Mystery Bird…1/48 Curtiss P-40N Warhawk, USAAF
Built over 6 years ago, Hasegawa kit Limited Edition, built oob except seatbelts, antenna wire and brake lines added. The model was painted with MM Metalizer Aluminium (1418). The orange-black nose trim is painted, kit decals used for the fuselage band. Gunze H-14 for the orange on the nose.
This aircraft is a bit of a mystery. It is always associated with a Major Ben Preston, the CO of the 13thFG in the Hasegawa kit, CO of the 13th PS elsewhere. There was no 13th FG but a 13th PS.
Wikipedia has this info
It was activated in early 1941 as the 13th Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) and assigned to the Southeast Air District. It was equipped with a series of pursuit aircraft with a mission of air defense of Florida. After the Pearl Harbor Attack, the squadron was one of several hastily deployed to the Panama Canal Zone for the defense of the canal with the United States entry into World War II.
It was deployed on 2 January 1942 and stationed at Howard Field operating Bell P-39D Airacobras. By 16 February, the squadron had 12 P-39Ds (of which nine were airworthy) and not fewer than 26 pilots, but of these, only four had more than 12 months experience. Official records of its relatively brief tour in Panama are apparently all but nonexistent, although it is known that the unit was redesignated as the 13th Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 in keeping with the USAAF scheme at the time.
Following the perceived end of the emergency need for the unit, it returned to the United States in early 1943 where it became a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, later North American P-51 Mustang replacement training unit for III Fighter Command. It was disbanded on 1 May 1944 as part of a reorganization of training units.
The unit used P-40 only in 1941, so definitely no "N" models.
A fellow modeler told me, regarding the aircraft serial number, that this aircraft was assigned to a training unit in the US.
Nice work, Reinhard. Unpainted P-40s are always eye catchers.
Questionable history or not, it is a fine looking build, and an eye catching scheme, sporting the NMF well.. liked!
Well done Reinhard, looks good in NMF. One can't build too many P-40's you know.
Gaw-juss. I remember this one from the old Arco-Aircam P-40 book.
Very sharp P-40!
That is one very tidy P-40.
This is an attractive machine! Beautifully made...!
Regardless of where it flew and what model it really was, it is a real beauty! Love the scheme, and I'm really partial to P-40's anyway... I may have to try to replicate this in 1/72 - it's just too cool not to have in my display cases!
Awesome looking build. Nice job on the finish, an unpainted P-40 will always look great.
Exceptional scheme and great build, Reinhard.
Nicely done! Always liked this scheme.
Not often you get an NMF P-40 Reinhard!
Striking colours and a great build!
Yeah, that's a trainer. Very nice work as usual, Reinhard. Spreitzshofer Flugzeug Gesellschaft strikes again.
🙂 ... Greetings ... ) :
For sure this P-40 model will draw attention in any Warhawk collection.
Nicely done and painted. a NMF Warhawk is a very rare sight, nice touch Reinhard.
Another excellent build from the Spreitzhoffeer Werke!
Congratulations!
I do like the P-40N in aluminium dress. Your rendition is fantastic. Bravo!