Curtiss P-40K Kittyhawk

The P-40 is probably the most recognizable of the Curtiss Aircraft Company's designs. Developed from the P-36A in 1938 the P-40 was technologically inferior to the fighters then in production and development elsewhere in the world. However, it was ordered in large numbers by the U.S. Army and in smaller numbers by the British and French primarily because it could be built quickly and in large numbers using existing production lines. The P-40K model was ordered in October 1941 and the first of them were delivered in August 1942. The early production aircraft were upgraded P-40E versions with an engine rated for high altitudes and a dorsal fin for improved stability. Later K models had the fuselage extended by twenty inches. The P-40 remained in production until 1944 and served throughout the war, despite being superseded by newer designs. Curtiss built a total of 13,738 aircraft, by far the largest production run of any Curtiss design.