with the P-40Es.
Specifications
Curtiss P-40K-5 WarhawkGeneral Characteristics
- Crew: 1 (Pilot)
- Length: 33 ft 3.72 in (10.15 m)
- Height: 10 ft 7.34 in (3.23 m)
- Span: 37 ft 3.5 in (11.37 m)
- Wing Area: 236 sq ft (21.9 m)
- Propeller Type: 3-bladed constant speed propeller
- Powerplant: Allison V-1710-73 piston engine
→ 1,325 hp (975 kW)- Internal Fuel: 157 US gal. (594 L)
- Empty Weight: 6,400 lb (2,903 kg)
- Gross Weight: 8,400 lb (3,810 kg)
- Max. Takeoff Weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
Engine ratings
Takeoff:
→ 1,325 bhp @ 3,000 rpm @ S.L.
War Emergency:
→ 1,550 bhp @ 3,000 rpm @ S.L.
Military:
→ 1,150 bhp @ 3,000 rpm @ sea level - 11,800 ft
Maximum Continuous:
→ 1,000 bhp @ 2,600 rpm @ sea level - 11,000 ft
Performance
- Power-to-Weight Ratio: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
- Cruising Speed: 290 mph (467 km/h)
- Critical Altitude Speed: 370 mph @ 20,000 ft (595 km/h @ 6,096 m)
- Wing Loading: 35.6 lb/sq ft (174 kg/sq m)
- Rate of Climb: 2,580 fpm (13.1 m/s)
- Service Ceiling: 28,800 ft (8,778 m)
- Combat Range: 700 miles (1,127 km)
Armament
- Guns:
- 6 x .50-cal. M2 Browning machine guns (281 rpg; 1,686 rounds)
- Bomb:
- 1 x 1000-lb bomb
- 1 x 500-lb bomb
- 2 x 100-lb bombs
- Drop Tank:
- 1 x 52-gal drop tank
Conclusion | Why it should be in the game
I made this suggestion to request more World War II-era vehicles for War Thunder. I feel the P-40K has a historic significance, as this was another variant that many were exported to the Allied powers for their operations in North Africa, CBI, and the Far East. The American units also used the P-40Ks in the CBI theater along with the P-40Es. Perfomance-wise, the P-40K-5 was the heaviest variant but should perform somewhat better than the P-40E, thanks to the extra power from the V-1710-73. Thus, this P-40K-5 would make a good candidate as the tech tree or premium addition to the P-40 Warhawk family for US Aviation in War Thunder.
See Also – P-40 Family
- Curtiss P-40 in Action (1984)
- P-40 Warhawk In Detail & Scale 63 Part 2 (2002)
- Curtiss P-40K
- P-40 Warhawk Variants
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk variants - Wikipedia
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk - Wikipedia
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk development history
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Performance Figures
- Curtiss P-40 - Introduction
- Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃