The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which saw action in the Pacific War. This Volume 20 covers the Curtiss P-40 fighter that served with the RAAF in large numbers from early 1942 until the end of the war.
Around 900 P-40s equipped eight frontline fighter squadrons, a Dutch squadron under RAAF control and various training and miscellaneous units. A further two army co-operation squadrons were converting to the type in late 1945.
The type is best known for its heroic defence of Port Moresby in March 1942 when it battled Mitsubishi Zeros flown by elite Japanese pilots. Later that same year RAAF P-40s excelled in the ground attack role during the Battle of Milne Bay, in what has been described as Japan's first land defeat in the Pacific War. Subsequently the P-40 became an RAAF workhorse throughout Australia, New Guinea and the Netherlands East Indies as a fighter bomber and strafer.
The RAAF P-40 story is a fascinating one born of wartime emergency with the colours and markings greatly varying over a four-year period. This began in early 1942 when USAAF P-40Es were rushed into RAAF service. The final phase saw P-40Ns under direct Australian Lend Lease supply delivered from mid-1943 until early 1945.
This volume provides technical detail on the various P-40E/K/M/N variants operated by the RAAF and the varied markings schemes used by each operating unit. Brief squadron histories are also provided.