I've been reading a truly magnificent account of Claire Chennault and his American Volunteer Group penned by Daniel Ford.
I'd like to share a small excerpt from page 145 that really showcases Mr. Fords attention to detail when conducting his research and interviews for this piece:
The alarm howled again at 12:30 pm. Each man ran to his plane, climbed the wing, slid into the cockpit, and buckled his seatbelt and parachute harness. His fingers danced across the toggles and rotary dials: ignition switch on battery – fuel tank on reserve – generator on – propeller circuit breaker on – selector switch automatic – throttle open – mixture control idle cutoff – carburetor cold. Coolant flaps open, stroke the priming pump and press the master switch to send current to the inertia starter. Hear the flywheel whine faster, faster. Ignition switch from battery to both magnetos. Engage the starter. Hear the flywheel slow as it takes the load, followed by the coughing and spitting of the big Allison engine, belching smoke from the twelve short exhaust pipes.
The clatter smoothed to a mellow roar, and the Tomahawk began its perilous roll, weaving past the soft spots where bomb craters had been filled by coolie labor, while other fighters competed for the same small bits of airspace, gray phantoms in the general storm of dust. At 100mph the planes lifted off, wheels retracting and canopies closing as they broke free …… To an onlooker, the Tomahawks seemed both fragile and brave – little more than hummingbirds – bouncing and jittering in their eagerness to leave the earth. I've always thought the Curtiss P-40 family to be a beautiful series of planes. Especially with the shark mouth adornments. I always wondered what would have happened had Curtiss opted to install the Rolls Royce Merlin in this machine and possibly equip it with a 4-bladed prop. Even possibly cut down the fuselage and give it a bubble canopy like the Mustang and Thunderbolt. Would this incantation have been a viable war winner? What sayest though Aces High fighter gurus?
Anyway I highly recommend this book for anyone who would really enjoy a good and detailed read. Some of the parts about Greg Boyington had me in stitches.
