P-40F-10

P-40F-10

P-40E-1

P-51C-10

P-40F-10

P-40E-1

P-51C-10

USA

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.7	2.7

Class:

Fighter

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

This page is about the American fighter P-40F-10. For other uses, see P-40 (Family).

Description

The P-40F-10 Warhawk is a rank II American fighter with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB) and 2.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X".

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 5,029 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
584	568	11000	21.5	22.0	6.1	6.1	350
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 5,029 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
646	615	11000	18.7	20.0	17.3	9.6	350

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	300	645	~??	~?

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 420	< 380	< 420	> 340

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
3,733 m	1,260 hp	1,584 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
6,400 m	1,175 hp	1,477 hp

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass in front of pilot.
• 3 mm Steel plate in front of oil cooling system.
• 8 mm Steel plate behind the pilot.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The P-40F-10 is armed with:

• 6 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns, wing-mounted (281 rpg = 1,686 total)

Suspended armament

The P-40F-10 can be outfitted with the following ordinance"

• Without load
• 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs
• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs
• 1 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs + 2 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs

Usage in battles

The P-40F-10 performs similarly to the P-40E-1, although it is neither as fast (at lower altitudes) or a better turning time. It has exactly the same armament as the E-1 but it does excel in one thing: bomber killing and fighter bombing.

Bomber hunting

Try to climb to around 10,000 ft early game as your Warhawk does not climb amazingly fast, but once you get up there, you can demolish anything that hovers at that altitude, which tend to be bombers as they don't like being intercepted by low flying fighters.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 12 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe		FSBC mk.1
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV		Engine Injection	Cover		FMBC mk.1

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good survive-ability
• Good energy retention in a dive

Cons:

• Engine prone to overheating
• Like the previous iteration of the P-40, does not do well in a turn fight

History

Although early P-40s were equipped with one of the most powerful inline engines available to the American aircraft industry at the time, it quickly became apparent that even that wasn’t enough. Due to its advanced and robust design, it’s no secret that the P-40 was a relatively heavy aircraft for its type, resulting in power-to-weight issues which would never be fully solved. Nonetheless, Curtiss engineers continued tweaking and improving the design in all aspects, trying to lessen the drawbacks of high weight and insufficient power.

In 1940, the American Packard Motor Car Company acquired a licence to manufacture the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, in an effort to satisfy the growing demand of the British aviation industry. Additionally, the licence gave American engineers access to a more powerful engine at a time where similar U.S. engines were not available. Naturally, Curtiss engineers didn’t waste any time outfitting the P-40 with the brand new licence-built Merlin engine, resulting in the creation of the P-40F. Besides the internal engine upgrade, some external changes were also applied to the aircraft. For instance, the tail section of the fuselage was lengthened in an effort to counter the negative effects of strong engine torque on take-off and landing experienced on earlier modifications. With the changes applied, serial production of the new P-40F was scheduled to begin in 1942. As the British and Commonwealth air forces were particularly keen on a Merlin-engined P-40 variant, they were also the first ones to receive the new P-40Fs as early as summer of the same year.

Despite the British and Commonwealth forces receiving the P-40Fs first, the majority of the 1,300 manufactured machines served with units of the USAAF in the Mediterranean theatre. By the end of the Mediterranean campaign in late 1943, the P-40F had successfully proven the value of the applied changes by presenting itself as a more than capable air superiority fighter, when matched up against previously superior Axis counterparts such as the Bf 109F/G and M.C. 202/205. During its service in the Mediterranean, experienced pilots, applying the right tactics showed that the Warhawk could no longer be considered the underdog, but instead an equal at very least.

Interesting: The Soviet Union received P-40 fighters under the lend-lease program; they were considered to be aircraft with medium efficiency but were quite durable. Lieutenant Alexei Khlobystov in one battle conducted two successful rams and after that encounter, the pilot and his “Kittyhawk” returned to the airfield!

- From Devblog

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Curtiss P-40F: The Mediterranean Angel of Death