SFW - jokes, humor, girls, accidents, cars, celebrity photos and much more. SFW - fun, humor, girls, accidents, cars, celebrity photos and much more Technical description of the curtiss p 40 aircraft
Valery Romanenko/ Kyiv
Ending. Beginning in "AiV", No. 2 "2006.
After the disbandment of the 27th ZAP, the training of pilots for the P-40 was entrusted to the 6th reserve aviation brigade, which included the 14th and 22nd ZAP. It was formed in May 1942 as a center for retraining for foreign types of fighters and was based in Ivanovo, about 90 km from the Arkhangelsk-Moscow railway line. Aircraft were delivered here in boxes from the ports of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, here they were accepted (ie, checked for condition and equipment), then they were assembled, flown around and from here they were sent to the front.
In 1942, the brigade assembled and flew 190 R-40S and R-40E aircraft, of which 177 were sent to the front. During the same period, in the 14th ZAP, only the 46th IAP (32 pilots with a total flight time of 858 hours) was retrained on the R-40, and in the 22nd ZAP - three regiments: the 28th Guards, 10th and 436th th IAP (20, 32 and 32 pilots with a total flying time of 240, 437 and 920 hours, respectively). The brigade also prepared new units for Soviet aviation - ferry fighter regiments (PIAP). Five such regiments (from the 1st to the 5th) were intended to work on a secret route, named ALSIB (Alaska-Siberia) by US President Roosevelt, which ran from American Fairbanks in Alaska through the Bering Strait and half of Siberia to Soviet Krasnoyarsk. R-40, R-39 and R-63 fighters flew along this route, 6306 km long. In each PIAP, one squadron specialized in Kittyhawks, and 61 pilots were trained for them in the 14th ZAP.
It was the Kittyhawks that opened the traffic on this highway. The first group of seven P-40K-1s took off from Fairbanks on 7 October 1942 and landed at Krasnoyarsk on 16 November. During the flight, two aircraft were lost - Kittyhawk No. 42-4693 and Boston, the leader of the group. In Krasnoyarsk, American fighters (Nos. 42-46174, -46191, -46193, -46201, -46265, -46267) ended up in the 45th ZAP and then were overtaken near Stalingrad.
Unfortunately, the R-40K turned out to be unsuitable for flights in harsh Siberian conditions: the oil system froze and the radiators “swollen”. Therefore, they had to abandon their distillation along ALSIB - the last five P-40K-10s arrived on the track in March 1943. In total, the Soviet acceptance committee in Fairbanks accepted 49 P-40Ks, of which only 38 cars got into combat regiments before the end of 1943 : 5 were broken in accidents and catastrophes (over 10%!), 15 were repaired for a long time in Kirensk and at other intermediate airfields (6 of them - until the end of 1944)
By the summer of 1943, training on the P-40 in the 6th ZAB was completed. By that time, another regiment had been trained in the 14th ZAP - the 191st IAP, 32 pilots of which flew 122 hours by February 28. In the 22nd ZAP, two more air units were retrained - the 238th and 191st IAP (again by 15.03.43), as well as 34 separate crews (obviously, for the new PIAP). Another 94 R-40E and R-40K aircraft were assembled and flown, of which 80 were sent to the front in 1943, and 6 in 1944.
The 6th ZAB was one of the best and well-equipped training bases in the Soviet Air Force. There they taught to the conscience - not only takeoff and landing, but also shooting at air and ground targets, single and group aerobatics, and tactics. Therefore, most of the units trained in the brigade achieved success at the front and became guards. So, the 436th, 46th and 10th IAP for the battles on the North-Western Front (namely on the R-40!) were transformed in March 1943 into the 67th, 68th and 69th Guards IAP and re-equipped with Aircobras.
In connection with the reduction by 1943 of the receipt of P-40s through the northern ports and the termination of their flights on ALSIB, the retraining center for the Kittyhawks moved to the south. where deliveries began through Iran. The southern Lend-Lease route began operating in June 1942, but Kittyhawks began to arrive on it only in November. Fighters in boxes were unloaded at the port of Abadan, transported to an aircraft assembly plant specially built by Douglas, assembled and flown. Then the specially formed 6th PIAP ferried them to the USSR with one stopover in Tehran. Despite the rather difficult route (distance 1450 km, flight through two mountain passes), there were no P-40 losses during flights in 1943. On the territory of the USSR, all aircraft arrived at the 25th ZAP, located in the Azerbaijani city of Aji Kabul. Mastering = "Kittyhawk" began here on November 19, 1942, when the first three P-40E-1s (Nos. 41-36426, -36440 and -36441) arrived in the regiment. On November 23, the training of the 45th IAP had already begun, which was being prepared for two fighter spas at once: the Airacobra and the Kittyhawk. The instructors and trainees mastered the technique almost simultaneously, but very thoroughly: in the 45th IAP, the total flight time of 32 pilots was 671 hours (1682 landings), 155 training air battles were conducted, 112 firing at ground and 98 at air targets, 134 route and 113 "blind" flights.
On February 16, the regiment began combat work from the Krasnodar airfield, with ten P-39D-2s, eleven R-39K-1s and nine R-40E-1s (Nos. 41-36941 to -36944, 41-36947 to - 36950 and #41-36666). He showed himself perfectly in the famous battle over the Kuban. In two months, 118 were recorded on the combat account of the air unit. German aircraft with relatively small losses (7 Airacobras were shot down in battles, 8 were damaged; 1 P-40E was shot down and 1 was destroyed in an accident). It was the best result in this theater of operations! Already in May, the regiment was re-equipped with the new Airacobra models - P-39L, M and N, and on June 18 it was transformed into the 100th GIAP. It should be noted that the small losses of the Kittyhawks were due to their very limited use, and as battle experience showed, they were no longer able to fight the B1 109G, which was also piloted by aces JG 3 and JG 52. All reviews about the P-40E sounded pessimistic: insufficient speed and maneuverability, high flight weight, weak engine. The conclusion was unequivocal - the aircraft is suitable only for air defense aviation. At first, the pilots still tried to squeeze everything possible out of the plane and used the afterburner mode for a long time during the battle. It turned out almost intuitively - if the Soviet engines roared like animals at maximum gas, then the Allison only slightly changed the tone, and everything seemed normal. Retribution followed immediately - the motors began to wear out quickly, and their power fell. A month later, the engineer of the regiment reported that the maximum speed of the "Keeehawks" did not exceed 350-400 km / h. They got rid of them at the first opportunity - on April 27, 4 serviceable aircraft, together with the pilots, were transferred to the 16th GIAP. This regiment fought on Aircobras, so the P-40E pilots were gradually retrained for them. "Kittyhawks" were actively used only in April and May, and in August they were transferred to the air defense, and more fighters of this type were not used in the Air Force in the southern sector of the front.
"Kittyhawks" at one of the intermediate airfields ALSIB
The head of the Soviet military mission in the American city of Fairbanks, colonel Magin, is preparing to fly over the R-40K
In 1943, the 25th ZAP trained the 268th IAP (32 pilots), 10 pilots for the 45th IAP and 6 more pilots for other units on the Kittyhawks. After the 268th regiment left on November 15, the 25th ZAP stopped training pilots on the P-40, but for another two months it was engaged in the preparation and distribution of the aircraft themselves. At the same time, detailed technical inspection and overflight of cars; if necessary, their repair (some aircraft were not new); dismantling of a part of radio equipment, the frequencies of which did not coincide with those adopted in the USSR; sighting of weapons, and sometimes the application of red stars over the IX American linen (usually this was done in Abadan). The most typical defect found was the corrosion of weapons, which usually appeared on the machine guns of fighters that had already fought after they were transported by sea. In total, in 1943, in the 25th ZAP, 225 aircraft of the P-40E, K, L, M type were prepared and sent to combat regiments (mainly air defense and air force of the Navy).
In the fall of 1943, the 11th ZAP located in Kirovabad began to deal with the Kittyhawks. Since August, P-40M-10 began to arrive here, since November - P-40N-1, and since October 1944 - P-40N-30, the most advanced model of Kittyhawks supplied by 8 USSR.
The receipt of R-40 aircraft in the USSR ceased in December 1944. By that time, 2425 aircraft had been delivered. Combat losses (excluding air defense and naval aviation) amounted to 224 Kittyhawks.
As an official opinion about the Kittyhawk in the Soviet Air Force, one can quote from the “Report on the Combat Work of the 4th Air Army for April 1943”: “... The Kittyhawk fighter is inferior to the Airacobra and Me-109F , G. Fights successfully with the Me-109 on a horizontal maneuver, but is inferior to him on a vertical one. It can successfully fulfill the role of an interceptor for bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The pilots had the opinion that the Kittyhawk could be a good aircraft when performing tasks: covering their troops, escorting bombers and conducting reconnaissance.
In addition to the direct purpose as a fighter, individual P-40s were used in the Soviet Air Force and in other roles. For example, 3 aircraft (Nos. 835, 1115 and 1121) were used as artillery spotters in the 6th separate corrective air squadron and 4 in the 12th. And at the 1st aircraft repair base of the Leningrad Front, a small batch of P-40K was converted into two-seat photo reconnaissance aircraft. At the same time, all weapons were removed, and additional gas tanks were installed in their place. There are also known attempts to strengthen the weapons of the Kittyhawks when using them as attack aircraft - in 1942 they were often equipped with rockets (two RS-82s under each wing). As the R-40 declined from the Air Force, their use in air defense expanded. Air defense aviation by orders of November 24, 1941 and January 22, 1942 was withdrawn from the subordination of the Air Force and became independent. As the aircraft fleet increased, individual squadrons were united into regiments, regiments into fighter air divisions and air defense air corps, and at the beginning of 1943 even the 1st air defense fighter army was formed. If on December 5, 1941 there were 1059 aircraft in the air defense, then by June 1, 1943 - 3043!
Assembly P-40 at the plant in the Iranian city of Abadan. 1943
Double photo reconnaissance aircraft converted from R-40K at the 1st aircraft repair base of the Leningrad Front
One of the P-40N Air Defense Aviation
The first 20 Tomahawks appeared in the 6th Air Defense Command (near Moscow) as early as October 1941. Then in the spring of 1942 they were received by the 104th Air Defense Aviation Division, covering Arkhangelsk, and the 148th Air Defense Aviation Division (Vologda) - 22 and 20 aircraft, respectively, and the first P-40E appeared in the 6th Air Defense Aircraft Company and the 7th Air Defense Aircraft Company (Leningrad) - 12 and 21 aircraft, respectively.
The use of "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks" in air defense was constantly expanding. In April 1942, the 768th IAP (122nd IAD PVO) began patrolling over Murmansk, in November the 481st IAP - over Baku, the 102nd IAD PVO - over Stalingrad, and the total number of P-40Es was 70 aircraft , "Tomahawks" - 33.
By July 1, 1943, there were 70 Tomahawks and 181 Kittyhawks in the air defense. And six months later, "Kittyhawks" were already present in all air defense corps without exception. Their number doubled and reached 357 aircraft, their maximum number was recorded on June 1, 1944 - 745 aircraft. Then, for a number of reasons (mainly due to disappointment in this type), the number of P-40s began to decrease, and by the end of the war, 409 units remained in air defense.
Air defense pilots also rated the P-40 ambiguously. At first, I liked the comfort of overseas fighters, reliable radio communications. powerful armament, long range, which made it possible to barrage over protected objects for a long time. But in the process of operation, annoying shortcomings were also revealed. First of all - a small ceiling and rate of climb. Then - the complete absence of equipment for night interceptions: no special devices for targeting according to ground-based radar data, or even lighting devices, because. the landing light was retractable and could only be deployed at minimum speeds.
Among the examples of the most successful use of the R-40 in air defense, it is necessary to note the use of Kittyhawks from the 9th AK as illuminators near Kyiv in 1944. 6 SAB-100 lighting bombs were hung under the wing of the aircraft, which were dropped with an excess of 2000-3000 m above the formation of attacking bombers, highlighting them for interceptors. This tactic made it possible to somewhat reduce the activity of He 111 and He 177. There were other successes as well. So, it was the Kittyhawk pilots who discovered and shot down a German four-engine FW 200 over the Volga steppes, on which a special commission flew to Japan to investigate the activities of the legendary intelligence officer Richard Sorge. The crew of the damaged car managed to make an emergency landing, and several high-ranking Gestapo and Foreign Ministry officials on board the Condor were captured. In total, during the war years, air defense pilots shot down 255 German aircraft on Kittyhawks, which is 6.5% of the total number of their victories.
Commander of the 2nd Guards SAP, Lieutenant B.F. Safonov. Spring 1942
Pilots of the 2nd Guards SAP, Dr. V.P. Pokrovsky and P.I. Orlov during a break between sorties. In the background - R-40E. Summer 1942
However, a number of major failures of the Soviet air defense were also associated with fighters of this type. So, in 1943, they were unable to intercept German high-altitude reconnaissance Ju 88R over Moscow, and in the spring and autumn of 1944, He 111 from Fliegerkorps IV bombed Soviet railway junctions in Ukraine and Belarus with virtually impunity at night. But the biggest defeat, which had a loud international resonance and hit hard on the prestige of the USSR, occurred on June 22, 1944, when 180 He 111 from KG 53 and KG 55 made a night raid on the base strategic aviation The United States in the Poltava region, destroying 44 Flying Fortresses and damaging 25 more. The 6 Kittyhawks and 6 Yak-9s that flew out from the 310th Air Defense IAD covering this air base did not find a single bomber on a dark moonless night, and they flew away with impunity. After this incident, the decline of the career of "Kittyhawks" in the Soviet air defense began. They began to be supplanted by more suitable types of fighters: Spitfire IX, P-39Q, P-47D-25, as well as Yak-9 and La-7, although the last models P-40M-10 and P-40N-30 served until 1947-49 gg.
Aviation of the Navy was the third "consumer" of the R-40. Only Kittyhawks were sent there, although the first P-40Es were erroneously called Tomahawks. Their career in the IMF Air Force can be divided into three periods: "euphoria" - April-May 1942, "cooling" - June 1942 - July 1943. and "renaissance" - from the autumn of 1943.
At first, the increased interest in the R-40 was associated with new tasks for the naval aviation - air cover for allied convoys. Here, the main thing was the range - the farther into the sea the fighters met the convoys, the less they got from German bombers and torpedo bombers - as a rule, in the operational zone of the fighters maritime transport suffered no losses. And the range of 1100 km was precisely the trump card of the R-40.
The best in aviation of the Northern Fleet (SF) was considered the 2nd Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment (SAP). Its commander, the well-known Soviet naval ace Lieutenant Colonel B F. Safonov, was not only the first Hero of the Soviet Union in the Northern Fleet, but also one of four pilots awarded for military success (including the Hurricane) with the high English award - Distinguished Flying Cross. Naturally, the Kittyhawks were sent to this particular regiment.
The first two P-40Es arrived in April 1942 (No. 775, the number of the second is unknown), in May - 12 more (Nos. 956, 958, 984, 990, 1000-1007), and the last 10 (1093, 1098,1102 , 1110-1116) - in June, a total of 24 aircraft. Combat use started almost immediately, although at first, as usual, there were problems with the motor. Safonov was the first in the Northern Fleet to score an aerial victory on the Kittyhawk - on May 17 he shot down a Ju 88, which is confirmed by the materials of the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv Koblenz. But already on May 30, B.F. Safonov did not return from a sortie to cover the PQ-16 convoy. The circumstances of his death in the heat of battle were not noticed, and the engine failure was considered the most likely cause ... Together with the low flying qualities revealed during operation, this undermined the pilots' confidence in the Kittyhawks, and by autumn they were transferred to secondary tasks, and in August the regiment was re-equipped to "Aerocobras" Mk.l P-40E more or less actively fought here until the end of 1942, and then they were simply listed in the regiment, idle on the ground without motors. So, on May 1, 1943, there were 9 more P-40Es in the 2nd GIAP, only one of them was with a motor ...
2* For the year B.F. Safonov grew up in rank from Art. p-ta to sub-ka, and in position - from squadron commander to regiment commander (from March 20, 1942).
3* One of them was handed over to B.F. by the American delegation, which arrived with the RO-15 convoy. Safonov, and another one, Commander of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet, Major General A. A. Kuznetsov
4* At the time of his death, he had 20 personally shot down and 6 in the group (according to the flight book), for which on 06/14/42 he was posthumously awarded the title twice of the GSS. Modern archival research (Yu Rybin) confirmed only 8 downed aircraft.
A group of Black Sea P-40Ks over the liberated Crimea
The combat losses of the P-40 were small: 2 in May 1942, 3 more before the end of the year and 4 before July 1943, a total of 9 aircraft, non-combat - 3 vehicles. The successes of the Kittyhawk pilots turned out to be incomparable with the achievements of their colleagues flying the Air Cobras, but still not bad: from June 29 to December 15, 1942, they were credited with 15 shot down (9 Bf 109 and 6 Ju 88). The best results were achieved by foreman Bokiy, who from June 1, 1942 to January 1, 1943 won 5 victories.
Then, almost until the spring of 1943, the Kittyhawks did not enter the Soviet naval aviation, despite previous grandiose plans - in September 1941, the Navy Air Force command prepared an application for 500 R-40s and 100 R-38s! New deliveries of Kittyhawks to the Northern Fleet began in mid-September 1943. Initially, eleven P-40Es were “thrown” into the 255th IAP in addition to the existing 20 Airacoframes. But then they decided to send them only to units armed with very outdated equipment. So, by mid-October, all P-40Es from the 2nd GIAP and the 255th IAP were in the 78th IAP, which had been fighting on the Hurricanes since 1941. To raise morale on November 3, 13 brand new R-40M-10s and 1 R-40K-15 were sent here, and from the end of the year the regiment began combat work. Until the end of hostilities in the Arctic (November 1, 1944), the pilots of the regiment showed high results not only in air battles, but also as masters of bombing and assault strikes. Acting on the P-40M-10 (the old P-40E, apparently, were immediately written off due to wear and tear), they shot down 44 German aircraft: 1 Ju 88, 1 BV 138, 1 B1 110, 4 FW 190 and 37 Bf 109. During attacks on the port of Kirkenes in October 1944, they took a bomb load more than the IL-2: they hung a FAB-500 under the fuselage (or a combination - FAB-250 under the fuselage plus 2 FAB-100 under the wing). They were the first in the Northern Fleet to use top-mast bombing, and in one day on October 11, 1944, the group of Dr. V.P. Strelnikova sank 2 barges and 6 boats!
From December 1943, the 27th IAP began to receive the R-40, which had previously flown the Hurricanes and I-153, and from October 1944, the 53rd and 54th air regiments of the White Sea Flotilla, which continued along with the Kittyhawks "Operate the Hurricanes, I-15, I-153, MBR-2 and Catalinas. For reconnaissance since September 1943 fi P-40M-10 (Nos. 43-5974, -5968 and -5952) were used in the 1 18th ORAP A in June 1944, the naval aircraft repair shops converted one Kittyhawk into a two-seater light bomber.
On Black Sea Fleet(Black Sea Fleet) "Kittyhawks" began to appear in April 1943. Since the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet was considered to be of secondary importance, the replenishment of air regiments was carried out here last, and the aircraft fleet was of various types, outdated and worn out. For example, by the spring of 1943, in two regiments - the 7th and 62nd IAP - there were from 3 to 11 fighters of 7 types: MiG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7, GaGG-3, I-16, I -153, I-15. It was in these units, as well as in the 30th RAP, that from April 1943 they began to distribute the latest models of Kittyhawks arriving along the southern route - R-40K-10 and R-40M-10. The 65th IAP, the rearmament of which began in September 1943, was already replenished with P-40N-1 in November, and from December with P-40N-5. The Black Sea Kittyhawks performed well in battles, but mainly as attack aircraft and air defense fighters. The most famous operations in which they took part are the raids on the Romanian port of Constanta, the disruption of the evacuation of the Germans from the Crimea in 1944, the protection of the Yalta Conference of the Heads of the Allied Powers in February 1945.
The number of "Kittyhawks" in the Black Sea Fleet was constantly increasing - from 19 in May 1943 to 42 on December 1. Combat losses in 1943 were minimal - 3 aircraft. The maximum number of R-40s in the Black Sea Fleet turned out to be 103 shguks on January 1, 1945, and before Yumay 1945 it decreased to 89.
In battles against Japan, the P-40 did not take part - in the Air Force Pacific Fleet only 2 training Kittyhawks were received, transferred from the Northern Fleet in June 1945.
In general, the Air Force of the Navy of the USSR received in 1941-45. 360 P-40 aircraft of all models, and lost in battles 66 (18%) - the minimum percentage of losses among fighters of all types!
In conclusion, one fact can be noted in the USSR on "Keepihauks" 3 twice Hero of the Soviet Union out of 27 fought: B.F. Safonov, P.A. Pokryshev (22 personally shot down plus 7 in the group) and M.V. Kuznetsov (22+6), and the last two - more than a year. Many pilots became aces and Heroes of the Soviet Union on them, and a number of regiments won the guards rank on the P-40. In general, the car fought well, although it had characteristic flaws, which significantly narrowed the area of its effective application.
P-40N from the 2nd GIAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force. Second half of 1943
Tomahawk Mk.IIb by A.S. Khlobystov from the 20th GIAP of the Red Army Air Force. Murmansk, April 1943. Victory marks were located on the left side of the fuselage.
Tomahawk Mk.IIb from the 126th IAP. Moscow region, winter 1941
R-40E from the 7th IAP of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet. Summer 1943
R-40K l-that G.F. Kuznetsov from the 436th IAP of the Red Army Air Force. Winter 1943
R-40M ml. L-ta V.A. Revin from the 191st IAP of the Red Army Air Force. December 27, 1943 the plane made an emergency landing on the Finnish side of the Karelian Front
In the next issue of our magazine, under the heading "Aerosalon", an article about the L-159ALCA light combat aircraft will be placed.
Production
At the end of 1941, the new P-40E aircraft - "Warhawk" ("Warhawk"), as it began to be called, began to be produced on production lines Buffalo, New York State.
The Curtiss-Wright Model H87 A-3 was produced for the needs of the US Army and, in addition, was supplied under a British contract during 1941 and 1942. The US Army received 2,320 aircraft and 1,500 were ordered by Britain, which called this fighter model the "Kittyhawk 1A". ("Little Hawk").
By the end of 1941, a small number of Model E fighters had been produced. Many manufactured parts had the date "08.41". The bulk of the aircraft was produced in 1942.
The P-40E had the Curtiss factory design number 16814 and serial number 41-13570. Order number W-535 ac15802 cost the US government $39,628.00. Curtiss-Wright assembled a batch of 79 machines, which had construction numbers 16737-16815 and serial numbers 41-13521 to 41-13599.
The aircraft were equipped with Allison Engine V-1710-39 engines (design number 42-33729.)
The P-40E was painted dark olive and had a neutral gray underbody.
The markings looked like the fighter was specially made for the USSR - the fighter did not have a single stamp or inscription, except for the serial number and stencil. Moreover, manufacturers did not apply traditional American identification marks.
On January 23, 1942, by order of the US Air Force, 41-13570 was transferred to the Headquarters of Military Assistance. After that, it was transported to one of the ports on the East Coast, loaded onto a ship along with other products and equipment for the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program.
Climb
After 55 years, the P-40E was raised from a watery grave. This happened on August 31, 1997. Despite the fact that the lake was relatively shallow, the plane had to be very carefully pulled to the surface with the help of a special floating device. In shallow water, the tail, stabilizers and the remaining ammunition were dismantled from the fighter. P-40E looked well-preserved and subject to restoration.
The P-40E was brought to land, the remaining parts were lifted from the bottom of the lake, including a reinforced windshield, a cockpit cover, and engine parts. The P-40e was moved by air with the help of a Ka-25K helicopter closer to civilization, where it was dismantled. The engine required additional lifting mounts as it was severely damaged in the crash. Unfortunately, chains were used during the ascent, and the fighter's hull received additional damage to the left rear. This would not have happened if the tapes were available.
When the P-40E was finally lowered to the ground, it looked very presentable. For the first time in 55 years. It was clearly visible that the aircraft had not been repainted and retained its original factory color of dark olive and neutral grey. The painted number "51" was bright white on the fuselage of the aircraft, red stars looked from the tail and lower part of the wings. An interesting fact: the upper surface of the wings did not have the red stars that were usually painted on Lend-Lease aircraft.
All characteristics of the P-40E were applied with standard stencils. The authorized maximum weight and other technical data were located on the left side of the cockpit, and serial number 41-13570 was placed there, according to which the aircraft was a model of the E series. The Curtiss manufacturer's design number "814" was applied throughout the aircraft, and printed on all accessible panels. Main an identification number was on the armored back of the pilot.
Model "E" was equipped with 6 12.7 mm heavy machine guns and a supply of 280 rounds. The old rusted ammunition had to be pulled out for safety reasons. Cartridge boxes and machine guns were in good repairable condition, even the inscriptions and markings were easy to read.
All instruments in the cockpit and the trigger - everything remained in place. In general, despite the damage received from the fall, the P-40E was completely repairable.
The P-40e received more than modest combat damage prior to its final flight. Only a few small bullet holes were found on the aircraft's tail and stabilizers. All holes were carefully sealed. technical service. More recent traces of the battle looked like traces from a couple of bullets that passed along a tangent trajectory, and only slightly scratched the skin of the aircraft. One bullet ricocheted off the engine cover, and the second scratched the aircraft's tail.
The only damage that could cause the plane to crash was at the bottom of the starboard side in the engine compartment. It led to the failure of the cooling system.
The negative consequences of such a long stay in the water manifested themselves in the form of corrosion of the metal elements of the aircraft. For example, the metal handles of cartridge boxes rusted. Also, the magnesium parts of the engine were almost completely dissolved. But the rubber on the aircraft landing gear, thanks to the silt at the bottom of the lake, was preserved as good as new and looked like it had just been pumped up.
Most likely, the loss of coolant, leading to engine overheating, forced the pilot to make an emergency landing. Junior Lieutenant A.V. Pshenev decided once again not to take risks. The pilot decided to land the P-40E on one of the numerous nearby lakes. The plane did not skid on the water surface, but entered the water at a rather sharp angle. When hitting the water, the radiator shroud helped to quickly slow down.
The fairing received a deep flat dent and one of the propeller blades came off completely. The radiator may have gone under water and worked as a brake, bending the fuselage along its axis and pulling out both spars.
About 50 rivets flew out of the skin due to a fairly strong impact. The aircraft then turned back and hit the water with its wing, which is confirmed by the characteristic damage to the wingtip on the starboard side. As soon as the plane was able to slow down in such a brutal way, the pilot got out of the cockpit and made it to the shore before his P-40E sank to the bottom.
Losses
According to the Soviet archives, the P-40E arrived in the spring of 1942 at a port, most likely in Murmansk. The archive list of aircraft combat losses, which stores information about the type of aircraft, engine number, construction number, reports the following information:
P-40E "814", engine number 42-33729, belongs to the 20th Convoy Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 14th Army.
Completely destroyed on June 1, 1942. Pilot Second Lieutenant A.V. Pshenev survived and was returned to the ranks of the Armed Forces in the 20th Convoy Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 14th Army. Seconded to the Karelian front. Part was stationed at the Murmashi airport, south of Murmansk and was part of the defense of Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula.
According to the Soviet military chronicle of the 14th Army, the following happened that day:
On June 1, 1942, between 04.52 - 06.31 (Murmansk time), four P-39S and four P-40S aircraft (from the 19th KIAP) escorted a group of Soviet bombers flying to bomb the German Petsamo airfield.
A little later, in the period from 05.19 to 06.50, this group was joined by six more P-40S (from the 20th KIAP), escorting 4 bombers.
When approaching the intended target, the squadron was attacked by a group of Bf-109F-2 fighters (belonging to II / JG5).
Soviet losses were recorded as 4 P-40E fighters and 4 bombers, while the Germans did not indicate losses in their chronicle.
On that day, the P-40E with tactical number "51", piloted by Ml. Lt. A.V. Pshenev, during this mission he was involved in an air battle. The winner, apparently, was the pilot of the Luftwaffe Uffz. During (5./JG5), which, according to German archives, shot down one P-40 fighter in the early morning on June 1, 1942 at 05.56 (Murmansk time). (By the way, this was the second downed P-40E belonging to the 20th KIAP. The first model "E" was shot down on May 29, 1942).
P-40E crashed on a small lake Kodozero, near Pyaozero, located in the tundra west of Murmansk. The pilot survived the crash, managed to get ashore and returned on foot to Soviet positions. Later, the hospital where he was being treated was bombed by the Luftwaffe on June 13, 1942, as a result of which his leg was torn off by a fragment of a bomb.
present tense
After being raised in 1997, the P-40E was sent by ship to the UK and presented at the exhibition in 1998. At the time of this writing, the plane still hasn't been sold.
The history of the creation of one of the most common American fighters of the Second World War dates back to the mid-30s. In April 1935, the all-metal Hawk-75 aircraft made its first flight, close in its technical data to the Soviet I-16. Built by the well-known company Curtiss, the fighter turned out to be successful and was produced in a large series (980 units) for the US Air Force, England, France, Holland and other countries.
When the need arose to create a new, more modern machine, the company followed a proven path: retaining a generally successful design, the aircraft was equipped with a new engine, and the armament was strengthened. In 1937, an experimental batch of fighters was tested, which received the designation P-37. Although they showed good speed qualities (reached a speed of 547 km / h), they were abandoned from further production due to an unsuccessful layout.
On October 14, 1938, the Curtiss firm began testing the Hawk-81 aircraft, which is a variant of the Seventy-fifth with a new Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine with an 1160 horsepower. With. Two years later, after numerous refinements and improvements, it was launched into mass production, and the fighter was adopted by the US Air Force under the designation P-40 "Warhawk".
Immediately after the outbreak of the Second World War, orders were received for the P-40 from France and England. The export versions of the Warhawk differed mainly in their weapons, as well as in the names: the French called them Hawk-81A, and the British called them Tomahawk (the last name in Russian transcription sounded like Tomahawk or Tomahawk).
In 1941, a modification of the R-40V aircraft for the US Air Force and its English version "Tomahawk-PA" appeared with enhanced armament (two 12.7-mm machine guns in the fuselage and two 7.62-mm machine guns in the wing). Soon the number of 7.62-mm machine guns in the wing was increased to four (P-40S), and then to six (Tomahawk-IIB). These machines fought very successfully in North Africa against the Italians, until the Me-109E and Me-109F "Luftwaffe" appeared there.
R-40V and R-40S became the first to enter the second world war US fighters: it was these aircraft that were equipped with the air defense aviation of the American base Pearl Harbor. However, on December 7, 1941, almost all of them were destroyed on the ground before they could take to the air.
A hundred P-40S were delivered to China, where American volunteer pilots fought on them. But with the advent of the Japanese new light fighters, the Warhawks began to suffer heavy losses.
Combat experience forced Curtiss to urgently look for ways to modernize the aircraft. By that time, it became clear that the Warhawk was inferior to the Messerschmitt in all respects, except for the turn time at the ground - 18 s versus 22-23 s for the Me-109 G.
In May 1941, tests began on a capitally modified fighter, which received the brand designation Hawk-87A-1. The designers abandoned the machine guns in the fuselage, and placed six 12.7-mm machine guns in the wings. The aerodynamics of the car was significantly improved, the engine power was increased. The new aircraft received the index P-40D, and in England - the name "Kittyhawk" (in our country it was called "Kitty Hawk"). There were not many of them - only 42 cars, but the next modification of the P-40E ("Kittyhawk-1") was built in a huge series of 3400 units. It was followed by the P-40F ("Kit-quiet-P") with a Merlin-28 engine with an HP 1300 power. e., produced by Packard under an English license. A variant of the same aircraft with an Allison V-1710-73 engine (1325 hp) received the designation P-40K (Kittyhawk-Sh). Some series of these machines were distinguished by a fuselage shortened by 0.5 m and a reduced fuel supply. A total of 1,311 P-40Fs and 1,297 P-40Ks were produced.
The final models of the aircraft were the R-40M (600 pieces) and P-40N (aka Kittyhawk IV, 5216 pieces), produced in 1943-1944.
By 1944, the R-40 aircraft was already noticeably outdated. The constructive solutions developed back in 1935 exhausted the possibility of modernization in a decade. On November 30, 1944, the last 13,738th fighter of the P-40 Warhawk-Kittyhawk family rolled off the assembly line. True, by this time another model was under development - the XP-40Q carrier-based aircraft with an 1425 hp engine. With. and a speed of 679 km / h, but it no longer went into the series.
The first batch of P-40 fighters arrived in the Soviet Union at the end of 1941. Basically, these were already fought English "Tomahawk-PV". They reinforced several regiments defending Moscow. Then our Air Force began to accept the Kittyhawks. Part of the aircraft was re-equipped and improved already in our country. For example, on a number of Kittyhawks on the Leningrad Front, the American Allison engines were replaced by domestic VK 105s by the engineering and technical service.
As already mentioned, the Kittyhawk was inferior to its opponents in terms of basic parameters. The positive qualities of the P-40 include a spacious cabin, good visibility, high salvo weight (4.4 kg / s versus 1.7 kg / s for the Me-109G) and high survivability. Heroes of the Soviet Union B. F. Safonov and II fought the Nazis twice on the Kittyhawks. A. Pokryshev, who personally shot down 30 and 22 enemy aircraft, respectively. Safonov fought on the P-40 and his last battle in May 1942, in which he shot down two enemy bombers and died himself.
In total, in the USSR, according to the American press, 2095 P-40 fighters of various modifications were delivered under Lend-Lease (195 Tomahawk-PV, 100 Kittyhawk-II, about a thousand Kittyhawk-III, the rest - Kittyhawk- IV").
PERFORMANCE DATA OF THE P-40F KITTYHAWK FIGHTER
Year of manufacture - 1941, take-off weight 3810 kg, engine power 1300 hp. e., maximum speed 585 km / h (at an altitude of 6095 m), wing area 21.92 m2. Armament: six 12.7 mm Colt-Browning machine guns.
V. Rigmant
Model designer No. 2 "1990
During World War II, the Curtiss P-40 fighters took part in the battles on almost the entire Soviet-German front. "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks" carrying red stars on their wings were used in all decisive battles: the battle of Stalingrad, near Moscow, the defense of Leningrad, on the Kursk Bulge, in the Kuban and further until the liberation of East Prussia. True, their numbers everywhere (except in the North) were relatively small (as a rule, one or two regiments per air army), so they did not have a decisive influence on the course of battles.
P-40s were in service with the 3 main aviation branches of the Soviet Union: the Red Army Air Force (Red Army Air Force), the Navy Air Force (Navy Air Force) and air defense aviation. The USSR actually became the second (after the UK) importer of the P-40. In the period from 1941 to 1944, 247 Tomahawks and 2178 Kittyhawks were received, which puts this aircraft in fourth place after the P-39, Hurricane and P-63 fighters. In the summer of 1941, the British government, along with the supply of Hurricanes, offered to supply Tomahawk fighters. The dynamics of the receipt of these aircraft in the air defense of the Air Force over the years looked as follows: 1941 - 15 R-40E and 230 Tomahawks; 1942 - 487 R-40s (modifications E, E-1, K) and 17 Tomahawks; 1943 - 939 R-40 (modifications E-1, K, M, N); 1944 - 446 P-40s (mainly modifications M and N). 291 Kittyhawk entered the Air Force navy.
Soviet P-40E Kittihawk, in the USSR it was called "Tomahawk"
"Tomahawks" from the 126th IAP. The first plane on the right was flown by Hero of the Soviet Union Art. Lt S.G. Ridny. Moscow region, December 1941 (Tomahawk IIA P-40B # AH-965 (killed in Tomahawk IIB P-40C # AK-325)). For courage and heroism shown in the fight against the enemy, on August 9, 1941, Junior Lieutenant Stepan Grigoryevich Ridny was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. On 10/12/41, the 126th IAP began to fly sorties on the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk. On February 17, 1942, S.G. Ridny died on a P-40 after takeoff due to equipment failure. ("Tomahawk" AK325) Stepan Grigorievich Ridny personally shot down 21 and 9 enemy aircraft in a group.
A group of Black Sea P-40Ks over the liberated Crimea
AT air force The USSR "Kittyhawk" was considered an "average" machine: better than the I-15, -16 and Hurricane, but worse than the R-39, Lavochkins or Yaks. Therefore, a typical regiment equipped on the P-40 looked like this. The regiment started the war on the MiG-3 or I-15, -16; having lost them in battles by the beginning or middle of 1942, he received the R-40S; in the future, the R-40E (K) was replenished, which replaced the machines that were out of order, received earlier. Then the regiment could move along one of two paths: if it did not particularly show itself in battles, then it was transferred to the air defense and equipped with the R-40M (N); if the regiment achieved significant success, it became guards and re-equipped with R-39, La-5 or Yak-7, -9. This continued until the end of 1943, when the Kittyhawks almost disappeared from the air force, almost completely moving into the aviation of the Navy and air defense. In May 1945, only one regiment (armed with 24 Kittyhawks) was listed in the First Air Army of the III Belorussian Front, while there were 409 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in the air defense, 96 in the air forces of the Black Sea Fleet and about 50 - in the Air Force of the Northern Fleet.
The first batch of Tomahawks, which included 20 early series fighters, was sent to the USSR from the USA in September 1941. This batch was purchased for gold, and not under Lend-Lease, the effect of which was extended to the USSR only on November 7th. English "Tomahawks" had already arrived in Arkhangelsk by this time. With the "trial" convoy PQ-0 "Dervish" on August 31, 7 "Tomahawks" of the PA model and 17 - PV were received. These variants differed only in wing armament and radio equipment: 7.69 mm Browning machine guns and English HF stations were installed on the PA model, 7.62 mm Colt Brownings and American VHF stations were installed on the PV.
On special At an airfield with a wooden surface, urgently built by Gulag prisoners and called the "10th kilometer", the planes were assembled and flown under the supervision of British aircraft technicians. With the help of two American instructor pilots, Lieutenants Hubert Zemke and John Alison, on September 10 - 29, several Soviet pilots were trained, who overtook the aircraft by air to the 27th ZAP (Reserve Aviation Regiment).
Also, retraining took place in other reserve regiments, including 25 ZAP in Azerbaijan and 14 ZAP, 22 ZAP east of Moscow.
ZAP 27 was based at the Kadnikov airfield, located along the Vologda-Arkhangelsk railway, 140 kilometers from Vologda. It was formed in August 1941 specifically for retraining for Hurricanes and Tomahawks. In 1941-1942, it was the main "gateway" through which "Tomahawks" entered the air regiments of the Red Army Air Force. Fighter regiments 126, 154, 159 and 964, as well as dozens of individual crews, were trained here. On November 2, the regiment was reorganized into a two-squadron staff with a staff of 015/177. As of December 27, it included 15 Tomahawks of the PV model, two UTI-4s and four two-seat Yak-7V training fighters. Despite the difficulties that arose during winter operation (failures of engines, electric generators, and other units caused some accidents), ZAP 27 instructors considered the Tomahawk to be easy to pilot and accessible to medium-skilled pilots. High strength allowed these fighters to withstand the rough landings that are inevitable in educational process, and even emergency landings on the fuselage, so for 14 months of intensive operation only 5 aircraft were decommissioned.
On September 15, 1941, the 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment was the first to arrive in the 27th Reserve Aviation Regiment for retraining, under the command of Major V. M. Naidenko, one of the most experienced pilot of the Red Army Air Force, who managed to fight in Spain, Finland and Khalkhin Gol . From June 22, this regiment fought on the MiG-3 and I-16, gaining excellent combat experience. By decree of August 9, 41, two pilots, senior lieutenants S.G. Ridny and Kamenshchikov V.G., were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In view of the lack of instructions and those. descriptions in Russian made it difficult to master American aircraft. Pilots and technicians were forced in the evenings after work to translate them with a dictionary. The Tomahawk turned out to be easy to master, and on October 1 the regiment began training flights, but two days later it was forced to urgently leave for the front. The 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment, consisting of two squadrons (20 aircraft), moved to the Chkalovskaya airfield, starting combat work to defend Moscow. In the period from October 25, 1941 to April 25, 1942, as part of the Sixth Air Defense Air Corps, the regiment made 666 sorties to cover the troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts and 319 sorties to defend Moscow. Part of the account recorded 29 enemy aircraft. Losses of the 126th IAP amounted to 2 pilots and 4 aircraft. This air regiment fought with the greatest intensity in the first month of its stay near Moscow, carrying out 685 sorties and scoring 17 victories. This was followed by continuous accidents because the Tomahawks were completely unsuitable for the harsh Russian winter. From frosts that reached -38 ° C, batteries were discharged, tire tires cracked, oil, antifreeze and slurry froze, as a result of which radiator honeycombs burst (in connection with this, 38 aircraft went out of order), for which soldering in neighboring villages was confiscated all silver spoons. Jamming of engines and destruction of electric generators often occurred.
The engineering and technical staff of the regiment eliminated these defects with the help of specialists from the Air Force Research Institute. Wheels and generators were replaced with Soviet ones; oil, hydro and cooling systems were equipped with special taps, with the help of which liquids were completely drained at night, and other improvements were also made. However, when they learned to deal with defects, most of the Tomahawks lost their combat effectiveness, since not only spare parts and new engines were missing, which were not supplied at all, but even ... cartridges for American and British machine guns! By mid-January 1942, only 9 aircraft could fly. An interesting fact is that one "Tomahawk", thanks to the technician Lunev A.I., by that time had completed 90 sorties without a single accident! In January, the regiment flew 198 sorties (total flight time - 334 hours), conducted 11 battles in which 1 He 111, 1 Ju 88 and 5 Bf 109 were shot down. Here the statistics reveal a very unexpected fact - it turned out that the Tomahawks were quite successful fighting the Messerschmitts! This is also confirmed by the pilots' reports on the circumstances of the battles. For example, lieutenants Levin S.V. and Levsha I.P. On January 18, they fought with the 8th Bf 109: having shot down two enemy aircraft, they returned safely to base. The link of Lieutenant E.E. also avoided losses. Lozovy, consisting of 3 aircraft. In a battle with 13 enemy aircraft on January 22, two Bf 109Es were shot down by a flight. In total, 2 Tomahawks were lost during January, of which one was shot down by the Messerschmitt and the second by German anti-aircraft gunners.
However, "Tomahawks" often "received" from their own - an unfamiliar aircraft was fired upon by both fighters and anti-aircraft guns. As a rule, everything was done with holes and apologies, but under New Year Soviet air defense surpassed itself: "Tomahawk" junior lieutenant P.G. Maza (AN507) was first attacked by five I-16s, and then fired upon by anti-aircraft gunners. As a result, the pilot made an emergency landing, during which the engine was broken. However, it turned out that the aircraft could be repaired.
And yet, the bulk of the losses accounted for mate failures. parts. Most often, the engines failed. In most cases, the pilots managed to land the car with an idle engine, but sometimes luck turned away from them. So, for example, on February 17, 1942, as a result of an engine failure, Senior Lieutenant Ridny S.G. crashed during takeoff. one of the best pilots in the regiment.
Despite the large number of accidents, the overall impression of the IAP 126 pilots from the aircraft was good. "Tomahawk" possessed exactly those qualities that were lacking in domestic fighters. If the developers of Soviet technology sought, first of all, high maneuverability and speed, and considered other qualities to be secondary, then the creators of the R-40 paid special attention to powerful weapons (a second salvo of two large-caliber and four rifle-caliber machine guns was 1.5 times superior even to the MiG -3), protection (windshield bulletproof glass 38 mm thick), stable radio communication, good review from the pilot's workplace, very transparent glass and reliable emergency reset were used in the canopy, comfort in a spacious cockpit, greater flight range (up to 1100 km). In addition, the R-40 glider, which was distinguished by its high strength, most often allowed the pilots to remain unharmed during emergency landings. The aircraft in the hands of experienced air fighters turned out to be formidable, even despite the fact that it had insufficient maneuverability and speed, yielding to the Yaks, LaGGs and Bf 109E. The shortcomings of the aircraft were compensated by the good flight of the links, as well as group tactics, which included separation in height. In this regard, most of the victories in the 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment were group victories: Ridny S.G. there were 9 personal victories and 17 group victories, Kamenshchikova V.G. - 7 and 10, Naidenko V.M. - 5 and 11. Aces, who won 5 or more victories, were 12 pilots. 31 pilots were awarded medals and orders for distinction in the Battle of Moscow.
IAP 126 in May 1942 was re-equipped with the P-40E. After the Germans retreated, the regiment ended up in deep rear and until the end of August, in a calm atmosphere, he combined the development of the Kittyhawks and the tasks of the air defense of Moscow and the Moscow region. At the end of the summer, the 126th IAP began to escort government aircraft on the Moscow-Arzamas-Kuibyshev route.
Then the regiment was transferred to Stalingrad - to the most dangerous sector of the front. On August 28, the 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment, formed according to the state 015/174 (3 squadrons), but having only 18 aircraft and half of the required technical. composition, entered the IAD 268 and was located at the Solodovka airfield. At Stalingrad, the situation was difficult, and a well-trained regiment "burned out" in this hell in just a week. The start went well enough. On August 29, pilots shot down FW 189, Ju 88 and Bf 109F, while only one P-40E was lost from the Soviet side; August 30 - 5 He 111 and 5 Bf 109F with the loss of three P-40E; August 31 - 1 Ju 87, 1 He 111, 10 Bf 109F for 2 downed and 2 downed P-40Es. However, on September 5, a turning point came. For one Ju 88 and two Messerschmitts, four Kittyhawks had to be paid: 2 collided in the air, 2 were destroyed in battle. On that day, the commander of the regiment, Major V.M. Naidenko, was shot down and seriously wounded. The four aircraft remaining in service were transferred to combat duty over the airfield.
In total, the 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment completed 194 sorties by September 13, all of which were accompanied by combat clashes with the enemy. The IL-2 escort accounted for 163 sorties. The pilots of the regiment carried out 24 individual and 29 group air battles, in which 36 enemy aircraft were shot down (one Bf 110, Ju 87, Hs 123, FW 189, three Ju 88, six He 111 and twenty three Bf 109F). Losses on the Soviet side - 13 cars, 7 pilots died, 5 were injured. On September 18, the regiment was withdrawn to the rear, where it was re-equipped with La-5. In the future, the regiment fought exclusively on Soviet aircraft.
The first unsuccessful combat use of the Kittyhawks was reported "to the very top." As a result, on October 7, 1942, Stalin, in a letter to Roosevelt, gave the aircraft a very unflattering assessment: “It must be borne in mind that Kittyhawk aircraft cannot withstand the current German fighters” ...
Fighter aviation regiment 154 under the command of battalion commissar Matveev A.A. was the second in the Soviet air force to enter the battle on Tomahawks. After retraining in the reserve air regiment 27 and reorganization to the state 015/284 (20 aircraft, 2 squadrons), on November 26, 1941, he departed for the Leningrad Front (based at the Podborovye airfield). It was joined in December by the 159th Fighter Wing. Both regiments were part of the Eastern Operational Group, which covered the air bridge to the besieged Leningrad. Transport PS-84 (Li-2) transferred food and other cargoes to the besieged city. During the return flights, women, children, the elderly, and the wounded were taken out. People boarded planes in front of fighter pilots, hoping that they would protect them, so the battles on the highway were extremely fierce. The fighters protected the transport workers to the last, up to the ramming of enemy aircraft. The pilots performed real miracles. So, for example, on December 17, over Lake Ladoga, five Tomahawks repelled an attack on PS-84 by nine Bf 109Fs, while the lead captain Pokryshev P.A. (in the future twice Hero of the Soviet Union) one of them was shot down. Squadron commander Pilyutov P.A. on the same day, he covered nine PS-84s alone and repelled the attack of six Messerschmitts, shot down two of them, although he was shot down. On January 23, 1942, after a 30-minute battle, Pilyutov shot down a Bf 109F with tail number "19". A captured German pilot reported 59 victories (probably commander of I./JG.54 Hauptmann Franz Eckerle).
Due to the relatively low intensity of hostilities in the winter of 1941-42, the losses of fighter regiments 154 and 159 were small. Therefore, the rearmament on the P-40E, which began in March, took place right at the front, gradually: they simply replaced the downed Tomahawks. On March 12, IAP 154 had seven Tomahawks and Kittyhawks each. Five more "Tomahawks" stood without engines. However, already in May, the picture changed dramatically - almost all aircraft had exhausted their engine life by this time! Since there were no spare Allisons, and the planes were urgently needed, the regiment commander, Major Matveev A.A. it was proposed to install on the R-40E ... domestic engines M-105P, M-105R. At the First Aircraft Repair Base of the Thirteenth Air Army, more than 40 aircraft were converted in this way. In addition, several aircraft were converted into doubles. Naturally, the installation of a lower power motor caused a deterioration in the characteristics of the aircraft. So, for example, the maximum speed of the R-40E equipped with the M-105P engine and VISH-61P propeller decreased to 465 km/h (from the original 477 km/h). Gradually, new P-40s began to enter the fighter aviation regiment, in connection with which the converted aircraft were transferred to another aviation unit - IAP 196.
IAP 154 fought on P-40E until November 1942. Since the spring, the regiment, as a rule, carried out air defense tasks. In the summer, bombing and attack flights were added to them - usually one FAB-250 bomb was suspended under the fuselage. The 154th Fighter Wing suffered the greatest losses (6 Kittyhawks) in September. On November 22, 1942, for combat successes, the 154th Fighter Aviation Regiment was transformed into the 29th Guards Aviation Regiment, and in December the regiment was re-equipped with the Yak-7B.
The P-40s were most intensively and widely used in the Arctic. They began to arrive here from January 1942, when the “northern gate” for Lend-Lease convoys had to be moved from Arkhangelsk to the port of Murmansk, which does not freeze for the winter. Since the transfer of aircraft from Soviet factories to the Far North was difficult for a number of reasons, a unique case took place here - the replenishment of the Soviet air force was entrusted ... to the Western allies! Up to 95 percent of American and British aircraft arriving at the port of Murmansk were assigned to the units of the air force, naval aviation and air defense operating here. In 1942-1943, the relative number of foreign fighters was about 80 percent of the total.
The dynamics of the arrival of P-40 fighters in Murmansk was as follows: January 11, 1942 - 4 aircraft (convoy PQ-7); January 20 - 15 (PQ-8); February 10 - 2 (PQ-9); March 12 - 44 (PQ-12). In total, 272 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were received in 1942. 108 P-40 fighters arrived in 1943 with convoys SW 52,54 and 55. The last 111 aircraft were delivered to the port of Murmansk by convoys SW 56-58 from February 29 to April 5, 1944.
Four different models of Tomahawks were delivered: PA, IV, R-40C and even P-40G. P-40Gs were obtained by refining the first P-40 model: 44 vehicles were returned to Curtiss in August 1941, where wings from the Tomahawk of the IV modification with 7.62 mm machine guns and protected tanks were installed on the aircraft, as well as armor cabins. 76 Tomahawks were received from the United States: 10 - P-40C, 17 - P-40G (including the XP-40G prototype, on which this upgrade option was tested) and 49 - IV models. In 1941, 147 - IV and 24 - ON were received from Great Britain.
Almost all Tomahawks (even those that were shipped directly from the United States) and part of the Kittyhawks came "on account of the English delivery" - that is, they were considered English Lend-Lease, along with Spitfires and Hurricanes. This can be explained by the fact that the P-40 was ordered in the United States for the Royal Air Force, but the massive deliveries of these aircraft came at a time when the Battle of England had already ended, and the RAF, which had a sufficient number of more advanced fighters, redirected the P-40 to the Soviet Union. The initiator of the British Lend-Lease was Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and even before the Americans made a similar decision. In one of the first letters to I.V. Stalin, received on 09/06/1941, Churchill wrote: “In the first paragraph of the message, you used the word “sell”. We do not look at the matter from this point of view and do not think about payment. It would be better if the help we gave you rested on the basis of partnership, on which the US loan-lease law is built, that is, without formal monetary calculation.
The 147th Fighter Aviation Regiment was the first in the North to receive Tomahawks. As fighting here they were mainly positional in nature, the pilots were retrained right in the operational zone. The air regiment continued to use the I-153, and master the Tomahawk and Hurricane in between battles. At the beginning of December 1941, the first Tomahawks entered the regiment, and by the end of January of the following year, retraining was completed. The development of the Tomahawks was not easy: in December, two cars were smashed (one caught fire in the air, the second fell into a tailspin). And the first combat loss in the North occurred on February 1, 1942, when an AK295 was shot down during an air battle.
Until the end of April, this air regiment fought on two types of fighters, and in the first and third units of the second squadron there were two Tomahawks and two Hurricanes each. On April 1, the regiment became the 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, was reorganized into the state 015/134. By May 1, he handed over the Hurricanes, having received, in addition to the existing Tomahawks, IV R-40E.
Like the Kittyhawks, the pilots generally liked the Tomahawks, especially with their range and survivability. The strength of the 5-spar wing became legendary after the air battle that took place on April 8, 1942, when the flight commander, Lieutenant Alexei Khlobystov, rammed enemy fighters twice! The first "Messerschmitt" lost its tail after it was overtaken on a catch-up course, the second - part of the wing on a collision course, while Khlobystov rammed the planes both times with the right console. The Messerschmitts crashed while the Tomahawk landed safely at its airfield and was repaired. Khlobystov, who did not even have scratches, was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and 2 thousand rubles were paid for 2 destroyed enemy fighters.
The third ram, committed on May 14, 1942 by Khlobystov, ended in a long hospitalization. He sent his Kittyhawk, damaged in battle, to the Messerschmitt, which was trying to finish him off on a head-on course. Saved by chance - during the strike, the Soviet pilot was thrown out of the cockpit ... Khlobystov, returning to duty, continued to fly the P-40. On December 13, 1943, on the Kittyhawk, together with his partner, Lieutenant Kalegaev, he pursued a German intelligence officer. Both were shot down by a German reconnaissance gunner over enemy territory and they did not return to the regiment.
The pilots of the 20th Guards Aviation Regiment used the P-40 until the end of 1943, after which the regiment was re-equipped with P-39N Aircobras. The general results for 1942-1943 have not been preserved, there is only data on losses: in 1942 - 28 P-40s of various models; in 1943 - 26. Of the lost aircraft, 1 was bombed at the airfield, 3 were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, 14 were lost in catastrophes and accidents, 35 were shot down during air battles. Judging by the descriptions of individual battles that have been preserved in the Soviet archives, the enemy suffered no less damage.
From materials of interrogations of German pilots from II. and III./JG 5 shot down in the North in 1942, it follows that the Tomahawk was considered a serious enemy (the Airacobras and Bf 109F were ranked higher), and the modest successes of Soviet pilots were seen as a commitment to the use of defensive tactics and insufficient decisiveness during attacks ...
The second "Kittyhawks" in the Arctic received the 19th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In early April 1942, he was taken to the Afrikanda airfield, 100 km to the rear, where on April 25, after the delivery of LaGG-3, the development of the R-40E and Airacobr began. The assembly and study of the aircraft took place in parallel, and according to the documentation, only on English language. By May 15, the flight crew (22 pilots) mastered the piloting technique. After reorganization to the state 015/174, he entered service without a single breakdown or accident.
The regiment began combat operations on May 17, 1942 from the Shongui airfield, with 16 Aircobras (1st and 3rd squadrons) and 10 Kittyhawks. The pilots of the regiment were distinguished by aggressiveness and activity in battles, since a core of experienced aces captains Kutakhov P.S. had already formed here. (future twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Chief Air Marshal, Commander of the USSR Air Force), Bochkova I.V. (Hero of the Soviet Union), Gaidaenko I.D. and others. True, they flew on the Air Cobra, but their example forced the pilots of the Kittyhawkop to act more actively. Usually, during the repulse of raids on Murmansk (about 60 percent of all sorties), the Air Cobras were tied up by escort fighters, and the Kittyhawks, which had less maneuverability, were engaged in bombers. But they did not come to this tactic right away, because on May 28 2 P-40Es were lost at once. The battle with the Messerschmitts that took place on June 1, accompanied by their SB bombers, was more successful. In this battle, 6 Germans were shot down. On the Soviet side, they lost one Cobra and two Kitties. On August 14, the commander of the second squadron, Major Novozhilov A., paired with Lieutenant Barsukov, shot down two Bf 110s and knocked out a floatplane.
The 19th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment fought on the P-40, P-39 until the autumn of 1943, then it was completely re-equipped with the P-39N and P-39Q. No separate statistics were kept on the Kittyhawks, and success can only be judged by general indicators. In the period from 06/22/1941 to 12/31/1943, the regiment carried out 7541 sorties ( total time flight hours 5410), shooting down one He 111 and Fi 156, 2 Do 215, 5 Hs 126, 7 Ju 88, 9 Ju87, 15 Bf 109G, 30 Bf 110, 43 Bf 109F and 56 Bf 109E. Losses amounted to 86 aircraft and 46 pilots. 16 Kittyhawks were lost, of which 1 crashed in a crash, 2 were shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, 13 in air battles. The greatest losses of P-40 (11 units) the regiment suffered in 1942. In total, the 19th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment received 128 aircraft, of which 30 were Kittyhawks. The last P-40K converted into a two-seater was used as a training until September 2, 1944. Interestingly, in this aviation unit, the lowest percentage of non-combat losses of P-40 aircraft in the USSR Air Force was observed (this figure was 14 times lower than in the neighboring 20th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment).
Fighter regiments 152 and 760 also fought on the R-40 on the Karelian front. The main task of these regiments is to cover the Kirov railway from the air. This Railway was used to transport Lend-Lease cargo from Murmansk to the central regions of the Soviet Union. The Germans actively bombed the road until the summer of 1944. So, in January-February, 26 raids were carried out with the participation of 126 aircraft, and in March-April - 95 raids with the involvement of 374 aircraft.
In the summer of 1943, both regiments received Kittyhawks. As of June 1, the 152nd Fighter Aviation Regiment had 7 fighters, as well as two two-seat training vehicles, and the 760th Aviation Regiment - 4 and 2, respectively. Continuing to conduct combat operations on the LaGG-3 and Hurricanes, the regiments were retrained on the R-40. "Kittyhawk" by January 1, 1944 became the main type: in the IAP 152 there were 23 such vehicles, 5 "Tomahawks" "dropped" by the guards regiments, as well as 13 "Hurricanes", in the IAP 760 - 11 LaGG-3 and 12 R- 40E. These regiments were the last in the USSR Air Force to receive the R-40, however, they used them for the longest time - until 11/01/1944, that is, until the end of the fighting in the Arctic.
These regiments did not achieve resounding successes: the pilots used defensive tactics and, as a rule, were satisfied with the fact that German aircraft were driven away from the protected objects. Losses were also minimal: in the 152nd IAP, until November 1944, they lost 3 P-40Es in accidents and the same number in battles; in the 760th IAP, 3 Kittyhawks were lost in battles. Interestingly, the losses of LaGG-3 and Hurricanes over the same period amounted to twice as much.
Since 1944, the 760th Fighter Aviation Regiment has been switched to escort the Il-2, and the Kittyhawks did a good job of this task: the long range made it possible to cover the attack aircraft along the entire route, and the maneuverability was enough to repel attacks. As a rule, skirmishes with Bf 109G and FW 190A ended with a score of 0:0.
The training of pilots for the northern theater of operations "fell on the shoulders" of the 9th OUTSAP (separate training mixed aviation regiment). Among other types of aircraft, there were always 2 or 3 double training Kittyhawks here. Each combat regiment also had two double P-40s.
According to the documents of the 7th Air Army of the Karelian Front, on July 1, 1943, there were 9 Tomahawks and 87 Kittyhawks in its units - the maximum number of P-40s. By March 1, 1944, there were 5 and 64 of these machines, respectively, and later the number of P-40s decreased.
After the disbandment of ZAP 27, the training of pilots for the P-40 was assigned to the Sixth Reserve Aviation Brigade, consisting of the 14th and 22nd Reserve Aviation Regiments. It was formed in May 1942 as a retraining center for foreign types of fighters. The 6th reserve aviation brigade was based in Ivanovo, about 90 kilometers from the Arkhangelsk-Moscow railway line. Aircraft were delivered here in boxes from the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, they were accepted here (that is, they were checked for completeness and condition), then they were assembled, flown around, and then sent to the front.
In 1942, the brigade assembled and flew 190 R-40S and R-40E, of which 177 were sent to the front. During the same period, only the 46th Fighter Aviation Regiment (32 pilots , total flight time - 858 hours), and in the 22nd reserve aviation regiment - three regiments: the 28th guards, 10th and 436th fighter aviation regiments (respectively 20 pilots and 240 hours of total flight time, 32 pilots and 437 hours, 32 pilots and 920 hours). The brigade also trained new units for domestic aviation - PIAP (ferry fighter regiments). Five of these regiments (1-5) worked on a secret route named ALSIB (Alaska-Siberia) by American President Roosevelt. This route ran from Fairbanks (USA, Alaska) through the Bering Strait and Siberia to Soviet Krasnoyarsk. On this route, with a total length of 6306 kilometers, the R-40, -39, -63 fighters overtook. In each ferry fighter regiment, one squadron specialized in Kittyhawks, for which 61 pilots were trained in the 14th reserve aviation regiment.
It was the Kittyhawks who opened the traffic on this highway. The first group, consisting of 7 R-40K-1s, started from Fairbanks on October 7, 1942 and arrived in Krasnoyarsk on November 16. Two planes were lost during the flight - the leader of the Boston group and the Kittyhawk. American fighters in Krasnoyarsk ended up in the 45th reserve air regiment, and then were transferred to Stalingrad.
Unfortunately, the R-40K proved unsuitable for flights in the harsh conditions of Siberia: the radiators “swelled up” and the oil system froze. Therefore, they refused to be ferried along the ALSIB - the last 5 R-40K-10s passed along the highway in March 1943. In total, in Fairbanks, the Soviet acceptance committee accepted 49 P-40Ks, of which only 38 vehicles got into combat regiments before the end of 1943: 5 crashed in disasters and accidents (more than 10 percent!), 15 long time were repaired in Kirensk as well as at other intermediate airfields (6 of them - until the end of 1944).
In the 6th reserve aviation brigade, training on the P-40 was completed by the summer of 1943. In the 14th reserve aviation regiment, another regiment had been trained by this time - IAP 191, whose 32 pilots had flown 122 hours by February 28. In the 22nd ZAP, two more air units underwent retraining - IAP 191 (again by March 15, 1943) and 238, as well as 34 crews (probably for new PIAP). Another 94 R-40K and R-40E aircraft were assembled and flew around, of which 80 aircraft were sent to the front in 1943, and 6 in 1944.
The 6th reserve aviation brigade was one of the best and well-equipped training bases in the USSR Air Force. They taught not only take-off and landing, but also tactics, firing at ground and air targets, group and single aerobatics. Therefore, most of the units trained in the brigade achieved success at the front and became guards. So, for example, for the battles on the North-Western Front, IAP 436, 46 and 10 (equipped with R-40!) In March 1943, they were transformed into GIAP 67, 68 and 69 and re-equipped with Air Cobras.
In connection with the termination of P-40 flights on ALSIB and a decrease in their receipts through the northern ports by 1943, the retraining center for the Kittyhawks was moved to the south, where deliveries began through Iran. The southern Lend-Lease route has been operating since June 1942, but Kittyhawks began to arrive through it only from November. Fighters in boxes were unloaded at the port of Abadan, transported to an aircraft assembly plant specially built by Douglas, assembled and flown. Then the specially formed Sixth Ferry Fighter Aviation Regiment flew them to the Soviet Union with an intermediate landing in Tehran. Despite the complexity of the route (flying through 2 mountain passes, distance 1450 km), in 1943 there were no losses of the P-40 during flights. All aircraft on the territory of the USSR entered the 25th reserve aviation regiment, located in the city of Aji-Kabul (Azerbaijan). The development of the Kittyhawks here began on November 19, 1942, when the first 3 P-40E-1s arrived in the regiment. On November 23, the training of the IAP 45 began, which was being prepared immediately for 2 types of fighters: the Kittyhawk and the Airacobra. Trainees and instructors mastered the technique almost simultaneously, but at the same time very thoroughly: in the 45th Fighter Aviation Regiment, 32 pilots flew a total of 671 hours (1682 landings), conducted 155 training air battles, 98 firing at air and 112 at ground targets, 113 "blind" and 134 cross-country flights.
On February 16, the regiment, having 10 P-39D-2, 11 R-39K-1 and 10 R-40E-1, began combat work from the Krasnodar airfield. He showed himself perfectly in the famous battle over the Kuban. Within two months, 118 enemy aircraft were recorded on the combat account of the aviation unit, with relatively small losses on their part (8 Airacobras were damaged, 7 were shot down in battles; 1 P-40E was destroyed in an accident, 1 was shot down). The best result in this theater of operations! On May 10, the regiment was re-equipped with the new Aerocobra models - P-39L, P-39M and P-39N, and on June 18 it was transformed into the 100th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. The small losses of the Kittyhawks are explained by their very limited use, and as combat experience showed, by that time they could not fight the Bf 109G, which were piloted by aces JG 3 and JG 52. Almost all reviews of these aircraft sounded pessimistic: insufficient maneuverability and speed , large flight weight, weak engine. The conclusion was unequivocal - the aircraft is suitable only for air defense aviation. At first, the pilots still made attempts to squeeze everything possible out of the aircraft and used the afterburner mode for a long time during the battle. It turned out almost intuitively - if the Soviet-made engines simply roared at maximum gas, then the Allison only slightly changed the tone, and it seemed that everything was fine. I had to pay immediately - the engines began to wear out quickly, and their power to fall. The regimental engineer reported a month later that the maximum speed of the Kittyhawk fighters did not exceed 400 km / h. They got rid of them at the first opportunity -4 serviceable Kittyhawks, together with the pilots, were transferred to the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment on April 27. This regiment used Aerocobs, so the P-40E pilots were gradually retrained on them. "Kittyhawks" were actively used only in April-May, and in August they were transferred to the air defense, and more fighters of this type were not used in the air force on the southern front.
In 1943, the 25th Reserve Aviation Regiment trained 32 pilots of the 268th on the Kittyhawks, 10 for the 45th Fighter Wing, and 6 pilots for other units. After the 268th IAP departed on November 15, the 25th Reserve Aviation Regiment stopped training on the P-40, but for about another month it was engaged in the preparation and distribution of aircraft. At the same time, following works: detailed inspection and flight of machines; if necessary - repairs (some of the aircraft were not new); dismantling of part of the radio equipment (its frequencies did not coincide with those adopted in the Soviet Union); sighting of weapons; sometimes applying red over white American stars (usually this was done in Abadan). The most typical defect identified was the corrosion of weapons, which appeared on the machine guns of already used fighters after they were transported by sea. In the 25th ZAP in 1943, a total of 225 aircraft were prepared and sent to the regiments (as a rule, the Air Force of the Navy and Air Defense).
In the fall of 1943, the 11th ZAP, located in Kirovabad, began to engage in Kittyhawks. Since August 1943, the R-40M-10 has been delivered here, since November of the same year - P-40N-1, and since October of the following year - P-40N-30, the most advanced Kittyhawk delivered to the Soviet Union.
B.F. Safonov died in action while guarding convoy PQ-16 on May 30, 1942.
B.F. Safonov was the first to be twice awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his exploits in the Great Patriotic war. The brave fighter pilot was introduced to this high rank by the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov not posthumously, but during his lifetime, on May 27, 1942 - three days before his last sortie.
In December 1944, the supply of R-40 aircraft to the Soviet Union ceased. By that time, 2425 cars had been delivered. Combat losses (excluding naval aviation and air defense) amounted to 224 Kittyhawks.
As an official opinion about the "Kittyhawk" in the USSR Air Force, a quote from the "Report on the combat work of the Fourth Air Army for April 1943" can be given: "... According to the tactical flight data, the Kittyhawk fighter is inferior to the Me-109F, G and Aerocobra. The Me-109 successfully fights in a horizontal maneuver, but is inferior in a vertical one. It can successfully perform the tasks of reconnaissance and bomber interceptors. The pilots believe that the Kittyhawk can be a good aircraft for covering troops, conducting reconnaissance and escorting bombers.
In addition to the direct purpose as a fighter, individual P-40s were used in the USSR Air Force for other purposes. For example, 3 aircraft in the 6th and 4 aircraft in the 12th separate corrective air squadron as artillery spotters. At the 1st aircraft repair base of the Leningrad Front, a small batch of P-40Ks was converted into two-seat photo reconnaissance aircraft. At the same time, the weapons were removed, and additional gas tanks were installed in their place. There are known attempts and reinforcement of the weapons of the Kittyhawks in the case of their use as attack aircraft - they were often equipped with rockets in 1942 (two RS-82s under each wing). As the P-40 fighters declined from the air force, their use in air defense expanded. By orders dated 11/24/1941 and 01/22/1942, air defense aviation was removed from the subordination of the air force, and it became independent. As the aircraft fleet increased, individual squadrons were combined into regiments, regiments into fighter air corps and air defense air divisions, and in early 1943 they even formed the First Air Defense Fighter Army. If on 12/05/1941 there were 1059 aircraft in the air defense, then by 06/01/1943 their number had increased to 3043!
The first 20 "Tomahawks" in the 6th air defense corps (near Moscow) appeared in October 1941. Then, in the spring of 1942, they were received by the 104th, covering Arkhangelsk, and the 148th, covering Vologda, air defense fighter divisions - 22 and 20 aircraft, respectively, and the first P-40E appeared in the 6th and 7th (Leningrad) air defense air corps - respectively 12 and 21 cars.
The use of Kittyhawks and Tomahawks in air defense was constantly expanding. The 768th Fighter Aviation Regiment (122nd Air Defense Fighter Division) began patrolling over Murmansk in April 1942, the 481st IAP in November over Baku, and the 102nd over Stalingrad. The total number of "Tomahawks" was 33 aircraft, P-40E - 70 vehicles.
In air defense by July 1, 1943, there were 181 Kittyhawks and 70 Tomahawks. And six months later, the Kittyhawks were already present in all air defense corps. Their number doubled and amounted to 357 aircraft, their maximum number was recorded on June 1, 1944 - 745 aircraft. Later, for a number of reasons (mainly due to disappointment in this type), the number of P-40s began to decrease, and only 409 aircraft remained in air defense by the end of the war.
Air defense pilots of the R-40 also rated it ambiguously. At first, they liked the comfort of overseas fighters, powerful weapons, reliable radio communications, and a long range, which made it possible to barrage over protected objects for a long time. However, in the process of operation, the shortcomings of the machines surfaced. First of all - small rate of climb and ceiling. Then - the lack of equipment for performing night interceptions: there was no special. devices for pointing at a ground radar station, and lighting devices, since the landing light was retractable, it could only be released at minimum speeds.
Among the examples of the most successful use of the P-40 in air defense, it is necessary to note the use of Kittyhawks from the 9th Air Corps as illuminators in 1944 near Kyiv. Six SAB-100 lighting bombs were suspended under the wing of the aircraft, dropping them 2-3 thousand meters above the formation of bombers, highlighting them for interceptors. The use of this tactic made it possible to reduce the activity of He 177 and He 111. There were other examples of the successful use of these aircraft. So, it was the pilots of the Kittyhawks who discovered and shot down a four-engine German FW 200 over the Volga steppes, on which a special aircraft flew to Japan. commission investigating the activities of the legendary intelligence officer Richard Sorge. The crew of the damaged car was able to make an emergency landing, and several high-ranking employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Gestapo who were on board the Condor were captured. In total, during the war years, air defense pilots shot down 255 enemy aircraft on Kittyhawks, which is 6.5 percent of total their victories.
However, several major failures of the Soviet air defense were also associated with fighters of this type. So, for example, in 1943 they were unable to intercept high-altitude German reconnaissance aircraft Ju 88R over Moscow, and in the spring and autumn of the following year, He 111 from Fliegerkorps IV carried out nightly bombing of Soviet railway junctions in Ukraine and Belarus with virtually impunity. However, the biggest defeat, which had a loud international resonance and hit hard on the prestige of the Soviet Union, was the night raid on June 22, 1944, when 180 He 111 from KG 53 and 55 bombed the United States strategic air base in the Poltava region. During the attack, the Germans destroyed 44 Flying Fortresses and damaged 25 more. 6 Yak-9s and 6 Kittyhawks that took off from the 310th Air Defense Aviation Division, which covered this air base, did not find a single bomber on a moonless dark night, and they flew away with impunity. After this incident, the decline of the Kittyhawks began in the air defense of the USSR. They began to be replaced by more suitable fighters: Spitfire IX, P-47D-25, P-39Q, as well as La-7 and Yak-9, although the last P-40M-10 and P-40N-30 continued to serve until 1947-1949. .
The aviation of the navy was the third "consumer" of the P-40 fighters. Only Kittyhawks were sent there, although the first P-40Es were mistakenly called Tomahawks. Their career in the Air Force of the Navy can be divided into 3 periods: April-May 1942 - "euphoria", June 1942 - July 1943 - "cooling", from the autumn of 1943 - "renaissance".
At first, the increased interest in the R-40 fighters was associated with new tasks for the aviation of the navy - air cover for allied convoys. Here, the range became the main thing - the farther the fighters met the convoys at sea, the less they got from enemy torpedo bombers and bombers - as a rule, sea transports in the operational zone of the fighters did not suffer losses. And the maximum range of 1100 kilometers was precisely the trump card of the R-40.
The Second Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment was considered the best in the aviation of the Northern Fleet. Its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Safonov B.F., a famous Soviet naval ace, was not only the first Hero of the Soviet Union in the Northern Fleet, but also one of four pilots awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a high British award, for military success. Naturally, the Kittyhawks were sent to this particular regiment.
The first pair of P-40Es arrived in April 1942, 12 more arrived in May, and the last 10 arrived in June. Combat use began almost immediately, although at first there were problems with the engines. Safonov was the first in the Northern Fleet to score an aerial victory on the Kittyhawk - on May 17 he shot down a Ju 88, which is confirmed by the materials of the Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv Koblenz. However, already on May 30 Safonov B.F. did not return from a sortie to cover the PQ-16 convoy. In the heat of battle, the circumstances of his death were not noticed, and the engine failure was considered the most likely reason ... Together with the low flight qualities that emerged during operation, this undermined the pilots' confidence in the Kittyhawks, and by autumn they were transferred to secondary tasks . In August, the regiment was re-equipped with Aerocobras Mk.l. Here, the P-40E fighters were more or less actively used until the end of 1942, and then they were listed in the regiment, idle without engines on the ground. So, on 05/01/1943, the Second Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment had nine P-40Es, of which only one was with an engine ...
The combat losses of the R-40 were small: in May 1942 - 2 vehicles, by the end of the year - 3 more, until July 1943 - 4. A total of 9 aircraft were lost, non-combat losses amounted to 3 vehicles. The successes of the Kipihauks were incomparable with the achievements of their colleagues who flew the Air Cobras, but still not bad: in the period from 06/29/1942 to 12/15/1942 they were credited with 15 downed aircraft (6 Ju 88 and 9 Bf 109). Sergeant Major Bokiy achieved the best results, from June 1, 1942 to January 1, 1943, he won 5 victories.
Then, almost until the spring of 1943, the Kittyhawks did not enter the USSR naval aviation, even despite previous grandiose plans - the command of the Air Force of the Navy in September 1941 prepared an application for 100 R-38 and 500 R-40! New deliveries of Kittyhawks to the Northern Fleet began in mid-September 1943. Initially, 11 P-40Es were sent to the 255th Fighter Wing in addition to the 20 Air Cobras they had at their disposal. However, then they decided to send these vehicles only to units that are armed with very outdated equipment. So, for example, by mid-October, all P-40Es from the 2nd Guards and 255th Fighter Aviation Regiments were in IAP 78, which had been fighting on the Hurricanes since 1941. On November 3, 1 R-40K-15 and 13 R-40M-10 were sent here to raise morale, and the regiment began combat work at the end of the year. The pilots of the regiment until November 1, 1944 (the time of the completion of hostilities in the Arctic) showed good results, both in air battles and in the skill of bombing and assault strikes. Using the P-40M-10 (apparently, the old P-40E were immediately written off due to wear and tear), they shot down 44 German aircraft: 37 Bf 109, 4 FW 190 and one Ju 88, BV 138, Bf 110. In October In 1944, during attacks on the port of Kirkenes, they took a bomb load greater than the IL-2: the FAB-500 was suspended under the fuselage (or a combination - under the fuselage of the FAB-250 plus under the wing 2 FAB-100). They were the first in the Northern Fleet to use top-mast bombing, and only on October 11, 1944, the group of Captain Strelnikov V.P. sank 6 boats and 2 barges!
The P-40 from December 1943 began to receive the 27th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which had previously flown I-153s and Hurricanes, and from October of the following year, the 53rd and 54th Aviation Regiments of the White Sea Flotilla, which continued with the Kittyhawks operate Catalinas, MBR-2s, I-15s, I-153s and Hurricanes. From September 1943, 3 R-40M-10s were used in the 118th ORAP for reconnaissance. Naval aviation workshops in June 1944, one Kittyhawk was converted into a light two-seat bomber.
In the Black Sea Fleet, Kittyhawks began to appear in April 1943. Since the air forces of the Black Sea Fleet were considered to be of secondary importance, here the air regiments were replenished last, and the fleet of aircraft was of various types, worn out and outdated. For example, in the spring of 1943, in the 7th and 62nd fighter regiments, there were from 3 to 11 fighters of 7 different types: I-15, I-153, I-16, LaGG-3, MiG-3, Yak-1, Yak-7. It was in these units, as well as in RAP 30, that from April 1943 they began to distribute the latest models of Kittyhawks - R-40K-10 and R-40M-10 - arriving along the southern route. The 65th Fighter Aviation Regiment (its re-equipment began in September 1943) was replenished with P-40N-1s in November, and from December with P-40N-5s. The Black Sea Kittyhawks performed well in combat, but mainly as air defense fighters and attack aircraft. The most famous operations in which they participated were the raids on the port of Constanta (Romania), the disruption in 1944 of the evacuation of the Germans from the Crimea, and the protection of the Yalta Conference of the Heads of the Allied Powers in February 1945.
The number of "Kigtyhawks" in the Black Sea Fleet was constantly increasing: in May 1943 there were 19 of them, and already on December 1 - 42. In 1943, combat losses were minimal - only 3 aircraft. The largest number of P-40s in the Black Sea Fleet was on January 1, 1945 - 103 pieces, and by 09/10/1945 it was reduced to 89.
P-40s did not participate in battles against Japan - the air forces of the Pacific Fleet had only two training Kittyhawks transferred in June 1945 from the Northern Fleet.
In general, the Soviet Air Forces of the Navy in 1941-1945 received 360 R-40 aircraft of all models, while in battle they lost 66 (18 percent) - the minimum percentage of losses among all types of fighters!
In conclusion, we can say that in the Soviet Union three twice Heroes of the Soviet Union out of 27 fought on Kitgihawks: Safonov B.F., Pokryshev P.A. (on account of his 22 personal and 7 group victories) and Kuznetsov M.V. (22 and 6), and the last two on the "Kitgihawks" flew for more than a year. Many pilots on them became Heroes of the Soviet Union and aces, and a number of air regiments on the R-40 won the title of Guards. In general, the car fought well, although it had characteristic flaws that significantly narrowed its scope.
Curtis
© Mikhail Bykov
Curtiss Hawk-81 (P-40C) from the American volunteer group "Flying Tigers" in the Chinese Air Force, spring 1942.
The R-1830 engine, reliable and powerful for aircraft of the 30s, had become obsolete by the beginning of the next decade, so the V-1710 V-engine was chosen for the new aircraft based on the Model 75. The installation of this engine in a revised version of the R-36A led to the appearance of the Model 81 aircraft, which first flew in October 1940 under the designation XP-40. First serial modification new car became the R-40 fighter. The first serial P-40 fighters were equipped with an Allison V-1710-33 engine with an HP 1055 power.
Engine 12 cylinder Allison V-1710-33(с15) 1710 cubic inch (28022 cm 2) liquid-cooled V-shaped in-line liquid-cooled manufactured by Allison Division of General Motors. Instead of a turbocharger, the engine was equipped with a conventional drive single-speed single-stage centrifugal supercharger and therefore had a relatively low altitude (3650 m). This was in line with the views of American military experts, who intended to use the aircraft mainly for the defense of the US coast and attack ground targets. And to carry out tasks of this kind, the excessive altitude of the fighter was useless.
Starting engine power 1040 hp / 777 kW at 2800 rpm.
Operating power at an altitude of 4600 m 960 hp / 716 kW at 2600 rpm.
Combat power at the same altitude 1090 hp / 813 kW at 3000 rpm.
The engine was equipped with a three-bladed Curtiss Electric variable-pitch propeller with a diameter of 3.36 m.
Armament The P-40 has two 12.7 mm Colt Browning M2 machine guns mounted under the hood above the cylinder block (ammunition load 235 rounds per barrel) and two Colt Browning 7.62 mm machine guns in the wings. On the R-40A, R-40B and R-40C, two 12.7 mm Colt Browning M2 machine guns mounted under the hood above the cylinder block (ammunition load 235 rounds per barrel) and four Colt Browning 7.62 mm machine guns in the wings (according to 500 rounds per barrel for internal machine guns and 480 rounds per barrel for external machine guns).
A 500-pound (227 kg) bomb could be suspended under the fuselage. Under the wings, it was possible to carry two 100-pound (45 kg) bombs or six 10-kg bombs (M-42 or T-7) or six 13.6-kg bombs (M-5).
There was no armor protection of the car, the fuel tanks were not protected.
Until the end of 1940, 199 of these aircraft were built for the US Air Corps.
After the surrender of France, all 142 fighters manufactured for France were handed over to Great Britain, where they were given a new designation - "Tomahawk" Mk I.
In January 1941, the factories switched to the production of the P-40V, which was equipped with a frontal armored glass of the cockpit, an armored back of the pilot's seat, protected gas tanks and two additional wing-mounted machine guns of 7.62 mm caliber. The weight of the aircraft increased by 200 kg, but its flight performance deteriorated slightly. The British government also became interested in this modification, placing an order in America for 110 fighters, designated Tomahawk Mk II and Mk IIA (their difference was only in an American or British-style radio station). At the request of the customer, the American wing machine guns were replaced with English caliber 7.69 mm.
The P-40S, which was produced from March 1941, had a slightly modified fuel system, thanks to which an additional fuel tank with a capacity of 197 liters could be suspended under the fuselage of the aircraft. Under the wing appeared holders for bombs with a total weight of up to 227 kg. The newly increased takeoff weight led to a decrease in the maximum speed of the fighter to 555 km / h. In total, 193 P-40Cs were delivered to the US Air Force units, and 328 aircraft of this type under the designation "Tomahawk" Mk IIB were intended for the RAF (49 of them were later transferred to the USSR. Another 100 "Tomahawk" Mk. IIB (sometimes they were designated as H-81A -3) were handed over to China where they were used as part of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) led by General Clair Lee Chennault, informally known as the Flying Tigers.
Although imported vehicles were of little combat value, England was in a situation where there was no choice. However, soon after the "Battle of England" ended, the opportunity arose to replace American aircraft with English ones. The release of the Hurricane and Spitfire fighters grew and fully satisfied the army's need for aircraft. The battered Tomahawks were handed over to the USSR, Turkey and Egypt. In total, the Soviet Union received 146 vehicles from England and 49 directly from the United States.
Pictured above is a P-40C that was part of the AVG in China, 1941.
| Characteristics of the aircraft "Tomahawk" | |||||
| XP-40 | P-40 | P-40B | P-40C | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomahawk | - | Mk. I | Mk. II | Mk. IIB | |
| Crew | 1 | ||||
| Dimensions | |||||
| Length, m | 9.67 | ||||
| Height, m | 2.79 | 3.22 | 3.22 | 3.22 | |
| Wingspan, m | 11.35 | ||||
| Wing area, m² | 21.92 | ||||
| Weight, kg: | |||||
| empty | 2356 | 2439 | 2559 | 2636 | |
| Takeoff | 2849 | 3079 | 3323 | 3424 | |
| Maximum takeoff | 3116 | 3273 | 3468 | 3655 | |
| Power point | |||||
| 12 cylinder V-shaped Allison V-1710 - | 19 | 33 | 33 | 33 | |
| Power, hp | 1160 | 1055 | 1055 | 1055 | |
| flight data | |||||
| Speed, km/s | maximum | 526 | 575 | 566 | 555 |
| at height, m | 3468 | 4572 | 4572 | 4572 | |
| Set time | min | 3.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.7 |
| height, m | 3658 | 4572 | 4572 | 4572 | |
| Ceiling, m | 9449 | 9982 | 9906 | 8992 | |
| Radius, km | 740 | 1529 | 1175 | 1287 | |
| Maximum radius, km | 1899 | 2253 | 1979 | 2173 | |
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