[Jim Oxley]

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate them.

As mentioned Darius raised a very good point. I hadn't even considered the logistical side. But in saying that, it also applied to establishing P-40's in the Western Desert with all the support and maintenance paraphernalia. Which was achieved.

It's my understanding from reading Chris Shores 'Med Air War' that the P-40 Tomahawk replaced the Hurricane in the Western Desert as it was seen to be the superior fighter. At that time the Hurricane was getting short shift from the Italian G.50 and M.C. 202, and the Me 109E, as it was encumbered with the desert filter. "Imshi' Mason was one of the few pilots able to hold is own.

That the P-40 was the superior fighter to the Hurricane comes over very clearly in pilots bio's and comments who transitioned from Hurricane To P-40. John Jackson, Bob Whittle, Clive Caldwell, Bobby Gibbs all considered the P-40 Tomahawk to be far better than the Hurricane in climb, dive, speed, range and armament. A really good book to read on the subject is 'Desert Warriors', by Russell Brown.

And I don't think the lack of a two stage supercharger was a problem. Reading through Brian Cull's 'Hurricanes Over Malta' most raids by the Italians came in anywhere from as low as 1,000 ft to as high as 15,000 ft. Even the Germans rarely came over higher than 17,000 ft.