"The attribute praised by all P-40 pilots was its strength. Many P-40 pilots recalled owing their lives to the plane`s ability to absorb punishment. ....".
The passage is on the book Mr. Bergerud "Fire in the Sky". He cites several combat experiences with the P-40 in the south Pacific.
One must not forget that the P-40s (as well as the F6Fs) were the workhorses of the Allies during the major part of the war in Pacific. These acft were responsible to hold the Japanese, e.g., on the South Pacific, when they had full momentum. The P-40Es were being produced from Dec 41 on in huge numbers. The powerfull fighters, that we all love, appeared in numbers just late on the war in 1944, when the axis already had lost the attrition war (pilots and POL). Many authors of the WWII say that the "war was won", by the P-40, the F6F and some very early Corsairs Lightnings in the PTO. In ETO, the famous P-51D or the P-47D-25+ just appeared in 1944. The P-40 played a major role in the MTO. So, I would doubt that the P-40 was something so "delicate" as you guys are experiencing. Of course, at the begginning of the war there was not so many acft carrying hwy A-A weaponry. Something to take in account.
A la chasse!
Tiag
