RAY CRUPI COLLECTION
No. 13747. Curtiss 87W P-40N Warhawk (44-47773 c/n 33765) US Army Air Forces
Photograph from Curtiss, taken near Buffalo, New York, USA, 1944
Aeroplane Photo Supply (APS) Photo No. 3591

Curtiss 87W P-40N Warhawk
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11/30/2019. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "Seen during an early test flight in the US skies, this P-40N was shipped to Brazil in November 1944. Built under USAAF serials a total of 41 P-40Ns were delivered to the Brazilian AF (FAB) under the Lend-Lease process late 1944 - early 1945:
Curtiss 87W P-40N Warhawk
(4064 c/n 33440) (Johan Visschedijk Collection)

Curtiss 87W P-40N Warhawk
(4064 c/n 33440) (Johan Visschedijk Collection)

At the Museu Aeroespacial (Air and Space Museum) of the Brazilian AF, a single P-40N (ex USAAF 44-7700) is preserved.

Built under the Curtiss model numbers 87V and 87W, the 5,220 P-40Ns were the major and final production model under the P-40 designation. The first 1,500 were to have been P-40Ps with a Packard V-1650-1 engine (license-built Rolls-Royce Merlin) but were redesignated P-40N-1 and P-40N-5 with the 1,200 hp Allison V-1710-81.

The P-40N-1s were lightened airframes similar to the P-40E, K, and M models with four-gun armament, no wing bomb racks, decreased fuel, increased armor, manually-operated landing gear and flaps, and revised radio and oxygen systems. The P-40N-5s had revised pilot's seats and rear-view windows, revised radio, readopted wing bomb racks and fuel tanks, and used 27 in (68.58 cm) magnesium wheels. The P-40N-6s were N-5s fitted with reconnaissance cameras in the fuselage.

The P-40N-10s were winterized; the P-40N-15s had electrical revisions and the P-40N-16s were N-15s with cameras; the P-40N-20s and later models used the V-1710-99 engine, essentially a V-1710-81 with automatic control; the P-40N-25s had revised instrumentation and the P-40N-26s were N-25s with cameras. Three RP-40N-26s were converted to two-seat trainers and the P-40N-30 had revised oil systems. Seventy were converted to P-40R-1 trainers in 1944.

The 22 P-40N-31s were N-30s converted to two-seat trainers. The P-40N-35s had changes in carburetor, instruments, and lighting. The final P-40N-40 variants dispensed with the camouflage finish starting with 44-47860 and used 30 in (76.2 cm) wheels and metal-covered ailerons.

Curtiss 87W P-40N Warhawk
"XP-40N" (Jack Fisher Collection)

One P-40N fitted with an experimental bubble canopy was unofficially called "XP-40N". Under the designation Kittyhawk Mk.IV, 586 were to be for Britain but the first 130 were diverted to the USSR. A further 41 were sent to Brazil, where some served until 1958.

An additional 780 P-40N-40s were cancelled: 44-47969 to 44-48748, c/n 33961 to 34740."


Created November 30, 2019