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Chinese Air Force — Flying Tigers (American Volunteer Group)

The Flying Tigers, known officially as the American Volunteer Group, were a unit of the Republic of China Air Force, recruited from U.S. aviators. From late 1941, the P-40B was used by the Flying Tigers.

Compared to opposing Japanese fighters, the P-40B's strengths were that it was sturdy, well armed, generally faster in a dive and possessed a good rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of Japanese Nakajima Ki-27s and Ki-43s they were facing, AVG leader Claire Chennault trained his pilots to use the P-40's particular performance advantages. The P-40 had a higher dive speed than the Japanese fighters, for example, and could be used to exploit so-called "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The AVG was highly successful, and its feats were widely-published, for propaganda purposes. According to their own count, the Flying Tigers shot down 286 aircraft for the loss of up to 19 pilots. The lowest count of AVG victories from other sources is 115 kills.


P-40E Warhawk Tomahawk / Kittyhawk

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 31.67 ft (9.66 m)

Wingspan: 37.33 ft (11.38 m)

Height: 12.33 ft (3.76 m)

Wing area: 235.94 ft² (21.92 m²)

Empty weight: 6,350 lb (2,880 kg)

Loaded weight: 8,280 lb (3,760 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 8,810 lb (4,000 kg)

Powerplant: 1× Allison V-1710-39 liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,150 hp (858 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 360 mph (310 kn, 580 km/h)

Cruise speed: 270 mph (235 kn, 435 km/h)

Range: 650 mi (560 nmi, 1,100 km)

Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,800 m)

Rate of climb: 2,100 ft/min (11 m/s)

Wing loading: 35.1 lb/ft² (171.5 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.14 hp/lb (230 W/kg)

Armament

Guns: 6 × .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with 150-200 rounds per gun

Bombs: 250 to 1,000 lb (110 to 450 kg) bombs to a total of 2,000 lb (907 kg) on three hardpoints (one under the fuselage and two underwing)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia