Curtiss Model H81A-2/P-40  (P40B Tomahawk IIA)

Plane: Curtiss Model H81A-2/P-40 (USAF designation: P40B Tomahawk IIA)

Mass: 3323kg

Engine: 1,040hp Allison V-1710-33/C-15 Inline

Horsepower:  1040hp max brake horsepower

Wing Area: 21.92 meters^2

Weapons:

Ammo Belting:

7.5mm MG: ap, ap, ap, ap, ap, tracer

12.7mm MG: ap, ap, ap, ap, tracer

Stall Speed: 136kph clean/125kph dirty

Best Climb Speed IAS: 245kph IAS

Maximum Reasonable AoA: 11.0 degrees

Top Speed Chart:

WEP Top Speed: 495kph

Climb Rate chart:

Roll Rate:

Turn Rate: (sustained) Flaps Up:   190kph, 141m radius, 21 deg/sec

Turn Rate: (sustained) Flaps Down:  160kph, 116m radius, 22deg/sec

Visibility:  Good. 

Control Feel vs Speed:  Excellent at all speeds

WEP power boost percent: 3%

Safe WEP time: Greater than 10 minutes

General Comments:

The H81 was ordered by the French, but was not received before the fall of France.  Thus in WW2OL's alternate history line, this becomes the first airplane available that was not flown by the French during the war against the Germans. 

Take a H75, swap out the engine with an inline Allison engine, replace the nose guns with .50cals, add some pilot armor, and you have the H81.  The P40B was made famous by the Flying Tigers AVG (American Volunteer Group) who flew it against the Japanese before Pearl Harbor. 

The H75 gained significant speed by the more aerodynamic fuselage that the inline engine afforded, but did not gain significant power, and got heavier at the same time.  Most of the performance gains over the H75 were due to either the propeller, or the reduced drag.  These gains are a 30kph speed gain on the deck, and a slight increase in climb performance of about 2.5m/s.  The heavier airframe should allow for better diving performance as well.

What the H75 lost was turning ability.  None of the agility was lost, but the substantial increase in weight with the same wings meant a larger turning radius, and a reduced turning rate.  This isn't as bad as it sounds, as you can turn as good as a H75 with flaps down (compared to the H75's flaps up configuration), however, the turning edge vs the 109 is lost, and the H81 only equals the 109 in turning, it no longer beats it.

Fly the H81 as a super-H75 and you will do well.  Don't follow 109s into vertical maneuvers (or Fw190s either).  With the .50cals, you are more likely to punch through pilot armor from direct 6, which helps, but the biggest gain is the pilot armor, meaning a stray 7.92mm round is much less likely to hit the pilot.  Even the position of the radiator (required for liquid-cooled engines) is in a well-protected spot, making the H81 much less vulnerable to radiator hits than either the British or the German aircraft.

Specific Matchup Comments:

H81 vs Bf110C:  Due to the H81's agility, this airplane should be easy pickings for a H81, just like with the H75.  You are now faster than the 110, and can climb as well.  However, the 110 can compete much better in a turnfight, and if he's got a tailgunner, a turnfight can get dangerous.  Just be careful and a 110 should be no problem.

H81 vs Bf109E:  The 109E4 will be your primary opponent until the 109F shows up in numbers.  The H81 can still slightly outturn a Bf109E4, and it matches it in speed.  Be aware that the 109E4 can still outclimb you, however the margin isn't as much of a problem as with the H75.   Since 109E's cannot outrun you like they could a H75, it should be much easier to add 109E's to your kill tally.

H81 vs Bf109F:  This plane is still trouble for the H81, but for different reasons than the H75.  Unfortunately, the extra weight in the H81 now means that the Bf109F4 has an edge over you in a turnfight, if the 109 pilot knows how to use his flaps.  The trouble is that when you realize that he's outturning you, you are too slow to have an advantage in roll rate, meaning you will probably be in trouble, and pilot skill alone will be required as opposed to simply using airframe advantages.  Like the H75, do not follow 109's vertically.  And if one dives away from you, smile, because the H81's extra weight makes it dive even better than the H75, and you have a big rolling advantage at high speeds.  Fortunately, most Bf109F4 drivers don't know that their ride can turnfight a H81 (or simply choose not to), otherwise more would be lost to 109F's in the game.  The on-the-deck max speed advantage the Bf109F has is only 35kph vs 65kph for the H75

H81 vs Fw190a4: The problems that the H75 had with the Fw190a4 are less severe with the H81, but they're still there.  The speed advantage a Fw190a4 has is still a substantial 80kph, so you're not going to run many down.  The greater weight of the H81 means that it'll be easier to dive with a Fw190, which I recommend whenever you get the chance, as it'll be the best chance to gun one down unless he makes a mistake.  The .50cal should prove more effective at direct 6 shots than the .30cals on the H75, so the "bullet sponge" effect the Fw190 has with the H75 should be less severe.

H81 vs Ju87b:  This is included here because many pilots don't know how to handle a Stuka properly.  They think "Oh, it's a bomber, it can't turn" and promptly get shot down as the Ju87b outturns them.  The Ju87b turns better than the H81.  Now before you grab the pitchfork and head down to CRS, there are a few things to point out.  The Ju87b has one of the lowest wing loadings in the game.  It has huge wings, which generate a lot of lift (and a good amount of drag).  It is designed to haul a big airframe, two crewmembers, armor, bombs, and lots of ammo on a relatively low amount of power.  It also has to do this while being draggy as heck.  It accomplishes this by having huge wings (remember how gliders fly with no power?  big wings).  What this means is that this airplane can turn.  Just like a light biplane that has only 100hp, but can turn on a dime, the Ju87b can use its huge wings to turn well.  It *will* outturn you if you flatturn it.  The two biggest problems a Stuka has are speed and climbing ability.  If you go vertical, the Stuka will die.  If you fly fast, the Stuka will die.  If you try to run away, you will get away.  If you try to turn with it for an extended amount of time, it will get a nice canopy shot on you and you will die.  It also flies so slowly that you will easily overshoot it if you are not careful.  Most turnfighters used to beating 109s in turnfights don't know how to handle a better turning plane.  Learn, or you will become very frustrated with the Stuka.