Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk fighter of US Army Air Corps, assigned to 8th Pursuit Group (Fighter), Mitchel Field - Long Island - New York, 1940.
P-40s were also main frontline fighters defending US Philippine colony and Hawaii Pearl Harbor naval base when US entered WW2 in 1941.
American national roundel of blue disc + white star + red dot was standard marking until mid-1942, along with large "US Army" inscription underneath its wings. Although P-40 had its WW2 fame with the AVG "Flying Tigers" in China and British RAF in North Africa, common postwar opinion held that aircraft was a good ground attack platform and medium-altitude interceptor.
However, its in-line liquid-cooled engine lacked high-altitude performance, hence could not effectively engage in aerial dogfights against Axis fighters of that era.
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