Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 146

After searching around the world, Zhu Chuanren found that the submarine he wanted to buy had not been produced at all, and almost all the submarines he could buy were old products that were about to become obsolete, which was a waste of money.

Forced to have no choice, he had no choice but to turn his gaze to the sky. Since he was destined to be unable to play in the water, he would think of a way in the sky.

Considering that the main opponent in the future will be the small-scale Type Zero, when purchasing fighters, one must also purchase based on the characteristics of the Type Zero.

What are the characteristics of the Zero fighter?

On June 1942, 6, a Type 3 Zero fighter that took off from the aircraft carrier Ryujo to attack the Aleutian Islands made an emergency landing on Aktan Island due to engine failure and capsized. The pilot Tadayoshi Koga died.

But the plane itself was miraculously unscathed.

It was discovered by the Americans five weeks later. In August 1942, the aircraft was sent to the North Island base in San Diego for a series of flight tests. It was found that the Zero fighter had very good and very low wing load and stall characteristics. Good, low-speed handling is extremely responsive.

This was due to the safety requirements for aircraft take-off and landing, and based on Neon's idea of ​​attaching great importance to horizontal maneuvering capabilities at that time.

Many of the above characteristics make the Zero fighter extremely excellent in horizontal plane maneuvering capabilities.

Both the turning radius and the turning rate exceeded the main models of the Allied forces participating in the war at that time.

The aircraft's excellent horizontal turning capability made it difficult for allied pilots to get close to the Zero's path from behind and gain a chance to fire;

On the contrary, the Zero fighter's superior maneuvering ability often puts the Zero fighter at an advantage in early close air battles.

And compared with fighter aircraft of the same period, it has an incredible range.

Good rate of climb below medium altitude. The instantaneous climb rate is almost comparable to that of an aerobatic aircraft.

Even if the tail is bitten, one or two flips may reverse the situation and bite the enemy aircraft.

For a carrier-based aircraft, it has pretty good omnidirectional vision.

Compared to fighters of the same period, it was the earliest aircraft equipped with a 20mm cannon.

For fighter aircraft from various countries with incomplete early ballistic-related equipment and weak structures, the firepower of this caliber level is very intimidating.

And the possibility of a single-engine light fighter shooting down a four-engine heavy bomber is greatly increased.

This kind of firepower was beyond the reach of the Type-1 Fighting Falcon, which was more agile than the Zero fighter at the same time but was armed with only two machine guns.

At the time of the war in the Pacific, it had a very clean and beautiful aerodynamic shape and very low drag for an air-cooled engine-equipped machine. (Resistance coefficient 0.0234, comprehensive resistance area 0.525㎡)

This not only helps achieve higher speeds with lower horsepower, but is also good for fuel economy when cruising.

At the beginning of the battle, its initial acceleration is second only to the One-Style Fighting Falcon and better than almost all opponents. When faced with an opponent whose speed is higher than one's own, there is often a chance to capture and shoot down the opponent before it reaches a speed higher than one's own.

After talking about the advantages, of course we have to talk about the disadvantages. This is the key.

Because the design requires low wing loads, the weight of the aircraft must be deliberately reduced. As a result, the structural strength is insufficient to adapt to the stress generated by large-scale movements at high speeds. Prototype No. 2 aircraft encountered a dive overshoot. The wing spar and main wing outer panels were unable to bear the load, causing the structure to disintegrate. situation, this problem still exists on mass-produced machines.

Although the Japanese army knew the problem very early and tried to strengthen and modify the airframe structure, the problem that the Zero fighter was weaker than its opponents in high-speed dives in strength and controllability compared with Western fighters has never been substantially solved.

In addition, insufficient structural strength also means that the aircraft's ability to withstand battle damage is not high.

Xiaoben's engine technology is not as good as other advanced aviation countries, so the flight performance of the Zero fighter must be achieved by almost obsessively reducing the weight of the aircraft body, exacerbating the structural strength problem mentioned in the previous point.

The control surface of the Zero fighter is difficult to change the angle at high speeds, resulting in a serious reduction in movement performance. This problem begins to appear at an airspeed of approximately 220mph (354km/h). Once the airspeed exceeds 300mph (483km/h), the control surface becomes difficult to control. The rod requires a lot of force to move.

According to the actual combat testimonies of some Zero fighter pilots, the lever force when exceeding 500km/h is so strong that it requires two hands and one leg to pull it.

In other words, the movement performance in the medium and high speed range is obviously inferior to that of Allied fighters of the same speed level. In the later period, when facing the new generation of British and American fighters with higher speed levels, the gap was even more desperate.

The quality of radio communication is poor, and sometimes pilots will simply remove the radio and use hand gestures to communicate in order to save weight; neither the former nor the latter has the ability to flexibly, immediately and accurately command the squadron to execute group tactics.

The fuel tank lacks a flame-resistant design when hit by a gun. Its proudly lightweight and high-strength sheet material - "super-dura aluminum" - is prone to oxidation and makes the aircraft more flammable. The driver's seat is virtually invulnerable to gun bullets. No protection.

The lack of defense caused pilots to be easily damaged. In the later stages of the war, it was difficult for experienced pilots to pass on their actual combat experience due to heavy casualties. As a result, the quality of novices stagnated, causing them to die faster in subsequent battles.

Even if new cutting-edge aircraft were put into service at the end of the war, there was no sufficient number of qualified candidates to test fly or compete with the Allies in actual combat. This vicious cycle became the main reason why Japan's HNA was unable to sustain its strength in its final years.

In the later stages of the war, the Ugly Kingdom had figured out a way to counter the Zero, using formation methods such as "hit and run" or "Saatchi Cut" to replace simple circular dogfights, allowing the aircraft with poor dive speed and low roll rate to Early Zero fighters were no match for it.

The low muzzle velocity of the Type 99 20mm cannon of the early Zero fighter resulted in a short effective range, insufficient penetration, curved and scattered ballistics, and poor continuous fire performance. In fact, the effective range was shorter than the 0.50-inch heavy machine gun of China. Much more.

In addition, the ammunition base is small (the early type 60-type No. gun only has rounds each), which is only enough for one or two long bursts for less experienced pilots. The ammunition is already exhausted when the preload is still being explored. The actual combat effect is extremely low.

Once the 20mm cannon is exhausted, the pilot can only rely on the 7.7mm machine gun on the nose of the aircraft. Unfortunately, the caliber and power of this gun are too small to penetrate the armor plates of many fighters, and it is even difficult to damage the structure. It requires very high density and a long time. The hit will take effect.

The ballistic trajectories and muzzle velocities of the 7.7mm machine gun and the 20mm machine gun are also very different. Unless they get closer to within meters and fire, only one of the two can hit when the guns and guns are fired together.

It is difficult for novice pilots to grasp the shooting feel. Even experienced pilots with superior shooting skills, such as Saburo Sakai, still complain a lot about the poor performance of the Type 99 No. 1 gun.

The mid-to-late-stage Zero fighter was equipped with a long-barreled Type 60 No. 100 gun that increased muzzle velocity to improve penetration and ballistic characteristics. The ammunition base also experienced two increases (125 → → ). Pilots welcomed this change. .

However, it was found that the problem of ballistic divergence when using the new cannon on the Zero fighter is still serious.

This is due to the fact that the main wing structure of the Zero fighter is too weak, resulting in poor flexibility. It cannot stabilize the gun body when it withstands cannon-level recoil, thus causing ballistic divergence problems.

Although the Zero fighter tried to strengthen the main wing during its improvement, the high muzzle velocity of the Type 99 No. 2 gun also increased the recoil. After the two phases were offset, this problem remained unsolved until the end.

1931, Calshot, Hampshire, UK

50 spectators gathered here from all over the world to watch the 12th "Schneider Cup" seaplane competition.

This famous air race, which has been held since 1913, was funded by Jacques Schneider, a French billionaire who loved flying.

But strangely, the rich man restricted the air race to only seaplanes.

Why is this?

Since the Wright brothers invented the airplane, the aviation industry in various countries around the world has developed rapidly, and the aviation industry has also made major breakthroughs.

The development of new engines, the gradual development of aircraft from double wings to single wings, and the development of fuselages from wood and cloth to all-metal manufacturing have made aircraft fly faster and faster.

But at that time, high-speed aircraft taking off from land encountered a problem: the runway length was insufficient.

Since the flaps used to increase the lift of the aircraft and help the aircraft take off and land over short distances had not yet been invented and applied, high-speed aircraft with high wing load designs at that time must have a sufficiently long take-off and landing flap to take off and land smoothly. track. This condition obviously limited the development of high-speed aircraft at that time.

However, pilots from various countries who enjoy pursuing flight speed will not give up their efforts to continue to improve the flight speed of aircraft because of this problem.

Since land has limitations, why not set your sights on the vast water?

Of course, from an aerodynamic point of view, the speed of the seaplane will also be greatly affected by the presence of two huge pontoons.

However, since there is no limit on the length of the runway, aircraft manufacturers and pilots in various countries can also relax and concentrate on improving the flight speed of the aircraft.

It was for this reason that Mr. Schneider limited his air races to seaplanes.

Therefore, in the "Schneider Cup" competition field, high-speed seaplanes from European and American countries have appeared one after another, constantly refreshing the flying speed record of seaplanes.

Among them, the three countries with the most fierce competition are China, Italy and the United Kingdom.

At the "Schneider Cup" held in 1931, a seaplane with a beautiful streamlined design attracted the attention of the audience.

This monoplane seaplane equipped with a powerful new engine produced by Rolls-Royce successfully defeated its American and Italian counterparts at a speed of 547 kilometers per hour. In the eyes of the audience It flew across the sky quickly and won the championship.

But no one, including its designer Reginald Mitchell, could have imagined that this Super Marlin S.6B seaplane would later become the aircraft carrier that fought bloody battles with the Nazi Air Force in the skies of Britain and changed the world. The technological pioneer of the famous fighter jet that sealed the fate of the Empire - the Spitfire.

The legend of the famous machine "Spitfire" has thus begun.

In the 30s, with the advancement of aviation technology, the development of monoplane aircraft became increasingly mature.

They fly faster and higher than biplane fighters.

In the field of military aviation, major aviation technology countries have begun to compete to develop monoplane combat aircraft in order to gain technological advantages for their air forces in future battles with enemies for the sky.

In 1930, the British Aviation Ministry issued a new fighter development specification: F7/30 based on the international situation and the advancement of aviation technology, which required the development of high-speed, high-climb rate, long-range fighter jets, and increased the number of weapons carried by the aircraft.

This document has changed the conservative situation of the British in the field of fighter development in the past, and it is a brand new challenge for aviation manufacturing companies and fighter designers.

Reginald Mitchell's Super Marlin Company participated in this challenging competition.

At that time, the S.6B seaplane they developed won again in the 1931 "Schneider Cup" flight competition, which gave them great confidence.

Soon, they came up with their own work: the Type 224 fighter plan.

This fighter adopts a single-wing design and is equipped with a Rolls-Royce "Goshawk" 600-horsepower steam-cooled engine. It is expected to fly at a speed of 400km/h.

However, in subsequent test flights, the engine's steam cooling system often failed, and its flight speed was not ideal.

In the end, the British chose a more conservative biplane: the Gloucester Company's "Fighter" as the main fighter.

The Reginald team, which failed in the Type 224 fighter project, was not discouraged. They quickly set about solving various technical problems that arose during the test flight and made further design improvements, including appropriately reducing the size of the main wings and adopting a closed cockpit. and adding oxygen breathing apparatus for pilots, among other things.

The biggest improvement was that it was equipped with a liquid-cooled engine newly developed by Rolls-Royce at the time: the V-12 1000-horsepower "Merlin" engine.

The new model equipped with the Merlin engine was named the Type 300 fighter.

In January 1935, the British Aviation Ministry, which had been paying close attention to Supermarine's new fighter, sent the company a purchase intention contract and requested that the fighter be equipped with four 1mm machine guns (later changed to eight).

The test flight work started quickly and soon showed amazing progress: On March 1936, 3, during the test flight of the prototype No. K5, it flew at a high speed of 5054km/h, which was far beyond the official required indicators. The flight performance of the aircraft is also very stable.

After Supermarine's chief test pilot Matt Summers jumped off the prototype, he only said one sentence to everyone:

"Don`t touch anything"

Faced with this "perfect" aircraft, the design team still had one important thing to do: give their work a name.

Spitfire was chosen for her by Sir Robert MacLean, chief designer of Vickers, the parent company of Supermarine Corporation.

This name, this word is a metaphor for a girl who is easily excited or hysterical.

In fact, because the prototype of the Spitfire was too delicate and sensitive during the design and flight test stages, and the characteristics that affected the entire body of the engine made the amount of changes extremely complicated, plus the name had to use the first letter S of Super Marin, the word Spitfire. It's just right.

But designer Reginald Mitchell disagreed, "They would choose such a stupid and murderous name!"

After Reginald died of cancer in 1937, the design team adopted the resounding name "Spitfire" as the official name of the fighter jet.

Reginald's assistant Josephine Smith took over Reginald's work and became the chief designer of the Super Marin, completing an important leap from prototype development to mass production of the Spitfire.

In June 1936, the British Aviation Ministry formally proposed a contract to Supermarine Company, requiring the purchase of 6 Spitfires, with at least 310 Spitfires being able to roll off the production line every week.

This put Supermarine in a difficult position: they were only a small company with a small production line, and they still had the task of helping Vickers produce the "Walrus" seaplane and the "Wellington" bomber.

Since your own production line cannot meet the needs, why not go to other companies to borrow production lines?

But Vickers Company was worried that its core technology and drawings would be leaked if it contracted out the Spitfire production project, and refused to find subcontractors.

When mass production began, Supermarine's factories also discovered that the Spitfire's cantilevered lower wing was difficult to process and produce, which slowed down the production and delivery of the entire machine.

After the Spitfire mass production was hindered, the anxious British Ministry of Aviation even proposed that Supermarine stop producing Spitfires and instead start producing Bristol's "Handsome Warrior" twin-engine heavy fighter.

In the end, with the efforts of Supermarine and its parent company, Vickers-Armstrong, and the promise that production would be increased to meet the requirements, the Spitfire was reluctantly able to survive.

For various reasons, the first mass-produced Spitfire was not delivered to the Royal Air Force until August 1938.

When ordinary people see Spitfire for the first time, they will praise her beautiful streamlined appearance.

Bureau Zuo once said: "To see whether its combat performance is good or not, first check whether it looks good. If the equipment does not look good, it will definitely not have good combat performance. This is true for any weapon and equipment."

Compared with fighter jets from various countries at the same time, the cutting-edge Spitfire quickly won the favor of people in the aviation industry with its good looks.

Behind her good looks is the British designer’s unique aerodynamic shape design, which is a perfect combination of science, technology and art.

With the help of the streamlined aerodynamic shape, the flight wind resistance is reduced, and the Spitfire's flight speed is greatly improved.

The use of variable torque propellers allows the Spitfire to utilize the maximum effective power of the engine at any flight speed;

The cantilever lower wing with an elliptical plane shape, although the manufacturing process is complex and labor-intensive, has good aerodynamic characteristics and a large lift-to-drag ratio;

The use of all-metal load-bearing skin and self-sealing fuel tanks makes the aircraft less likely to catch fire after being hit, improving the pilot's survival rate in air battles... It can be said that the Spitfire at that time gathered the technological crystallization of the British aviation industry. It is the product of the accumulation of British industrial strength.

The main wing of the Spitfire has a very interesting design: Supermarine engineers designed the wing end part of the main wing to be detachable and replaceable. On the basis of the standard wing, an extension part can be installed to turn it into an extension wing to increase the altitude. flight stability; or replace it with a short clipped wing to increase low-altitude horizontal flight performance.

In terms of weapons and equipment, the early model of the Spitfire (Mk.Ia) was equipped with eight 8-inch (0.303mm) aviation machine guns. However, front-line pilots soon pointed out that the 7.7mm small water pipe was not powerful enough and required an average of 7.7 rounds of ammunition. Shoot down an enemy plane.

The pilots believed that this problem must be solved by installing a 20mm cannon.

在后续的改进型：Mk.Ib上，喷火搭载了2门20毫米西斯帕诺机炮（每门备弹60发）和4挺7.7毫米机枪（备弹350发），这成为了后期喷火沿用的主要武装搭载方式。

In order to increase the ground attack capability, Super Marine installed a bomb rack on the Mk. III, allowing it to drop 500-pound (250 kg) bombs or mount 3.5-inch rockets.

The "Spitfire" has developed many modifications such as fighter jets, fighter-bombers, reconnaissance aircraft, trainers and carrier-based fighters (Sea Spitfire). The Royal Air Force generally uses Roman numerals to indicate the modification numbers, from Mk.I to Mk.

In 1939, the German army blitzed Poland, and the second station kicked off. The well-prepared German army then swept across the European continent and launched an attack on France.

In order to help its allies, when Britain sent an expeditionary force to fight on the ground with the French army, it also planned to send its own Royal Air Force to France to participate in the war.

However, General Hugh Dowding, Commander of the Royal Air Force Fighter Command, believed that aiding a defeated France was a "waste".

On May 1940, 5, at a meeting of the British Cabinet, he brought a chart of the losses suffered by the Royal Air Force in the war so far and warned that if fighter jets continued to take risks to France, the line on the chart would be It will drop to zero immediately.

In the end, Uncle Qiu gave up his plan to send more air forces to France, and only let the Spitfire be responsible for air cover for the British fleet retreating from the Dunkirk transport force.

During the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Spitfire encountered a strong opponent: a cutting-edge fighter piloted by German pilots who had been trained on the Spanish battlefield: the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter.

The performance of Spitfire and Bf 109 are very similar.

The former has a better turning radius at all altitudes and is superior to the Bf 109 in horizontal maneuverability, but the Bf-109 has a superior climb and better vertical maneuverability.

The Bf-109's Daimler-Benz DB601A engine has an advanced fuel injection device that allows the aircraft to perform a high-speed dive attack without losing power.

The fire-breathing "Merlin" engine uses conservative float-type carburetor technology. When performing a vertical dive, the engine is prone to sudden flameout, causing aircraft crashes and fatalities.

Such flight characteristics caused German pilots to often adopt tactics of dive attacks and one-shot escapes, while British pilots would bite the tail of the Germans in the melee and maneuver horizontally to look for fighters.

In the skies over Dunkirk and the English Channel, the British army lost a total of 67 Spitfire fighter jets, but this also brought valuable practical experience to the British Air Force and became familiar with the techniques of fighting German fighter jets.

In the ensuing Air Battle of Britain, the British army used the more produced "Hurricane" fighters as the main model to intercept German bombers, while the relatively small number of Spitfires was responsible for blocking the German escort fighters.

In the early days of the Battle of Britain, British pilots adopted a compact three-plane herringbone formation. Although this formation looked good, it limited the pilots' vision and mobility. It was not easy to fly closely together with caution. The pilots always focused on Don't block each other's way. There won't be enough space to dodge when enemy planes rush over.

When German pilots intervened in the Spanish Civil War, they had developed a set of two-plane and four-plane formation tactics. The distance was large, so they did not have to worry about running into teammates, and they could still cooperate flexibly with each other.

The British, who suffered from formation tactics, learned quickly. They perfected a loose "fingertip formation" 4-plane formation tactic. The four planes are positioned like the four fingertips of the right hand when the back of the hand is facing up, cruising. At this time, the "index finger" and "middle finger" are stared at one side, and the "little finger" and "ring finger" are stared at the other side, which expands the reconnaissance field of view. In air combat, it is undoubtedly crucial to discover the opponent first.

During combat, the "middle finger" and "ring finger" work together to attack, while the wingman on the index finger and little finger is responsible for covering.

In fierce air battles, the Spitfire formations always succeeded in breaking up the German escort fighter groups, providing opportunities for the Hurricane fighters to approach the bombers.

They bit the tail of the Bf 109 and drove one Messerschmitt into the sea one after another. The Bf 109, which had a short range to begin with, also showed great discomfort in the face of the Spitfire fight. After a few short encounters, it was over. They can only withdraw to the base, and it is difficult to give full play to their own advantages.

After the Luftwaffe shifted from attacking British airports to attacking large cities such as London, the British Air Force, which took a breather, effectively resisted the Luftwaffe's intrusive bombings with the support of the "Homeland Chain" radar network, and ultimately won the Air Battle of Britain.

After that, the Spitfires were also transferred to the Mediterranean theater and launched a brutal and fierce air battle with the German and Italian Air Force.

After the German Air Force invested in the cutting-edge Fw 190 fighter that was good at medium and low-altitude combat, the Spitfire V fighter equipped by the British army was suppressed by the German army for a period of time. It was not until the improved Spitfire IX fighter arrived at the front line that the Fw The air dominance crisis brought about by 190.

In 1943, a portion of the Spitfires were sent to the Pacific Theater to fight the Neons.

The British pilots who had just arrived did not follow the advice and advice of the local P-40 fighter pilots who had fought against Neon, "not to engage in low-altitude circling fights with the Japanese Zero fighters, but to break away with one blow." As a result, they were killed in the air battle in northern Australia. Suffered a defeat.

As the number of Spitfires equipped by the British and Australian troops increased, the Spitfire pilots who were familiar with the tactics of fighting neon aircraft quickly achieved a large number of results and gained air superiority in the northern airspace of Australia.

Starting in 1944, the German army began to launch V-1 cruise missiles towards the British mainland. In order to intercept these missiles, the British army specially modified a batch of Spitfires and removed all their weapons and armor plates to reduce weight and increase flight speed.

After approaching the V-1 missile, the British pilot flew alongside it and used his wingtips to stir up the V-1's wings, causing the V-1 to lose control and crash.

Some second-hand Spitfire Vs were provided to the Soviet Air Force in accordance with the requirements of the Lend-Lease Act, but the British removed some of the good parts from these Spitfires for their own use, and replaced the ones for the Bears with inferior or old ones. Damn it, doing this directly harmed the Bear pilot.

During the battle with the German army, these flamethrowers often had problems with their engines, emitting black smoke during the battle. In the end, Mao Xiong had to throw these flamethrowers to the second-line troops.

After the second station, the Spitfire was exported or transferred its production license rights and became the main fighter model of many countries. It was not withdrawn from active service until the mid-22759s. During the second station, a total of Spitfires were produced, making it the largest model produced in the UK.

The beautiful-looking Spitfire helped the British win the Battle of Britain with its excellent combat performance and the pilot's good flying skills. It performed well in a series of subsequent air battles and eventually became a legendary fighter aircraft.

Zhu Chuanren wants to breathe fire, now is the best time.

Because the British have not yet realized the importance of the Spitfire, companies that produce fighter jets also need orders to make money.

Lao Chang followed Zhu Chuanren's suggestion, purchased 80 Spitfires in the name of the country, and selected a team of 200 pilots in advance to receive training in the UK.

In this matter, Zhu Chuanren made great contributions. Without him as the bridge, this matter would not have taken shape so quickly.

The reason why the order was placed for 80 aircraft was not because there was no money, but because Supermarine could only accept orders for 80 aircraft. They could not produce any more, and they were also worried about obstruction by the British Parliament.

But 80 were thrown into the Chinese battlefield, which was not even enough to fill the gaps between teeth, so Zhu Chuanren once again turned his attention to Chou Country.

The Bronco is still on paper and off the table for now.

The only one I can think of right now is the P-40, one of the most controversial fighters in the war.

People often think that the P-40 is slow, has poor maneuverability, poor climbing performance, and is already lagging behind before it was put into production. The U.S. Congress even launched an investigation due to the shortcomings of the P-40. The aircraft is often listed as the worst aircraft in the war. Among the poor fighters.

The above accusations are accurate to a certain extent, but please don’t forget that the P-40 and P-39 were the only fighter jets that the U.S. Army Air Forces equipped with a large number of troops in the first year of the Pacific War.

Before the more advanced American-made fighter jets were put into mass production, it was these two aircraft that fought against the Zero on the front line and contributed to containing the advance of the Japanese army.

The P-40 has no major flaws and is a joy to fly. Experienced pilots who are familiar with the aircraft's strengths and weaknesses can achieve good results by utilizing its strengths and avoiding weaknesses in air combat.

Therefore, after better fighters came out, the P-40 continued to be produced for a long time, becoming the third most produced fighter in the country, second only to the Republic's P-47 and the North American P-51.

However, before the first flight of the P-40 prototype, the aircraft's performance had already lagged behind European standards, and it has not been able to catch up in the future.

The initial problems of the P-40 were insufficient firepower and lack of armor and self-sealing fuel tanks, but the U.S. Army Air Forces in the 30s did not require this.

The P-40 is a low-altitude ground support fighter concept developed by the Chinese Army Air Force in the mid-30s. It was not developed for high-altitude interception missions. The design priority of low-altitude performance and structural strength is higher than high-altitude performance.

Because when the P-1937 came out in 40, it was the time when the theory of decisive victory for the Army aviation bombers was at its peak. This theory held that potential enemies could not fly across the ocean to bomb the U.S. mainland, and the tasks of Army aviation fighters were only coastal defense and ground support.

During the war, the U.S. Senate Special Committee investigated the P-40 project and criticized the P-40 from several aspects, focusing on the fact that the Army Aviation purchased outdated fighters in batches and mass-produced the aircraft after the advent of more advanced fighters. , but they did not accuse Army Airlines of favoring Curtis.

The huge output of the P-40 can be seen from the changes in factory building area and manpower data announced by Curtiss. In 1941, the factory area of ​​the Curtiss Aircraft Division expanded by 400%, and the number of workers reached 45000. Two new plants, one in Buffalo, New York, and another in Columbus, Ohio, will complement Curtis' existing plant in St. Louis, Missouri.

At the peak of wartime production, the Curtiss Aircraft Division was producing 60 P-40s per day!

The origins of the P-40 can be traced back to Curtiss' P-36 (Model 75) fighter, which was equipped with a radial air-cooled engine.

The XP-37 that appeared later took a step closer to the P-40 and was equipped with an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-shaped engine and a General Electric turbocharger. For this reason, the cockpit was moved further back.

After that, 13 YP-37 test aircraft were put into service, but the P-37 project was abandoned due to problems with the turbocharger, so the Army Aviation turned to purchasing a simpler P-36 replacement with Allison engine.

寇蒂斯设计师多诺万·柏林在认识到星形发动机已成为P-36A继续提高性能的阻碍后，在1937年7月得到陆航的同意后，给第10架P-36A（38-10）换装了1150马力、带机械增压的艾利森V-1710-19发动机，公司编号Model 75P，陆航编号XP-40。

In order to match the liquid-cooled Allison engine, the P-36 fuselage required a large number of pipeline modifications, and a single-stage supercharger carburetor air inlet and an oil cooler were added between the two machine guns above the nose. It is installed under the nose of the aircraft and the radiator is installed in the belly position behind the wings.

Unlike the XP-37, the P-36's cockpit is not moved back.

The XP-1938 made its first flight on October 10, 14, with test pilot Edward Elliott. The aircraft was equipped with two 40mm machine guns above the nose, which fired through the propeller through a cooperative mechanism. This was also the standard weapon of the U.S. fighter aircraft at the time.

In addition, when performing ground support, the aircraft's underwing pylons can carry six 6-kilogram bombs.

Early test flights of the XP-40 were disappointing, with the aircraft barely reaching a top speed of 483 km/h (300 mph).

In order to reduce drag, the radiator installed on the belly was gradually moved forward during the test flight, and was finally moved under the nose and integrated with the oil cooler. For this reason, the radiator air inlet was redesigned and led to the oil cooler respectively. and two glycol engine radiators.

Initially, the XP-40 had only one integrated exhaust pipe on each side of the front fuselage, which was later changed to six independent exhaust pipes on each side.

Initially, the XP-40 inherited the wheel well covers installed on the main landing gear struts from the P-36. Later, it was simplified and the wheel well covers were eliminated and replaced with two small landing gear strut hatches.

XP-40总重2840千克时在3720米高度能飞到550千米/时的最大速度，比霍克“飓风”要快，但是落后于“喷火”和Bf 109E。

该机空重2457千克，满载重量3116千克，装378升燃油以480千米/时的速度飞行时的航程为740千米；装600升燃油以322千米/时的速度飞行时的宣称航程为1900千米，几乎两倍于同时代的“飓风”、“喷火”和Bf 109E。

The XP-40 has a wingspan of 11.38 meters, a wing area of ​​21.93 square meters, a length of 9.47 meters, and a height of 3.76 meters. This wingspan and wing area remained unchanged throughout the P-40's production period.

In the late 30s, the U.S. Air Force planned to expand its military.

On January 1939, 1, the Army Aviation invited manufacturers to submit plans for new pursuit aircraft. At this time, the Army still wanted a low-altitude, short-range fighter.

参加竞标的方案有洛克希德XP-38、贝尔XP-39、舍维尔斯基/共和XP-41（AP-2）和XP-43（AP-4）、寇蒂斯提交了不下于三种方案——H75R、XP-37、XP-40、XP-42。

Although the performance of the XP-40 is not as good as that of the turbocharged fighters (especially at altitude), it is cheaper and can be mass-produced one year earlier than other fighters.

In addition, the XP-40's fuselage is based on a mature model that has been in mass production for many years, so there is basically no development risk.

因此陆航保守地在1939年4月26日订购了524架生产型P-40（寇蒂斯编号Model 81）。

At the time, this was China's largest fighter jet order. At the same time, the Army Aviation also ordered YP-38 and YP-39 service test aircraft. A few weeks later, the Army Aviation ordered 13 more YP-43s.

P-40基本上与XP-40最终构型一致，除了换装1040马力的V-1710-33(C15)发动机。

The weapons were two 12.7mm machine guns that were standard for the Army Aviation at that time. They were installed above the nose of the aircraft and fired through the propeller through a coordination device.

In addition, a 7.62mm machine gun is installed in each wing.

To reduce drag, production models also used flat-head rivets. Initially, the aircraft was not equipped with armor, bulletproof windshield and leak-proof fuel tanks. Later, the above equipment was installed when the P-40 was in service.

The P-40 had a relatively clean aerodynamic shape and used a fully retractable rear landing gear that was unusual at the time.

1940年4月4日第一架P-40（39-156）首飞，该机在试飞中达到了575千米/时的最大速度（4570米高度），实用升限9980米，初始爬升率939米/分，能在5.2分爬升到4570米高度，巡航速度438千米/时，降落速度129千米/时，航程1530千米（巡航速度402千米/时）。

The P-40 is 9.67 meters long, which is the standard length of all early models of the aircraft. It has an empty weight of 2439 kilograms, a total weight of 3079 kilograms, and a maximum take-off weight of 3273 kilograms.

1940年6月P-40开始装备陆航部队，因为陆航没有订购该机的服役测试机，所以3架P-40被保留用于测试。

The P-40 is painted in Army Aviation standard olive green on the upper surface and gray on the lower surface. The Army Aviation star emblems are painted on both sides of the wings, and the rudder also has Army Aviation standard color bars.

弗吉尼亚州兰利机场的第8驱逐大队（第33、35、36驱逐中队）首先装备P-40，后该部队转移至纽约州米切尔机场。

很快加州汉密尔顿机场的第20大队（第55、77、79中队）、密歇根州塞尔福里奇机场的第31大队（第39、40、41中队）也换装了P-40。

第35大队（第21、34、70中队）在接收P-40训练前先装备了P-39。

接下来是巴拿马运河区的第37大队（第28、30、31中队）、第16大队（第24、29、43中队），以及波多黎各的第36大队（第22、23、32中队）和夏威夷惠勒机场的第15和18大队。

P-40也引起了法国空军的注意，1940年5月订购了140架Model H81-A1（P-40出口型的寇蒂斯编号）。

丑军P-40订单中只有200架按时交付了，序列号39-156~280和40-292~357。

1940年9月剩余324架的交付被推迟，以便让寇蒂斯加快交付法国的H81-A1。

But France fell before the aircraft was delivered, and all ended up in the hands of the British.

(End of this chapter)