P-40 最出名的可能是它在中国空军飞虎队美国志愿第一大队（AVG）的服役经历，这些美国飞行员以平民身份驾驶着带有中国标志和著名虎口的 P-40B 战斗机。飞虎队由 "亚当和伊夫"、"熊猫熊 "和 "地狱天使 "组成。

鲨鱼的嘴是怎么长出来的

1938 年 10 月 15 日，柯蒂斯公司试飞员爱德华-埃利奥特驾驶柯蒂斯 XP-40 原型机首飞。这架原型机后来被称为著名的 P-40，由一台新安装的液冷增压艾里逊 V-1710 V-12 发动机提供动力。XP-40 最初的设计是将乙二醇冷却剂散热器安装在战斗机的机腹下部，也就是机翼后缘的后部。在随后的试飞中，USAAC 战斗机项目官员本杰明-S-凯尔西（Benjamin S. Kelsey）中尉将其飞行速度提高到了每小时 315 英里。对于这种新型战斗机的设计来说，速度是一个问题。

柯蒂斯公司的工程师们通过将散热器逐步前移来提高 XP- 40 的速度。但每次移动所带来的速度提升都微乎其微。凯尔西下令在 NACA 风洞中对飞机进行评估，以找出提高空气动力质量的解决方案。经过广泛的研究，柯蒂斯公司根据获得的数据，将乙二醇冷却剂散热器前移到下巴处；其新的空气勺还容纳了机油冷却器进气口，使凯尔西能够将 XP-40 的速度提高到超过 366MPH 的水平。

正是这种独特的

正是这种独特的散热器前移位置和较大的进气面积为 XP-40 提供了

著名的 "鲨鱼嘴 "的金属画布

涂装方案的金属画布！

P-40 最出名的可能是它在中国空军飞虎队美国志愿第一大队（AVG）的服役经历，这些美国飞行员以平民身份驾驶着带有中国标志和著名虎口的 P-40B 战斗机。飞虎队由 "亚当和伊夫"、"熊猫熊 "和 "地狱天使 "组成。

P-40B 的优点是坚固耐用、装备精良、俯冲速度快、滚转率高。虽然 P-40 的机动性比不上日本陆军航空兵的中岛 Ki-27 和 Ki-43，也比不上更著名的零式舰载战斗机的低速转弯狗斗，但在较高速度下，P-40 却毫不逊色。

虎式战斗机 "的领导人克莱尔-陈纳德训练他的飞行员利用 P-40 的特殊性能特点来发挥自己的优势。由于俯冲速度比战争初期任何一架日本战斗机都要快，飞虎队飞行员采用了 "轰--轰 "战术。飞虎队取得了巨大成功，他们的战绩被广泛公布，以鼓舞国内低落的士气。

根据飞虎队的官方记录，在短短 6 个半月的空对空战斗中，飞虎队以仅损失 4 架飞机的代价击毁了 115 架敌机。

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1941-1942 年中国空军第一美国志愿大队（AVG），绰号 "飞虎队"，由美国陆军（USAAF）、海军（USN）和海军陆战队（USMC）的飞行员组成，根据总统授权招募，由克莱尔-李-陈纳德（Claire Lee Chennault）指挥。

1941 年 12 月 20 日，即珍珠港事件发生 12 天后，该小组首次参战。当美国国内充斥着日军战败的新闻时，AVG 取得了创新性的战术胜利，并在美国和盟军处于战争最低谷的时期取得了显著的成功，为美国最终击败日军带来了希望。AVG 飞行员在击毁 296 架敌机的同时，仅在战斗中损失了 14 名飞行员，因此获得了官方嘉奖和战斗奖金。

我们提供全球最全面、最独特的飞机标志收藏。 我们以军用和民用标识为蓝本设计的高品质标识，在细节上精确无误。

The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army (USAAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC), recruited under Presidential authority and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. 

The group first saw combat on 20 December 1941, twelve days after Pearl Harbor. It demonstrated innovative tactical victories when the news in the U.S. was filled with little more than stories of defeat at the hands of the Japanese forces, and achieved such notable success during the lowest period of the war for both the U.S. and the Allied Forces as to give hope to America that it might eventually defeat the Japanese. AVG pilots earned official credit, and received combat bonuses, for destroying 296 enemy aircraft, while losing only fourteen pilots in combat.

We present the most comprehensive and unique collection of aircraft markings anywhere on the globe. Our high quality designs drafted after military and civilian markings are accurate and exacting in detail.  

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How the Shark got its mouth:

October 15th 1938, Curtiss test pilot Edward Elliott flew the prototype Curtiss XP-40, on its maiden flight. What later came to be known as the famed P-40, this prototype was powered by a newly installed liquid-cooled, supercharged Allison V-1710 V-12 engine. The original design of the XP-40 initially placed the glycol coolant radiator in an underbelly position on the fighter, just aft of the wing's trailing edge. On subsequent test flights, USAAC Fighter Projects Officer Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey flew her at a less than stellar, 315 miles per hour. Speed was an issue for this new fighter design.

Curtiss engineers focused on improving the XP- 40's speed by moving the radiator forward in steps. Each successive move offering little gain in additional speed. Kelsey ordered the aircraft to be evaluated in a NACA wind tunnel to identify solutions for better aerodynamic qualities. After extensive research, Based on the data obtained, Curtiss moved the glycol coolant radiator forward to the chin; its new air scoop also accommodated the oil cooler air intake, and allowed Kelsey to bring the XP-40 to speeds in excess of 366MPH.

It was this very unique forward position of the

radiator, and large intake area that provided the

metallic canvas for the famed Sharks Mouth

paint scheme to work so very well!

The P-40 is perhaps best known by her service with the Flying Tigers 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), of the Chinese Air Force, whom were American pilots who flew under civilian status with P-40Bs sporting with Chinese markings, and the famed Tiger mouth. The Flying Tigers consisted of the "Adam & Eves", the "Panda Bears" and the "Hell's Angels".

P-40B's strengths were that it was sturdy, well armed, and faster in a dive, as well as an excellent rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of the Japanese Army air arm's Nakajima Ki-27s and Ki-43s, nor the much more famous Zero naval fighter in a slow speed turning dogfight, at higher speeds the P-40s were more than a match.

Claire Chennault, leader of the Tigers, trained his pilots to utilize the P-40's particular performance characteristics to their own advantage. With higher dive speed than any Japanese fighter aircraft of the early war years, the AVG pilots utilized "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The Flying Tigers were so highly successful, that their feats were widely published, to boost sagging public morale at home.

According to their official records, in just 6 1/2 months, the Flying Tigers destroyed 115 enemy aircraft for the loss of just four of their own in air-to-air combat.

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