Warhawk in Action - Operation Alpha

The Warhawk was not the most suitable fighter for use in China, but it was the among the few available combat aircraft assigned to this theatre. In 1943-44 the P-40 equipped Chinese American Composite Wing was proceeding at a solid pace, especially after the then supply-guzzling and inefficient B-29 withdrawn from China. Though proved to have disappointing high-altitude performance, but P-40 had proper maneuverability and fire power against Japanese aircraft in middle-altitudes, and good capabilities as a ground attack aircraft. Only a small portion of the production of Warhawk was allocated under Lend-Lease to the CBI theatre, but they will be remembered for as long as men record and discuss the history of air war over China.

The Qijiang attack was the last Japanese offensive in China. Initially they forced back the Chinese army but, reinforced by newly built “Alpha Force” divisions and the CACW’s B-25s and P-40s (5th FG), the defender halted the Japanese by early May. Soon they had driven the Japanese back to their start line in June.

CACW offensives on Nanking, Hankou, and Hong Kong started in December 1944 had been aimed at destroying the Japanese supply routs and depots. With the full strength of eight Warhawk squadrons (3rd and 5th FGs, ), plus the shifted supply from the original B-29 quota of the “Hump” airlift, allowed the CACW to push ahead without much opposition. Thereafter under the Operation Ketsu-Go, the Japanese began to withdraw troops to defend their homeland, and the Chinese moved to the offensive.

"All for One - One for All" was the comradeship between the Chinese and American personnel of the CACW, which leaves nothing to be desired. The crewmen from two countries worked together like two fingers on the same hand, for they were fighting the same battles in the same planes and to help their “brothers” meant helping themselves.

The last of the Curtiss Hawks in China, the P-40 has always been something of a legend. My CAF Warhawk, Tomahawk, and Kittyhawk works: