P-40E Warhawk 1:72 Academy 12468

Plastic model airplane to assemble: P-40E Warhawk 1:72 Academy 12468

We present the plastic model of the P-40E Warhawk airplane in 1:72 scale, produced by the renowned company Academy. This model is a great opportunity for aviation and modeling enthusiasts to recreate one of the most famous American fighters from World War II.

Model details:

• Scale: 1:72
• Manufacturer: Academy
• Catalog number: 12468
• Material: Plastic

History and significance of the P-40E Warhawk:

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engine, single-seat fighter-bomber that first took to the skies in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the earlier Curtiss P-36 Hawk model, which allowed for a shortened development time and quick introduction into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied forces during World War II and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most produced American fighter of World War II, after the North American P-51 Mustang and the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. By November 1944, when P-40 production ended, 13,738 units had been built, all at the main production facilities of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in Buffalo, New York.

The name Warhawk was given by the United States Army Air Corps, and after June 1941, the USAAF adopted this name for all models, making it the official name in the USA for all P-40s. The air forces of the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B, and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants. The P-40 first saw combat with British Commonwealth squadrons in campaigns in the Middle East and North Africa in June 1941. No. 112 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was one of the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and was the first Allied air unit to introduce the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings from some German Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters.

Despite the lack of a two-speed supercharger in the Allison V-1710 engine, which made it inferior to German fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat, the P-40 played a key role in the Allied air forces in three major theaters of operations: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska, and Italy. In these theaters, where its high-altitude performance was not as critical, it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort, and fighter-bomber.

Although after the war it gained a reputation as an average design, suitable only for close air support, newer studies, including analysis of Allied squadron records, indicate that this was not the case; the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, sometimes suffering heavy losses but also inflicting very heavy losses on enemy aircraft. Based on wartime claims of victories, over 200 Allied fighter pilots – from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the USA, and the Soviet Union – became aces flying the P-40. Among them were at least 20 double aces, primarily over North Africa, China, Burma and India, the Southwest Pacific, and Eastern Europe. The P-40 offered additional advantages of low cost and durability, which kept it in production as an attack aircraft long after it became obsolete as a fighter.

Assembly and painting kit. Does not include paints or glue. To assemble, separately sold modeling tools are needed (including cutters, files, tweezers), paints, brushes, and plastic model glue (e.g. Tamiya Extra Thin Cement). The photo shows a professionally assembled and painted model.