A fellow that grew up next to our farm, a few years older than I, flew these in the South Pacific during WWII. He later flew Mustangs and then F-86's in Korea. He's always been one of my heros. If we didn't have people like that, and machines like this, we wouldn't have the freedom we have in this country. Thanks for sharing this photo.
The P-40 was an instrument of freedom. It's also a work of engineering art. I wonder how good it could have been with a better engine. Nice shot, btw. It really captures what a complicated piece of machinery this is..
You should have seen the P51 parked next to it. It would have made an amazing photo.. I wish I had taken a photo of it with the Fuji. I was wearing a Photo harness. Fuji GS645S on one hip and my Nikon D90 on the other hip. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb2qqm/7666824714/in/photostream/lightbox/ thanks for the comments... Greg
Thanks ! Lots of Great looking airplanes at Oshkosh Airshow. I carried my RB67 around the first day and fired from the hip. The second day I just used the Fuji GS645s and the Digital. I should have used all film. But the lure of Digital and HDR of some of the WWII fighters and Bombers was too much. I have been going to that airshow for 30 years. It's a time to meet old friends and see where aviation is going.
A better engine at beginning of hostilities might have been an help. By the time it was up-engined with Merlins, it had been passed by as an interceptor, but did yeoman service as a ground attack plane. This excellent photograph shows that it carried six machine guns, which makes me think it is an E model. It was not the best airplane of it's type, but it is what the AAC had, so that was that. This photograph shows it off to good advantage. For me, personally, I have a soft hole in my psyche for unsung heroes, whether human or machine.