Curtiss Kittyhawk

Overview

The Curtiss Kittyhawk was a further improved development of the company's successful P-40 fighter. The improvements included a more powerful engine, additional armament, provision for the carriage of bombs plus numerous other design changes. The P-40 variants became among the most widely-used fighters of the Second World War, being employed by more than a dozen air forces. Kittyhawks came into service with the RCAF in late 1941. In addition to being operated overseas, they were flown by Nos 14, 111, 118, 132, 133, and 135 Squadrons of the home war establishment. Nos 14 and 111 Squadrons were deployed and operated in the Aleutian campaign. On September 25, 1942, Squadron Leader K.A. Boomer, commanding officer of No. 111 Squadron, destroyed a Japanese Rufe floatplane during a fighter sortie in a Kittyhawk over Kiska in the Aleutians. This proved to be the first and only Royal Canadian Air Force air combat victory over North American soil.

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft: A Military Compendium by T.F.J. Leversedge © 2007. Translated and reproduced with permission of the author.

Technical specifications (Kittyhawk Mk III)

Source: Canadian Combat and Support Aircraft: A Military Compendium by T.F.J. Leversedge © 2007. Translated and reproduced with permission of the author.