Special Sub-Topic: USAAF Fighters of WWII: No.1 Click Here To Play: USAAF Fighters of WWII: No.1

Which company manufactured the P-35?

Seversky. The Seversky company was founded and managed by the ex-Russian Alexander P. de Seversky. The P-35 was the first all metal, closed cockpit and retractable landing gear in the Army Airforce. The P-35 saw combat in the Philippines in the beginning of WWII. Republic was the company that evolved from Seversky following the reorganization of the company due to financial problems. These problems cauased Alexander de Seversky to leave the company. This reorganization caused the name change to Republic.

What was the Curtiss P-36 fighter named in the RAF service?

Mohawk. The British used to give real names to aircraft in use in the RAF (and has continued to do so). Therefore each plane in service in the RAF has a name and not a designation like P-36, P-40 etc. The Warhawk was the USAAF name for the Curtiss P-40E and later models in its service. Blackhawk is the name of the helicopter in US armed forces and other foreign air forces. The Skyhawk is the name of the Douglas A-4 attack plane and also the name of a Cessna light plane.

What was the designation of the photo-recon version of the Lockheed P-38 fighter?

F-5. During WWII photo-recon aircraft were designated F-X (X is a number). After the war those planes were designated by adding the letter "R" before the fighter or bomber designation. Thus the RF-4 was the photo-reconn version of the Phantom. Other photo-recon planes were designated in a similiar way.

What was special about the Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter?

All these are correct. The P-39 was unique in these 3 aspects, especially the engine behind the cockpit. All these facts are also true for the Bell P-63 which was developed from the P-39.

What was the P-400 fighter?

A version of the P-39 fighter. This designation was given to P-39 planes ordered by the RAF and were rejected by the British. They were accepted into USAAF service and served mainly in the Pacific. They are not identical to the P-39, therefore they were given this designation.

How did the canopy of the Bell P-39 open?

The canopy was fixed. The pilot pilot entered the cockpit through a side door in the fuselage. The door opened like a door in a car.

How did the RAF designate the Curtiss P-40 supplied to them?

Tomahawk & Kittyhawk. The Tomahawks were equivalent to earlier P-40 models. The Kittyhawk name was assigned by the British to P-40 versions from P-40D and later.

What was the name of the Republic P-43 fighter?

Lancer. The P-43 was the forerunner of the P-47 Thunderbolt. It was not so successful, but was ordered by the Army in order to keep the production line open until the P-47, which evolved from the P-43, was ready for production.

There was a P-47 with a liquid cooled engine.

True. It was the XP-47H (the "X" indicates it was only experimental). There were only 2 planes of that model. It had a 2,500hp Chrysler 16-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine.

What was the standard armament of the Republic P-47?

6 or 8 .50" machine guns. It was one of the heaviest armaments on a single seat fighter plane during WWII.