Aircraft History
Built by Curtiss in Buffalo, New York. Delivered to the U.S. Army.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 3rd Air Force. No known nickname or nose art.

Mission History
Crashed on St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia.

Salvage
During 1988, Mr. Hal Thompson recovered some piece of wreckage from this aircraft, for use as the basis of a restoration identity. Later, these parts were displayed along with the wreckage of P-40N Warhawk 44-7305 and P-40N Warhawk 43-24362 that suffered an aerial collision and crashed into a swamp.

Restoration
Afterwards, the wreckage was displayed on a trailer at airshows, including the Sun 'n Fun Airshow during 1991 and 1992. Later, the wreckage was sold to Mr. Jerry Bensinger of Ohio. Next, owned by Healey Werks in Iowa.

During 2011, the wreckage of this aircraft was purchased by the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Using the recovered parts of these three P-40s, a single aircraft is being restored by volunteers led by Mr. Art Wilder for display at the museum. The finished aircraft is estimated to have 25% original parts.

References
Army Air Forces Report of Major Accident - 3/24/45 - 43-24362 / 44-7405
Warbirds Magazine "Resurrecting A Warhawk" by Peter Moll February 10, 2012
Glenn H. Curtiss Museum P-40 Project by Glenn H. Curtiss Museum
Thanks to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum for additional information

Last Updated
March 30, 2024