Comments: Then his plane caught fire, but he made it back to base.
Killer Caldwell: Renaissance Man. In the drawing, he has downed aircraft from the 3 Axis big powers of Germany, Italy and Japan. Top P-40 ace.
Posted by Casey Klahn at August 31, 2016 1:37 PM
Curtis LeMay's first advice to his P-40 pilots was to avoid dogfighting because that particular airplane was not designed for it. It took a blessed and special kind of pilot to disregard LeMay and Caldwell was that guy.
Amazing that he walked away with his life when so many was after it.
Posted by Jack at September 1, 2016 6:40 AM
The P-40 was not helpless. It had good diving speed, decent firepower, and plenty of durability. Flown properly, it was a worthy combatant, especially early in the war. You didn't want to get into a turning dogfight with a Zero, and by 1943 it was far outclassed by the newer fighters, but it helped the Allies hold the line until the better designs went into production.
Posted by waltj at September 2, 2016 2:43 PM