During the early stages of WWII, the American built Curtiss P-40B
proved to be one of the most important fighter aircraft available to
Allied Air Forces. Flying with the RAF in North Africa and the American
Volunteer Group in China, the Allison V-1710-33 powered P-40B was to
became one of the most distinctive fighters of the entire war, wearing
their fearsome shark-mouth artwork.
Arguably, the most
striking versions of the P-40 were the early machines, which displayed
an extremely sinister profile – with a shorter, more pointed nose and an
extremely throaty Allison V-1710 engine, the P-40B (Tomahawk IIa in RAF
service) aircraft looked almost like flying Great White sharks. When
RAF No.112 Squadron of the Desert Air Force added aggressive looking
sharks teeth and eyes to their aircraft in 1941, they inadvertently
turned their Tomahawks into some of the most iconic aircraft of WWII and
certainly some of the most visually appealing. These designs would find
their way on to many different aircraft throughout the remainder of the
war, but the RAF Desert Air Force certainly started the trend.