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"Flying Tigers" shark faces on Russian P-40's?


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Posted

I had never seen the Flying Tiger shark faces on any Russian P-40's until I started flying "Battle of Stalingrad". I know the design is originally attributed to Australians based in India, and was picked up by British in North Africa, and, of course, Chennault's AVG in Burma.. But Russia? Is this historically accurate?

ShamrockOneFive
Posted

Seems to have been a thing with at least one unit. 7 IAP belonging to the Black Sea Fleet seemed to have at least some of their P-40s painted with the shark mouth.

 

Curtiss-P-40K-Kittyhawk-USSR-7CHF-IAP-W9

Posted (edited)

I had never seen the Flying Tiger shark faces on any Russian P-40's until I started flying "Battle of Stalingrad". I know the design is originally attributed to Australians based in India, and was picked up by British in North Africa, and, of course, Chennault's AVG in Burma.. But Russia? Is this historically accurate?

Actually, it started with Germans on the western front with Bf-110s, was picked up by the Commomwealth in North Africa, then adopted by the AVG.

 

That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if it started in WWI.

Edited by FFS_Cybermat47
  • Upvote 2
Posted

Something for lend-lease expert to answer but I wonder if some of the VVS P-40s were second hand and had previously been used by western units using the shark mouth design?

originally attributed to Australians based in India, and was picked up by British in North Africa

Could you elaborate on this? So far as I was aware the first P-40 unit to use the shark mouth was 112 sqn RAF in North Africa and that the only Aussies in India were with the RAF and not RAAF units as such (bearing in mind people sometimes get confused between the RAF CBI and RAAF roundels, although granted there was a brief period where they were virtually the same design)... and that the Commonwealth didn't operate the P-40 in the CBI.

US63_SpadLivesMatter
Posted

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

  • Upvote 6
Posted

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

Part of enjoying the game is to obsess over small, unimportant details like this.

  • Upvote 2
ShamrockOneFive
Posted

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

 

You know, asking questions like these for many sim players is fun. We're also historians (or wannabe anyways) as well as virtual sim pilots so digging into these details reveals fun and interesting bits of history that many will find enhances their experience.

 

If that's not you, that's ok too. Just don't complain when someone talks about a minute detail.

  • Upvote 3
Posted (edited)

Seems to have been a thing with at least one unit. 7 IAP belonging to the Black Sea Fleet seemed to have at least some of their P-40s painted with the shark mouth.

 

Curtiss-P-40K-Kittyhawk-USSR-7CHF-IAP-W9

 

The 191 IAP had tiger mouth on their P-40N, over Leningrad.

Curtiss-P-40M-Kittyhawk-USSR-196GvIAP-W9

Edited by Notclear
Posted

Part of enjoying the game is to obsess over small, unimportant details like this.

Right you are.

Posted

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

We are.

Carry on.

Posted

But Russia? Is this historically accurate?

 

Yes, it is.

And here is another image of a Russian P-40 with (only a few) sharkteeth.

 

P-40_a.jpg

 

 

Not only the P-40 but also a Yak-9 was painted with shark teeth.

 

P-40_b.jpg

Actually, it started with Germans on the western front with Bf-110s, was picked up by the Commomwealth in North Africa, then adopted by the AVG.

 

That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if it started in WWI.

 

WWI:

 

BiteMe04.jpg

 

BiteMe06.jpg

 

 

And some more shark teeth planes stuff here:

http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/577/Bite-Me.aspx

Posted

A good read.. that is supported by many of the pics in this thead. 

 

Shark Attack

 

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

 

A part of enjoying this or any game based on history is being sucked not that history because of that game.

 

Most of what I know about WWII aircraft I learned during the course of my time with IL2. I had no idea that the Soviets had such a formidable air force in WWII at all because all I had been exposed to was the U.S. , British, German and Japanese aircraft. 

  • Upvote 2
Posted

Oh my god just enjoy the game...

 

 

:biggrin:  :biggrin:  :biggrin:

 

Sooner or later we all go a little 'Sheldon Cooper' with this sim!

 

Good hunting,

=CFC=Conky 

  • Upvote 1
Posted

...long ,long time ago...."home made"... :biggrin:

post-122-0-05038200-1513936072_thumb.jpg

No601_Prangster
Posted

I did a version of this skin. You can find it in an old post in the P40 thread in the skins forum.

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