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The P-40 went through four significant transformations, comprising 10 official variants, in its international military service. ==Hawk 81A-1 / P-40B / P-40C / Tomahawk I / Tomahawk IIA and Tomahawk IIB== ;Distinguishing Features: Twin nose guns, smaller engine cowling, "long" nose ;Time in Service: 1941-43 ;Major Operators: *RAF Army Cooperation Command 1941–43, with 10+ squadrons equipped by early spring 1942. All based in UK. *Desert Air Force (DAF) 1941–43: North Africa and Syria *Chinese Air Force (American Volunteer Group; AVG; “Flying Tigers”) 1941–42: China/Burma/India (CBI)〔Rossi, J. R. ("History." ) ''AVG: American Volunteer Group, The Flying Tigers,'' 1998. Retrieved: 5 July 2011.〕 *United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 1941–42: Pearl Harbor, Philippines and Java *Военно-воздушные силы (Soviet Air Forces; VVS) 1942–43: Eastern Front (World War II) and Continuation War ;Commentary: This was a very important type for the allies in the early part of the war. Many were destroyed on the ground at Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines in December 1941; it did well with the AVG in China and Burma, and was an effective fighter available to the RAF in the early months of the Desert War. It was also a small but important part of the Soviet arsenal in 1942, being one of the few types available to them which could take on the Bf 109. The earliest version (P-40) had only four guns and lacked armor plate or self-sealing tanks, but the British pressed these into service into North Africa anyway as Tomahawk Is. The P-40B (Tomahawk IIa) had armor behind the pilot, an armored windscreen and partially protected fuel tanks, the P-40C (Tomahawk IIb) had a fully protected fuel system and became heavier, reducing speed to under 350 mph. The Soviets reportedly stripped the wing guns from some of their Tomahawks to improve performance. Used extensively by the RAF's Army Cooperation Command from February 1941 in developing high speed, low level, tactical reconnaissance for the British Army. Replaced by the Mustang I in mid 1942. There were a variety of differences between the British Commonwealth and US variants, (starting with the guns, .303 instead of .30 caliber) so that there is not actually an exact correlation between specific US variants (P-40B etc.) and British Commonwealth export versions (i.e. 'Tomahawk') 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Curtiss P-40 Warhawk variants」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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