| The first P-40 was not a 'brand new' fighter
as such. It was actually a re-model of an existing Curtiss fighter; the P-36
Hawk that had an air cooled radial engine. The P-36 Hawk's were unable to be
further developed for the Army's needs at the time, so in 1938 the tenth
production P-36 was withdrawn from service and modified to so it
incorporated the new Allison V12 V-1710 engine and supercharger. New cowling
was developed and an air scoop was placed under the fuselage, behind the
pilot. The aircraft was designated the XP-40.
The first flight was conducted by Edward Elliot on the 14th October 1938, but unfortunately some problems were encountered. The aircraft was only reaching a top speed of 299 mph, (not 350 mph as predicted) and the radiator was not providing sufficient cooling for the engine. The radiator was moved to the front below the nose and the cowling modified. This change had a major impact on the airspeed (reaching 342 mph) and the cooling properties of the radiator improved. Armament for the XP-40 was two .50 calibre machine guns located on the upper engine cowling and fired through the propeller. On the 25th January 1939 manufactures were invited to submit fighter proposals for the Army's new pursuit aircraft. Although the XP-40 couldn't match the performance of the other proposals, it was less expensive and could reach production a year ahead of its contenders. On the 26th April 1939 Curtiss was awarded the contract to build 524 fighters worth $12,872,898. |
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P-36 (model 75) |
XP-40 (note air duct under fuselage) |
XP-40 Specifications:
| Span | 37 ft 4 in |
| Length | 31 ft 1 in |
| Height | 12 ft 4 in |
| Wing Area | 236 sq ft |
| Empty Weight | 5,417 lb |
| Loaded Weight | 6,870 lb |
| Max. Speed | 342 mph at 12,200 ft with a gross weight of 6,260 lb |
| Cruise Speed | 299 mph |
| Ceiling | n/a |
| Rate of Climb | n/a |
| Range | 460 miles at 299 mph with 100 gallons of fuel to 1,180 miles at 200 mph with 159 gallons of fuel |
| Powerplant | Allison V-1710-19 of 1,160 hp |
