Curtiss P-40 shot down at Särkisalo: K-1/5 or 15?

[Martti Kujansuu]

"Kittyhawk" piloted by Junior Lieutenant Aleksandr Lunin of 191 IAP was forced down behind Finnish lines at Särkisalo on 9 August 1943. The Finnish forces striped the plane for spare parts and took the data plates for intelligence purposes. I posted these same photographs on a Finnish forum couple a years ago to find out if the plane was P-40K-1, K-5 or perhaps a K-15.

I have no further information about the plane but perhaps some of the serial number(s) can be traced back to the factory? To me it seems that either the plane was originally a P-40E upgrated to K (see the gun box data plate) or the wings were taken from a E and retrofitted into a K later on.

[yogybär]

On the second plate, there is an A/C - serial: 42-99272.

Joe Baugher's subpage on the P-40K says that this number belongs to a P-40K-10:
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p40_12.html

[Leendert]

The numbers on the serial plate seem to be written over with ink for readability, or so it appears to me.
The funny thing then is that 42-99272 was a Stinson L-5 Sentinel, while the real a/c serial most likely was 42-9272, indeed the P-40K-10-CU Yogy wrote about.

The batch 42-9968/9973 went to the USSR according Joe Baugher.

Regards,

Leendert

[udf_00]

Maybe AC 42-99272 is the engine serial number.
AC standing for Air Corps rather than Aircraft.

[Martti Kujansuu]

Originally Posted by Leendert

The numbers on the serial plate seem to be written over with ink for readability, or so it appears to me.

Yes, the original pencil rubbings were hard to read so they made them clearer by applying ink. Finns did not recover the aircraft data plate or otherwise they would have included the serial number to the report I have.

[markjsheppard]

Engines also had a serial number.

From an article I did on P40E

The P-40E in question was completed within the smallest batch of E models produced, towards the end of 1941. Many of the completed components were dated "08.41". This P-40E was supplied with the Curtiss construction number 16814 and the serial 41-13570. The order number was W-535 ac15802 and it cost the US government $39,628.00. Curtiss-Wright completed 79 machines within this block (construction numbers 16737-16815) and the serials 41-13521 to 41-13599 were assigned to them.
The Allison engine was a V-1710-39 that had the construction number 42-33729. The P-40E had been painted in Olive Drab 41 on the upper surfaces and Neutral Gray on the underside. It seems it had already been earmarked for the Soviet Union as it had been completed in nothing more than the serial number and stenciling. There was no sign of the American star having ever been applied.

http://lend-lease.airforce.ru/englis...very/index.htm

Sorry

Mark

[Alex Smart]

Hello,
If you can beleive that the Constructors number actualy is "19509" then it can only be a P-40E-1 serial number range:
41-35874 to 41-36953
Constructors number 19395 to 20474.
Which would make it -
41-35988 - 19509
BUT the numbers are not always consecutive.
There is a small run of numbers given in the JB site
down to "19544" - 41-25033 so if the run of those numbers continues down then we arrive at "19509" being 41-24998 which was ET322 but that was DBR in a belly landing at Zuara on July 20th 1943.

Then the Engine type, given as V-1710-73 was for the Kittyhawk III (P-40K & K-1).
So confusion reigns.
Alex

[Buz]

Gents

Can I jump here as I have a little knowledge on all things P-40.....

What you have is the idenity of the Engine only, this being the serial 42-99272?? MFRS.No 19509, you do not have an aircraft serial number nor any number which can be used to track down the airframes serial, due to the ability for engines to be pulled and replaced easily.

The wing ammo box whilst saying P-40D, E and F, is just the furthest outboard ammo box for the Port wing, and should be able to fit all 6 gun models

The Allison V-1710-73 was fitted to Very late P-40E-1 (only 47 and those were supposed to be delievered to the RAF), and also the P-40K-1, K-5, K-10 and K-15 (these engines were also known as F4R engines).

Maybe amoungst those Finnish records are some other numbers that may help ID the aircraft, even if just written down, rather than a plate....19IAP flew a number of P-40K's models as well as M models, so going to be hard without further details

Regards

Buz