After receiving a surprise of much 'wonderful' info and pics of the great P40, I thought I'd post a few bits and peices that, at least I, hadn't seen before. (more to follow, I think )

1. Test flight of an XP40-Q, which never went into production (with another great Curtiss plane in the background).

2. The same plane as a civilian racer, after the war.

The 40-Q had a top speed of 422 mph @20,000 (formidable at the time, but was still inferior in some ways to the P51 & 47 (already in production). You can make out the novel 'shallower' chin scoop and relocated radiator intakes in the 'swollen' wing roots (also used in it's predecessor XP40-N (prototype). The 'bubble canopy was also first used on the 'N' series prototype.

There was a 'final' P40 - the P40-R - but that was simply a collection of 300 or so P40F's and L's which had their Packard Merlins replaced by V1710 Allisons because of a shortage of the Merlins (being used in the P51B and later, D).

So, although not the last model designation of the P40, the Q was the last attempt to improve the P40 to keep it in service after serving in 'virtually' every allied airforce in every theatre of the war from 1939 to (the time pictured) and eventually 1945 (and beyond).

What a marvellous 'inferior' aircraft.

Prof. You might find this discussion interesting. http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=877&highlight=neville+duke
At least one contributor is as passionate as you are about the P-40. Note that it's an old thread so don't go resurrecting it.

I also found this which I believe is the article referred to in one of the replies. http://www.constable.ca/edwards.htm The original link is dead.

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I should have made it clearer that I was thinking of air-to-air combat, specifically interception or short range missions. The range would obviously make a difference for missions like bomber escort. I read an interesting history of the American Eagle squadrons. These were volunteer pilots from the US that served in their own special RAF squadrons during the BoB. The Eagles were originally equipped with Spitfires. When the US entered the war these squadrons were transferred to the USAAC. They retained the Spitfires for a while but these were eventually replaced by US types as they became available. One particular unit was sent the P-47. The pilots objected to this huge clumsy-looking plane at first but soon found out how to use it to their advantage. As you say, you fight with what you have & make the best of it. No point in complaining.

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I've always thought the Defiant was more like the Hurricane. In fact the Luftwaffe pilots mistook it for the Hurricane during their first encounters which gave a false impression of its worth. They soon found out their mistake & attacked from the front where it was completely defenceless. I've often wondered why they didn't convert it into a conventional single-seat fighter as it wasn't a bad looking plane & more modern than the Hurri. The Defiant did have some success as a nightfighter.

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Ah, caught out again. How come I missed that? To be honest I can't say I'd ever heard of it. You chaps are too knowledgeable for me.

Not sure it was ever built though. That's my excuse & I'm sticking to it. While I was punting around I found a CFS2 version of it. You learn something new every day.

Interesting history of the Defiant here. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/types/uk/boulton_paul/defiant/Defiant.htm

Here's the CFS2 P.94. http://www.pavaservices.com/cfs/P94.htm#Downloads

Apparently it's still a beta version. This is copied from the file description.
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From what I can make out from the other site I mentioned the first protype Defiant had the turret removed & the fuselage faired over. This brought it back to the condition it was when it was first tested. Being pedantic I would say that it was more of a P.82 than a P.94.

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Sorry Prof. I see no resemblance to the P-39 or P-51. Still looks like a Hurricane to me.

PS.

Thanks Felix. I would be very interested in seeing that.

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I can't see the P-39, but I can see the XFL-1 Airabonita ... sort of the same plane with the cockpit/engine swpaping places ..

http://www.daveswarbirds.com/usplanes/aircraft/aibonita.htm