vanguard wrote:
I guess neither of you guys have seen the new AIR CLASSICS
Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us then?
Walrus, the names 'Tomahawk' and 'Kittyhawk' were given by the British to the Hawk 81 and Hawk 87 respectively.
I think the name 'Warhawk' was given by Curtiss around the time production of the P-40F started. In any event, for the most part the name Warhawk stuck in the USA for all Hawk 87s, but some in the USAAF called 'em Kittyhawks and some called 'em both names. Bob Scott was one of the latter; in his books he refers to the P-40 as both 'Warhawk' and 'Kittyhawk'.
Heck, some folks called the Hawk 81s Warhawks, and I think it was a matter of personal preference... some folks just didn't care what they were 'officially' called and picked whichever name appealed to them.
As a side note... I don't think that the RAF, SAAF or RNZAF officially called them P-40s, but I believe that the RAAF did. Maybe someone else can answer that for sure...
I personally refer to Hawk 81s as Tomahawks, regardless of service. To me USAAF Hawk 87s are Warhawks and RAF, SAAF, RAAF and RNZAF Hawk 87s are Kittyhawks. The rest, USSR, Brazil etc, are all Warhawks to me. That's just me though...
But in the end, they're all P-40s and they're all Hawks...
Fade to Black...