title: James Ransone

text: James Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series "The Wire", United States Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama miniseries "Generation Kill" (2008), The Deputy in the supernatural horror films "Sinister" (2012) and "Sinister 2" (2015), Chester in "Tangerine" (2015), the adult Eddie Kaspbrak in "It Chapter Two" (2019), and Max in "The Black Phone" (2021).


title: James Ransone

text: Ransone was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Joyce (née Peterson) and James Finley Ransone II, a Vietnam War veteran. He was educated at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Baltimore and attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for one year.


title: James Ransone

text: In May 2021, on his Instagram account, Ransone wrote that he was sexually abused by his math tutor Timothy Rualo in 1992. He reported his allegations to the Baltimore County police in March 2020, but they declined to pursue the charges after an investigation. An investigation by the Baltimore school system has not yet been resolved.


title: James Ransone

text: By the age of 27, Ransone had developed a heroin addiction and a debt of $30,000, but became sober in 2007.


title: James Ransone

text: In 2002, Ransone co-starred in the Harmony Korine drama film "Ken Park" as Tate. He starred in the 2008 miniseries "Generation Kill" as Cpl. Josh Ray Person.


title: James Ransone

text: In 2010, he was cast in a recurring role in the HBO comedy series "How to Make It in America", and the following year, appeared in a recurring role in the HBO drama series "Treme". In 2012, he starred in the drama film "Starlet". The following year, he starred in the AMC drama series "Low Winter Sun" as Damon Callis.


title: James Ransone

text: In June 2014, Ransone joined the cast of the Western film "In a Valley of Violence". Also in 2014, Ransone starred in "Small Engine Repair" off-Broadway.


title: James Ransone

text: In 2015, he had a co-starring role in the comedy-drama film "Tangerine". Following the success of "Sinister", Ransone appeared in the 2015 sequel "Sinister 2", reprising his role from the first film but now as the main character. In 2016, Ransone appeared in Season 2 of the drama series "Bosch" as Eddie Arceneaux.


title: James Ransone

text: In 2019, Ransone played Eddie Kaspbrak (sharing the role with Jack Dylan Grazer) in the horror film "It Chapter Two", for which he received critical praise.


title: Michael Page

text: Michael Jerome Reece-Page (born 7 April 1987) is a British kickboxer, boxer, and mixed martial artist. He is recognised in the MMA community for his unorthodox fighting style, which originated from freestyle kickboxing (points fighting) and sport karate. As of May 17, 2022, he is #2 in the Bellator Welterweight Rankings.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was born in St Mary's Hospital, London to Curtis Page Sr. and Pauline Reece, who were both Lau Gar kung fu practitioners. His father, a British Telecom employee, hailed from Trinidad while his mother, a nurse, was from Jamaica. Page is a maternal nephew of Lau Gar Master Stan Brown, who was also the instructor of his father. He has nine siblings, three of whom are adopted. Page attended Quintin Kynaston School in St John's Wood, alongside Olympian judoka Ashley McKenzie. He grew up in NW8 near Edgware Road and Lisson Green before moving to W10 near Queen's Park in 2003. Since almost everyone in his family was involved in martial arts, he felt it was natural to follow suit.


title: Michael Page

text: His father, Curtis Page Sr. was his instructor. Of his nine siblings, his sister Sefena and brothers Curtis Jr., Jamie, and Kalon are also kickboxing champions.


title: Michael Page

text: Page began training in Lau Gar at the age of 3 and competed at his first kickboxing tournament at the age of 5. By the age of 8, he began to devote himself to competition and entered his first international tournament in Germany.


title: Michael Page

text: Page won 10 world championships in kickboxing – his first was at the US Open ISKA World Martial Arts Championships 1998 in Orlando, Florida when he was 12 years old – and was crowned British champion over 25 times. By the age of 13, Page started entering adult competitions. To prepare, he would train five hours a day for five days a week. During tournament days he would often fight up to 14 times due to competing in three weight classes, and at one point fought 22 times in a day across five weight classes. Another world title win was at the W.A.K.O. World Championships 2007 (Coimbra) where, at the −89 kg semi-contact division, he won gold after defeating Dave Heffernan. He also competed at the W.A.K.O. Austrian Classics Worldcup 2008 (Kufstein), winning gold in the −84 kg semi-contact division over Krisztián Jároszkievicz. Page participated at the W.A.K.O. Irish Open 2008 (Dublin), earning silver in the −84 kg semi-contact division after falling short to Raymond Daniels. Page then won gold at the W.A.K.O. Austrian Classics Worldcup 2009 (Walchsee), placing first in both the −84 kg light-contact and semi-contact divisions, defeating Bojan Miskovic and Zvonimir Gribl respectively. Page returned to participate in the W.A.K.O. Irish Open 2009 (Dublin) but was defeated by Raymond Daniels, placing second in the −84 kg semi-contact division. Page – appointed as the WKA Head Coach – led a team to the WKA World Championships 2009 (Huelva), defeating James Benjamin Stewart to claim gold in the organisation's first semi-contact prize competition and bronze in the −90 kg light-contact division, upon being bested by Tarek Haydar. He then participated in the W.A.K.O. World Championships 2009 (Lignano Sabbiadoro) and finished second in the −84 kg semi-contact division, after being defeated by Krisztián Jároszkievicz. On 4 September 2010, he competed at the World Combat Games 2010 (Beijing) in the −84 kg semi-contact division, where he earned silver, losing gold to Krisztián Jároszkievicz. Page fought Raymond Daniels at the W.A.K.O. Irish Open 2011 (Dublin), securing silver in the −84 kg semi-contact division.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was scouted by the Great Britain Taekwondo team to train and qualify for the Olympics but turned it down to pursue a professional combat sports career.


title: Michael Page

text: When not competing Page trains others in kickboxing, primarily as an instructor at the Hands Down Martial Arts Academies throughout Surrey.


title: Michael Page

text: Dissatisfied with the lack of exposure as well as the politics involved in competing among various kickboxing associations, Page decided to cross over into mixed martial arts. He initially considered going to American Top Team during his transition into MMA since his older siblings live in Miami but chose to start his career with London Shootfighters in July 2011, training with the likes of John Hathaway, Cláudio da Silva, Karlos Vemola, Alex Reid, Marcin Held, Jim Wallhead, and Marc Diakiese. Page also sparred with Alexander Gustafsson, James DeGale, Che Mills, Chris Eubank, Jr., Frank Muñoz, Dereck Chisora, Muhammed Lawal, Andrew Tate, Darren Stewart, Karl Amoussou, Johnny Walker, Filip Verlinden, Harut Grigorian, Gegard Mousasi, Neil Magny, and Artur Kyshenko. He entertained the possibility of fighting at lightweight. Page spends up to seven hours training in the gym, and does not undergo IV therapy after cutting weight. He cross-trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Gracie Barra. Page is represented by Paradigm Sports Management.


title: Michael Page

text: Page made his MMA debut at UCMMA 26 against Ben Dishman on 4 February 2012 and won via technical knockout from a first round tornado kick. His original opponent Sam Boo withdrew a day before the fight. The fight went viral and comparisons were drawn between Page and Anderson Silva. He was paid £200 for the bout.


title: Michael Page

text: On 7 April 2012, Page faced Miguel Bernard at UCMMA 27 in a 176 lb catchweight bout despite weighing in at 165 lb. Page won in the first round after forcing Bernard to tap out upon transitioning from a triangle choke into an armbar.


title: Michael Page

text: Page briefly returned to kickboxing when he fought in a UK-1 bout on 18 August 2012 at UCMMA 29. Page was supposed to challenge UCMMA UK-1 welterweight champion Peter Irving for the belt. However, Irving pulled out of the fight due to a neck injury and was replaced by Jefferson George after another three opponents dropped out within a month for undisclosed reasons. Page won after knocking out George from a two punch combination in the second round.


title: Michael Page

text: On 24 June 2012, Super Fight League announced that they signed Michael Page to an exclusive 18-month, four-fight contract.


title: Michael Page

text: Page made his promotional debut on 2 November 2012 at SFL 7 as the main event against Haitham El-Sayed, winning by technical knockout in round one via doctor stoppage due to cuts.


title: Michael Page

text: Page returned to Super Fight League on 12 April 2013 to face Ramdan Mohamed at SFL 15 as the main event and won via rear-naked choke in the first round.


title: Michael Page

text: After winning his UK-1 fight against Jefferson George, Page announced that he had signed a five-fight contract with Bellator MMA and that he would fight for Bellator and Super Fight League under their respective contracts.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was expected to make his promotional debut at but pulled out of the bout citing surgery for an old jaw injury. Another potential yet unannounced debut at against Sean Powers was cancelled for undisclosed reasons.


title: Michael Page

text: Page made his debut on 21 March 2013 at . He faced Ryan Sanders and won via knockout at 10 seconds into the first round.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was scheduled to fight Kenny Ento at but withdrew due to a rib cartilage injury, an ankle injury, and a knee injury. A later appearance slated for against Andrew Osborne was also cancelled because of lingering injuries.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was slated to fight contestant Marcus Aurelio at on 17 May 2014 but Aurelio withdrew due to injury. Ricky Rainey was immediately sought as a replacement after his victory and was informed of his opponent a week later. Page won via technical knockout in the first round.


title: Michael Page

text: Page next faced Nah-Shon Burrell at as the co-main event on 10 October 2014. He won via unanimous decision.


title: Michael Page

text: On 19 December 2014, Michael Page confirmed that he was no longer contracted with Super Fight League and instead signed an exclusive two year, five-fight contract extension with Bellator.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was expected to face Curtis Millender at Bellator 134. However, Page pulled out of the fight due to a cut over his left eye which was sustained during a guard passing drill and required six stitches. He was replaced by Brennan Ward.


title: Michael Page

text: Page fought Charlie Ontiveros at Bellator 144 on 23 October 2015 with less than three weeks' notice after four opponents – including his initial opponent Marius Žaromskis and later Cristiano Souza – pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons. Page won via verbal submission due to elbows in the first round after dislocating Ontiveros' jaw.


title: Michael Page

text: He was expected to fight Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 151 as the co-main event but withdrew from the bout as he was already committed to officiate at the W.A.K.O. Irish Open 2016 (Dublin) as coach of the Top Ten UK team. He was replaced by Gilbert Smith.


title: Michael Page

text: Page defeated Jeremie Holloway at Bellator 153 on 22 April 2016, submitting him with an Estima lock in round one.


title: Michael Page

text: Page's fight with Fernando Gonzalez was rescheduled for Bellator 158 on 16 July 2016 but visa issues forced Gonzalez to withdraw. Page accepted a contract to fight Paul Daley after Josh Koscheck withdrew but Daley chose to fight Douglas Lima instead. Page fought Evangelista Santos and won by knocking out Santos with a flying knee in the second round. Santos underwent surgery afterwards due to a depressed frontal sinus fracture. The fight went viral partly due to the "Pokémon Go"-inspired post-fight celebration.


title: Michael Page

text: In July 2016, Bellator claimed that Page re-signed with the promotion and had four fights left on his contract. However, Page stated that he did not re-sign but had two fights left from existing contractual provisions.


title: Michael Page

text: Page fought Fernando Gonzalez on 19 November 2016 at Bellator 165 as the co-main event. He won the fight via split decision.


title: Michael Page

text: A proposed bout between Page and Paul Daley was targeted for Bellator 179 but negotiations fell through after Daley chose to fight Rory MacDonald instead. Page was supposed to fight Derek Anderson but an old knee injury and neck injury forced him off the card. Daley attempted to brawl with Page after losing his fight. Another fight with Daley was proposed for September 2017 in London but was turned down by Daley, who instead opted to fight Lorenz Larkin at Bellator 183.


title: Michael Page

text: Bellator attempted to match Page against Daley on 9 March 2018 but negotiations stalled when Daley refused to commit to the date.


title: Michael Page

text: Page fought David Rickels on 25 May 2018 at Bellator 200 as the co-main event. He won the fight via verbal submission due to a punch in the second round that opened a cut above Rickels' left eye. He spent a portion of his training camp at Straight Blast Gym - Ireland in preparation for the fight. He paid tribute to his cousin Helena Ramsay, a victim of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, during the open workout and post-fight interview.


title: Michael Page

text: On 30 July 2018, Page confirmed signing a new six-fight contract with Bellator, three for the tournament and three as part of the champion clause. The contract will let him box, subject to Bellator's approval.


title: Michael Page

text: Page faced Paul Daley in the quarter-final of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Tournament on 16 February 2019 at Bellator 216. He won by unanimous decision, in an uneventful fight in which neither fighter was able to mount any significant offence. His father died prior to the fight on 26 December 2018.


title: Michael Page

text: Page fought former two-time Bellator Welterweight World Champion Douglas Lima in the semi-final of the welterweight tournament on 11 May 2019 at Bellator 221. Despite having some initial success, Page lost the fight via knockout in the second round.


title: Michael Page

text: Page faced Richard Kiely at Bellator 227 as the co-main event on 27 September 2019. He won the fight via knockout from a flying knee in the first round.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was expected to headline Bellator London 2 against Derek Anderson on 23 November 2019 but Anderson withdrew for undisclosed reasons on 12 November 2019. Page instead fought Giovanni Melillo and won by knockout in the first round.


title: Michael Page

text: On 29 December 2019, Page fought Shinsho Anzai at in a 173 lb catchweight bout. He won by knockout in the second round.


title: Michael Page

text: Page faced Derek Anderson at Bellator 258 on 7 May 2021. Page was supposed to fight Anderson twice before at Bellator 179 and Bellator London 2. During the first round, Page broke and flattened Anderson's nose with a kick, leading to the doctor stopping the fight between rounds.


title: Michael Page

text: Page faced Douglas Lima in a rematch on 1 October 2021 at Bellator 267, Bellator's first card in the UK since the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the bout via split decision.


title: Michael Page

text: Page was scheduled to fight for the Bellator Welterweight World Championship against reigning champion Yaroslav Amosov on May 13, 2022 at Bellator 281. However, Amosov pulled out of the bout to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian War and was replaced by Logan Storley with the bout instead being for the interim Bellator Welterweight World Championship. Page lost the bout via split decision.


title: Michael Page

text: On 12 July 2017, it was announced that Page signed a three-year, fifteen-fight contract with Hayemaker Ringstar, a promotional joint venture of David Haye and Richard Schaefer. Page began training under the tutelage of Ismael Salas at Hayemaker HQ on 27 July 2017, alongside Joe Joyce, Qais Ashfaq, and Willy Hutchinson. While he still trains at London Shootfighters, he spends four days a week training at Hayemaker HQ. Page compared the transition from MMA to boxing to a "sprinter turning into a long distance runner." He did commentary for Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor in Las Vegas with Mike Costello and Steve Bunce on BBC Radio 5 Live.


title: Michael Page

text: Page made his boxing debut on 20 October 2017 at Hayemaker Ringstar Fight Night against Jonathan Castano as the co-main event. He won via technical knockout in the third round. He was supposed to debut on the undercard of Haye vs. Bellew but was still negotiating with Bellator at the time.


title: Michael Page

text: Page wanted to fight at Hayemaker Ringstar Fight Night 2 on 16 February 2018 but Bellator wanted an MMA fight scheduled before allowing him to commit to another boxing fight.


title: Michael Page

text: He was expected to fight on the undercard of Haye vs. Bellew II but Bellator prevented him from competing due to its proximity to Bellator 200.


title: Michael Page

text: Page fought at Hayemaker Ringstar Fight Night 3 against Michal Ciach on 15 June 2018. He won by knockout in the second round.


title: Michael Page

text: In June 2022, it was announced that Page would make his bare-knuckle boxing debut for Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. He fought Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Mike Perry on August 20, 2022 in the main event at . Page lost by majority decision after the sixth round after the bout was declared a split draw decision following the first five rounds.


title: Michael Page

text: Page describes his discipline as a "hands down kickboxing style" created from a "mishmash" of taekwondo, karate, and kung fu styles competing under a points scoring ruleset. As a low-volume movement-based fighter his game plan revolves around controlling distance and landing heavy counterstrikes with high accuracy. He relies on his elusive movement and knockout power to finish opponents and often engages in histrionics while fighting to maintain focus, unnerve his opponents, and rile up the crowd. Page credited Curtis Page Sr., Pauline Reece, Simon Lewis, and Marvin Francis as being the most influential in his combat sports career.


title: Michael Page

text: Page received the moniker "Venom" from fellow kickboxer Marvin Francis in homage of the film "Five Deadly Venoms".


title: Chicago Fire (season 10)

text: The tenth season of "Chicago Fire", an American drama television series with executive producer Dick Wolf, and producers Derek Haas and Matt Olmstead, was ordered on February 27, 2020, by NBC. The season premiered on September 22, 2021, and contains the series’ 200th episode. In the 200th Episode, Matthew Casey left Chicago to move to Oregon. In the Season Finale, he returned to Chicago for Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide's wedding.


title: Chicago Fire (season 10)

text: On June 25, 2021, NBC announced that recurring cast member Hanako Greensmith who portrays Paramedic Violet Mikami had been upped to series regular. Series regular Jesse Spencer departed the series after the fifth episode, but returned as a special guest star for the season finale. Executive producer Andrea Newman became co-showrunner during the season, joining incumbent showrunner Derek Haas. The season is the last to feature a Dalmatian dog named Tuesday who died after filming for the season finale.


title: Chicago Fire (season 10)

text: Filming for the tenth season began on July 20, 2021. On January 5, 2022, it was reported that filming had been suspended after several cast and crew members tested positive for COVID-19.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known as Pegasus Books and founded in 1980.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Comics has emerged as the fourth largest comic publishing company in the United States of America. Dividing profits with artists and writers, as well as supporting artistic and creative rights in the comic book industry, Dark Horse Comics has become a strong proponent of publishing licensed material that often does not fit into mainstream media. Several titles include: "Sin City, Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 300, and Star Wars."


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In December 2021, Swedish gaming company Embracer Group launched its acquisition of Dark Horse Media, Dark Horse Comics' parent company, and completed the buyout in March 2022.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In June 2022, Dark Horse announced a business partnership with Penguin Random House Publishing as the company's new primary comic book distributor which was previously held by Diamond Comics Distributors for thirty years.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In September 21, 2022, Dark Horse Comics announced the expansion of their business relationship with Penguin Random House. This multi-year distribution deal will begin in June, 2023.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse CEO Mark Richardson stated that the company decided to expand their business relationship with the legendary publishing company because they both wanted to improve comic book accessibilty worldwide, and address fans concerns over high distribution fees with Diamond Comics, Inc. Surpringly, they also stated that while they would be doing business with Penguin, Diamond would still remain as primary media distributor.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse has published many licensed comics, including comics based on "Star Wars", "", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Aliens", "Predator", and "Terminator." Dark Horse Comics holds a notoriety for being the most reputable publisher in regard to allowing creators to retain ownership of their work. Founder Mike Richardson, created the company with creator rights in mind because of his frustration with the treatment of artists by comic publishers of the time. They have published several creator owned comics such as Frank Miller's "Sin City" and "300", Mike Mignola's "Hellboy", Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo", and Gerard Way's "Umbrella Academy." With an emphasis on mini and limited series, Dark Horse Comics has given itself immense flexibility in the comic book publishing industry. This model allows the company to pull poorly performing series while also retaining the ability to reprint past works without intense scrutiny.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2006, "The New York Times" reported that "Dark Horse pays by the story or the page, and shares profit generated by comic books and related merchandise. That is different from the standard work-for-hire arrangement at DC and Marvel: creators are paid for a specific story and perhaps receive royalties from collected editions, but the bulk of the revenue, and all of the merchandising opportunities, remain with the companies".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Mike Richardson was an active follower of the Amateur Press Association (APA), an organization focused on critiquing comics through conventions, fan projects, and newsletters. As a result of his involvement, Richardson became acquainted with Randy Stradley, an early Dark Horse Comics collaborator and editor. The two used their contacts from the APA to recruit artists and writers, many of whom were working for several top comic publishing groups.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson with "Dark Horse Presents No. 1" and featured the first appearance of Paul Chadwick's "Concrete" and Chris Warner's "Black Cross," selling approximately 50,000 copies, which was far better than predictions"." The series has become a platform for new creators to highlight their works. The success of Dark Horse Comics can be attributed to a change in comic book marketing that occurred in the 1980s when comics began to be sold in comic specific stores. After his success, Richardson began buying the rights to several titles including: "Godzilla" in 1987, "Aliens", "Predator" in 1989, and "Star Wars" in 1991 (owned by Marvel prior to the Dark Horse Comics acquisition). Dark Horse evolved further and began producing toys in 1991. Additionally, in 1992, Richardson formed Dark Horse Entertainment, the company's critically acclaimed film and television division.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: With the release of the first "Aliens" comic in 1988 and "Predator" in 1988, Dark Horse Comics' popular characters appeared in their own line of work as well as "Dark Horse Presents" and "Tarzan" and numerous crossovers that included "Superman" and "Batman" of DC Comics, and WildC.A.T.s.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In a 1991 issue of "Dark Horse Presents", Frank Miller introduced "Sin City", one of Dark Horse Comics' most successful titles. In addition to this title, Miller introduced several other limited series set in dystopian societies including "Give Me Liberty" which ran from 1990-1991 and "Hard Boiled."


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: "The Mask," a mini series from Mark Badger, debuted in "Dark Horse Presents 10-20" in 1991 and had a successful film adaptation, starring Jim Carrey, in 1994. However comic sales were not strengthened by the success of the film.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 1993, Dark Horse established their own limited series superhero realm with the creation of "Comics' Greatest World". However comic publishing changed in the 1990s and all Comics' Greatest World titles were canceled except for "Ghost". As a result, Dark Horse Comics returned to their smaller scale business model.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Comics created the imprint Legends and as part of their focus on creators, the publisher began working with Mike Mignola. In 1994, Mignola's character "Hellboy" first appeared in "Hellboy: Seed of Destruction" the beginning of several limited and mini series with crossovers that included "Batman" of DC Comics.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: The licensing to the unpopular limited series, "Tarzan", was purchased by Dark Horse Comics in 1995 and ended in 1998.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: "Ghost", from "Comics' Greatest World", began running as a solo title in 1995, but ended in 1998 and was subsequently launched once more the same year.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Eisner Award winning "Usagi Yojimbo", written and drawn by third generation Japanese-American artist, Stan Sakai debuted in Dark Horse Comics in 1996 as a monthly issue and ran until 2019.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Comics began translating the manga series from Hiroaki Samura, "Blade of the Immortal", in 1996 and ending in 2015.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: For the first Free Comic Book Day on May 4, 2002, Dark Horse Comics published "Star Wars: Tales - A Jedi’s Weapon" and has participated in the event every year since.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2006, Dark Horse was the third largest comics publisher. Per Diamond Comic Distributors, "Marvel had 36.9 percent of the market", DC "had 32.9 percent" and Dark Horse had "5.6 percent".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2007, Dark Horse donated copies of all of its published works to the Portland State University Library, which maintains both a browsing collection of book titles, in addition to a research collection which also includes every "print, poster, statue, figure, and all other products." As of July 15, 2016, the library has cataloged over 10,000 titles as "the official archive of Dark Horse publications."


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2011, "Dark Horse Presents" relaunched including the return of Paul Chadwick's "Concrete" and Steve Niles' "Criminal Macabre", as well as new talent including Sanford Greene, Carla Speed McNeil, Nate Crosby and others. Starting in 2013, Dark Horse began to reprint E. C. Archives, picking up the project of reprinting classic E. C. Comics from the 1950s where Gladstone left off, using the same size and format as Gladstone, with all stories reprinted in order and in full color.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In early 2017, Dark Horse Comic entered partnership with Crypton Future Media to publish official English-language Hatsune Miku-related manga. In late summer of 2018, a set of comic books for "Mysticons" were released. In 2018, Vanguard Visionary Associates, a Chinese media production company, became a partner of Dark Horse's subsidiary Dark Horse Entertainment along with a "major investment stake" in the subsidiary. Both "Forbes" and "Publishers Weekly" reported that "the investment stake is rumored to be about $20 million and will give Vanguard a majority interest in Dark House".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2020, Dark Horse announced it was severing ties with writer and editor Scott Allie "after a former Dark Horse employee accused him of sexual harassment and sexual assault across a period lasting more than a decade." It was reported that in 2015, "after reports of multiple instances of sexual misconduct" by Allie:Dark Horse Comics founder Mike Richardson released a statement to "The Beat", which in part read, "In this particular case, action was taken immediately, though we did not, and cannot, perform a public flogging, as some might wish." Although Richardson said action had been taken, Allie continued as an editor for Dark Horse, transitioning from editor-in-chief to the role of executive senior editor in 2015, before departing Dark Horse as a full-time employee in 2017, continuing to work with them [until 2020] in a freelance capacity.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In June 2021, Dark Horse opened a video game and digital division, called Dark Horse Games. The division will be focused on development of AAA video games based on the company's IP.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In mid-November 2021, Dark Horse founder and CEO Mark Richardson announced that the company would be publishing a new line of all-ages Star Wars comics and graphic novels in collaboration with Lucasfilm and Disney Publishing Worldwide. Dark Horse had previously held the licensing rights for producing "Star Wars" comics between 1991 and 2015.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In December 2021, Bloomberg reported Dark Horse Comics for sale to a Hollywood studio. Companies rumored as potential buyers include Netflix, The Walt Disney Company, and ViacomCBS, but a representative couldn't comment. However, later in the month, Embracer Group (a video game holding company) announced that it launched its acquisition of Dark Horse Media, including Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment, and that the company would be the 10th operative division in the company.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Multiple news outlets highlighted that this deal gives Embracer Group access to Dark Horse's "300-plus pieces of intellectual property". This deal also grants Dark Horse access to additional intellectual property maintained by Embracer; "sources close to the publisher say that founder and CEO Mike Richardson maintains creative control over Dark Horse under the terms of the deal, while the company receives a level of financial stability it hasn't previously enjoyed as an independent entity, even as it separates from its deal with Chinese pop culture company Vanguard Visionary Associates". "The Hollywood Reporter" commented that for the Embracer Group this deal was "not just an opportunity to expand properties into comics, but other media. Dark Horse's ongoing relationship with media companies through current and future adaptations and the Dark Horse Entertainment subsidiary open up the potential for Embracer to push projects outside of the video game arena. Dark Horse isn't simply the fourth-largest comic book publisher in the U.S. industry, after all; it's also a company with a first-look deal with Netflix, as well as an ongoing relationship with Universal Content Productions".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: From 1993 to 1996, Dark Horse published a line of superhero comics under the Comics' Greatest World imprint, which was later renamed Dark Horse Heroes. After 1996, publication of this line came to a near halt, ceasing production of any books concerning the characters with the publication of the last crossover books involving Ghost, in the early 2000s.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Legend was a comic book imprint at Dark Horse Comics created in 1994 by Frank Miller and John Byrne as an avenue for creator-owned projects. Its logo was a moai drawn by Mike Mignola. Later on, other creators were asked to join them. The imprint ended in 1998.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Manga is an imprint for Japanese manga translated into English. The company's first ongoing title was "Oh My Goddess!" by Kōsuke Fujishima, starting in August 1994. ("Oh My Goddess!" since became America's longest running manga series.) Other publications include "Akira", "Astro Boy", "Berserk", "Blade of the Immortal", "Ghost in the Shell (manga)", "Lone Wolf and Cub", "Trigun" and "Blood Blockade Battlefront" by Yasuhiro Nightow, "Gantz", "Hellsing" and "Drifters" by Kouta Hirano, "Blood+", "Multiple Personality Detective Psycho", "FLCL", "Mob Psycho 100", and "Oreimo".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse also publishes a number of titles by the all-female Japanese manga artist group CLAMP, including "Clover", "Chobits", "Okimono Kimono", "Cardcaptor Sakura", "Magic Knight Rayearth", and "Gate 7".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: A manga magazine titled "Super Manga Blast!" was published by Dark Horse starting in the spring of 2000. It was discontinued in December 2005 after 59 issues.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: The DH Press imprint publishes novelizations of Dark Horse's more popular comic book titles, including "Aliens" and "Predator". DH Press has now been absorbed by DH Books.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Publications ranging from novels to film books by Leonard Maltin about John Landis, to comic related material such as a biography of Will Eisner, to health books. They have also published a series reprinting "Playboy" interviews. The M Press imprint was created to publish a diverse list of both literary fiction and non-fiction prose for authors with a unique voice. One such series is "Orchid" by Tom Morello, published from 2011 to 2013. The newest addition to M Press is an original graphic novel "The Fifth Beatle" by Vivek Tiwary, Andrew Robinson, and Kyle Baker, published in November 2013.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2011, Dark Horse launched their iOS app and online digital comics store Dark Horse Digital, followed by the release of the beta version of a native Android app in 2012. Any device with a modern web browser can be used to read Dark Horse comics at their web store.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Initiated in 1998, Dark Horse Deluxe rolled out a line of merchandise that included model kits, toys, apparel, and collectibles. Its original purpose was to draw on Dark Horse properties but expanded to include such collectibles as Tim Burton's "Tragic Toys for Girls and Boys", Joss Whedon's "Serenity", and merchandise for the popular video-game franchise "Mass Effect". Dark Horse, working with Big Tent Entertainment and the NHK broadcasting corporation, brought Domo-kun to the United States with a series of products ranging from Qee figurines to journals and stationery sets. David Scroggy was Vice President of Product Development at Dark Horse for many years, starting in that department in 1993 and retiring in 2017.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2013, Denis Kitchen and John Lind co-founded Kitchen Sink Books with Dark Horse as a joint venture and independent imprint. The imprint name is in reference to Kitchen's former publishing company Kitchen Sink Press which ran from 1970 until 1999. Kitchen said of the venture, “John and I have packaged books for a number of first-rank publishers, but we have long discussed the ideal house to enjoy maximum freedom and creativity,” says Kitchen. “In longtime friend and publisher Mike Richardson and Dark Horse Comics, we found just that.” The imprint's output is infrequent, publishing 2-3 high-profile projects annually with editorial focus on art books and deluxe format collections. Creators published under the Kitchen Sink line include Will Eisner, Frank Miller, Harvey Kurtzman, Tony DiTerlizzi and collections/anthology titles include work from Jack Davis, Will Elder, Art Spiegelman, S. Clay Wilson, Monte Beauchamp, Bob Powell, Justin Green, Trina Robbins, Harvey Pekar, Arnold Roth, and Al Jaffee.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Former executive editor of Vertigo Karen Berger established the Berger Books imprint at Dark Horse in 2017. Titles published under the imprint include "Hungry Ghosts" written by Joel Rose and Anthony Bourdain, "Incognegro" (10th anniversary edition) and a prequel "Incognegro: Renaissance" both written by Mat Johnson, "The Seeds" written by Ann Nocenti, "She Could Fly" written by Christopher Cantwell (2018 July), and "LaGuardia" written by Nnedi Okorafor.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: On June 2, 2021, Dark Horse Comics launched a Gaming and Digital Entertainment Division in partnership with AAA studios to bring many of its "older and lesser established IPs" into the gaming market.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In March 2022, it was announced that Dark Horse and filmmaker Kevin Smith would be teaming up to publish the books of Secret Stash Press, a new publishing line by Smith. The first 2 books of the line include "Maskerade", written by Smith and Andy Mcelfresh and "Quick Stops", written by Smith and set within the View Askewniverse.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In November 2022, it was announced that Dark Horse had partnered with James Tynion IV to release books of his Tiny Onion Studios. This will include original books and print verisons of books previously available on Substack. The first of these books include "Blue Book", written by Tynion and illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming, which will release in February 2023, while "The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos" will release June 2023, with Tynion creating the story, Tate Brombal writing, and art by Isaac Goodhart.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Comics has acquired the rights to make comic book adaptations of many popular films and series. Some of these include "Aliens", "Army of Darkness" (before Dynamite Entertainment acquired the license), "Indiana Jones", "Predator", "RoboCop", "The Thing", "Star Wars", "The Terminator", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (and its spin-off, "Angel"), "Planet of the Apes", "Let Me In" and "".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2013 CCP Games announced that Dark Horse would be publishing a series of comic books based on stories collected from players of the MMORPG "EVE Online".


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: In 2014, Lucasfilm announced that, as of 2015, future "Star Wars" comics would be published by Lucasfilm's corporate sibling, Marvel Comics. In 2017, Dark Horse Comics began publishing "" based on the web series "Critical Role". In 2019, "Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins" was Dark Horse's 6th best selling title with 19,000 copies sold.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse's production studio arm, Dark Horse Entertainment, produces films and television shows based on Dark Horse Comics. Established by Richardson in 1992, Dark Horse Entertainment set up shop on the lot at Twentieth Century Fox through a first-look deal with Larry Gordon and Largo Entertainment. Dark Horse Entertainment has produced over two dozen films and television projects.


title: Dark Horse Comics

text: Dark Horse Entertainment's 2018 deal with Vanguard Visionary Associates was "intended to allow the company to fully finance development of properties already owned by the company, as well as acquire outside material for media adaptation. Additionally, the partnership is intended to be a gateway for Dark Horse to bring its comic book library to new foreign markets, with a particular focus on China". In 2019, Dark Horse Entertainment set up a first-look deal with the streaming company Netflix.


title: Modus operandi

text: A modus operandi (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of operating".


title: Modus operandi

text: The term is often used in police work when discussing crime and addressing the methods employed by criminals. It is also used in criminal profiling, where it can help in finding clues to the offender's psychology. It largely consists of examining the actions used by the individuals to execute the crime, prevent its detection and facilitate escape. A suspect's "modus operandi" can assist in their identification, apprehension, or repression, and can also be used to determine links between crimes.


title: Modus operandi

text: In business, "modus operandi" is used to describe a firm's preferred means of executing business and interacting with other firms.


title: Modus operandi

text: The plural is (rather than ). The word is a gerund in the genitive case, "of operating"; gerunds can never be pluralised in Latin, as opposed to gerundives. When a noun with an attribute in the genitive is pluralised, only the head noun normally changes, just as in English with "of": "a fact of life, two facts of life" (unlike, for instance, in French).


title: Shogun

text: , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura period, shoguns were themselves figureheads, with real power in hands of the Shikken of the Hōjō clan. The office of shogun was in practice hereditary, though over the course of the history of Japan several different clans held the position. The title was originally held by military commanders during Heian period in the eighth and ninth centuries. When Minamoto no Yoritomo gained political ascendency over Japan in 1185, the title was revived to regularize his position, making him the first shogun in the usually understood sense.


title: Shogun

text: The shogun's officials were collectively referred to as the ; they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority. The tent symbolized the shogun's role as the military's field commander but also denoted that such an office was meant to be temporary. Nevertheless, the institution, known in English as the shogunate (), persisted for nearly 700 years, ending when Tokugawa Yoshinobu relinquished the office to Emperor Meiji in 1867 as part of the Meiji Restoration.


title: Shogun

text: The term is the abbreviation of the historical title "Sei-i Taishōgun" 征 ("sei", せい) means "conquer" or "subjugate" and 夷 ("i", い) means "barbarian" or "savage". 大 ("dai", だい) means "great", ("shō", しょう) means "commander" and 軍 ("gun", ぐん) means "army". Thus, a translation of "Seii Taishōgun" would be "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians".


title: Shogun

text: The term originally referred to the general who commanded the army sent to fight the tribes of northern Japan, but after the twelfth century, the term was used to designate the leader of the "samurai". The term is often translated "generalissimo" and is also used for such military leaders of foreign nations by Japanese.


title: Shogun

text: The administration of a shogun is called in Japanese and literally means "government from the ". During battles, the head of the samurai army would sit in a scissor chair inside a semi-open tent, called a "maku", that exhibited its respective mon or blazon. The application of the term "bakufu" to the shogun government shows an extremely strong and representative symbolism.


title: Shogun

text: Historically, similar terms to "Seii Taishōgun" were used with varying degrees of responsibility, although none of them had equal or more importance than "Seii Taishōgun". Some of them were:


title: Shogun

text: There is no consensus among the various authors since some sources consider Tajihi no Agatamori the first, others say Ōtomo no Otomaro, other sources assure that the first was Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, while others avoid the problem by just mentioning from the first Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo.


title: Shogun

text: Originally, the title of "Sei-i Taishōgun" ("Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians") was given to military commanders during the early Heian period for the duration of military campaigns against the Emishi, who resisted the governance of the Kyoto-based imperial court. Ōtomo no Otomaro was the first "Sei-i Taishōgun". The most famous of these shoguns was Sakanoue no Tamuramaro.


title: Shogun

text: In the later Heian period, one more shogun was appointed. Minamoto no Yoshinaka was named "sei-i taishōgun" during the Genpei War, only to be killed shortly thereafter by Minamoto no Yoshitsune.


title: Shogun

text: Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) was a Japanese general who fought against the Emishi tribes of northern Japan (settled in the territory that today integrates the provinces of Mutsu and Dewa). Tamarumaro was the first general to bend these tribes, integrating their territory to that of the Yamato State. For his military feats he was named Seii Taishōgun and probably because he was the first to win the victory against the northern tribes he is generally recognized as the first shogun in history. (Note: according to historical sources Ōtomo no Otomaro also had the title of Seii Taishōgun).


title: Shogun

text: In the early 11th century, "daimyō" protected by samurai came to dominate internal Japanese politics. Two of the most powerful families – the Taira and Minamoto – fought for control over the declining imperial court. The Taira family seized control from 1160 to 1185, but was defeated by the Minamoto in the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the central government and aristocracy and by 1192 established a feudal system based in Kamakura in which the private military, the samurai, gained some political powers while the Emperor and the aristocracy remained the "de jure" rulers. In 1192, Yoritomo was awarded the title of "Sei-i Taishōgun" by Emperor Go-Toba and the political system he developed with a succession of shoguns as the head became known as a shogunate. Hojo Masako's (Yoritomo's wife) family, the Hōjō, seized power from the Kamakura shoguns. When Yoritomo's sons and heirs were assassinated, the shogun himself became a hereditary figurehead. Real power rested with the Hōjō regents. The Kamakura shogunate lasted for almost 150 years, from 1192 to 1333.


title: Shogun

text: The end of the Kamakura shogunate came when Kamakura fell in 1333, and the Hōjō Regency was destroyed. Determined to restore power to the Imperial Court, in 1331 Emperor Go-Daigo tried to overthrow the shogunate. As a result, Daigo was exiled. Around 1334–1336, Ashikaga Takauji helped Daigo regain his throne in the Kenmu Restoration.


title: Shogun

text: The fight against the shogunate left the Emperor with too many people claiming a limited supply of land. Takauji turned against the Emperor when the discontent about the distribution of land grew great enough. In 1336 Daigo was banished again, in favor of a new Emperor, leading to the creation of the new Ashikaga shogunate.


title: Shogun

text: During the Kenmu Restoration, after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, another short-lived shogun arose. Prince Moriyoshi (Morinaga), son of Go-Daigo, was awarded the title of "Sei-i Taishōgun". However, Prince Moriyoshi was later put under house arrest and, in 1335, killed by Ashikaga Tadayoshi.


title: Shogun

text: In 1336 or 1338, Ashikaga Takauji, like Minamoto no Yoritomo, a descendant of the Minamoto princes, was awarded the title of "sei-i taishōgun" and established the Ashikaga shogunate, which nominally lasted until 1573. The Ashikaga had their headquarters in the Muromachi district of Kyoto, and the time during which they ruled is also known as the Muromachi period.


title: Shogun

text: For the first fifty years of the Shogunate the Ashikaga were unable to assert power over the entire country, as the descendants of Go-Daigo formed a rival court challenging their authority in the Nanboku-chō period. Finally in 1392, the Southern Court surrendered to the Northern Court and the authority of the bakufu.


title: Shogun

text: Following the Onin War the power of the Ashikaga Shoguns slowly dwindled and with the start of the Sengoku period were reduced to puppets of various warlords, until ultimately the last Muromachi Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was deposed in 1573.


title: Shogun

text: With the end of the Ashikaga bakufu Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, rose to power, governing using the court titles of Imperial Regent and gaining far greater power than any of their predecessors in those offices had. Hideyoshi is considered by many historians to be among Japan's greatest rulers, yet neither man was ever formally granted the title of Shogun.


title: Shogun

text: After Hideyoshi's death following the failed invasion of Korea, Tokugawa Ieyasu seized power with the victory at the Battle of Sekigahara and established a shogunate government at Edo (now known as Tokyo) in 1600. He received the title "sei-i taishōgun" in 1603, after he forged a family tree to show he was of Minamoto descent. The Tokugawa shogunate lasted until 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned as shogun and abdicated his authority to Emperor Meiji. Ieyasu set a precedent in 1605 when he retired as shogun in favour of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, though he maintained power from behind the scenes as (, cloistered shogun).


title: Shogun

text: During the Edo period, effective power rested with the Tokugawa shogun, not the Emperor in Kyoto, even though the former ostensibly owed his position to the latter. The shogun controlled foreign policy, the military, and feudal patronage. The role of the Emperor was ceremonial, similar to the position of the Japanese monarchy after the Second World War.


title: Shogun

text: The Honjō Masamune was inherited by successive shoguns and it represented the Tokugawa shogunate. It was crafted by swordsmith Masamune (1264–1343) and recognized as one of the finest Japanese swords in history. After World War 2, in December 1945, Tokugawa Iemasa gave the sword to a police station at Mejiro and it went missing.


title: Shogun

text: The term originally meant the dwelling and household of a shogun, but in time, became a metonym for the system of government dominated by a feudal military dictatorship, exercised in the name of the shogun or by the shogun himself. Therefore, various "bakufu" held absolute power over the country (territory ruled at that time) without pause from 1192 to 1867, glossing over actual power, clan and title transfers.


title: Shogun

text: The shogunate system was originally established under the Kamakura shogunate by Minamoto no Yoritomo after the Genpei War, although theoretically the state (and therefore the Emperor) still held "de jure" ownership of all land in Japan. The system had some feudal elements, with lesser territorial lords pledging their allegiance to greater ones. Samurai were rewarded for their loyalty with agricultural surplus, usually rice, or labor services from peasants. In contrast to European feudal knights, samurai were not landowners. The hierarchy that held this system of government together was reinforced by close ties of loyalty between the "daimyō", samurai, and their subordinates.


title: Shogun

text: Each shogunate was dynamic, not static. Power was constantly shifting and authority was often ambiguous. The study of the ebbs and flows in this complex history continues to occupy the attention of scholars. Each shogunate encountered competition. Sources of competition included the Emperor and the court aristocracy, the remnants of the imperial governmental systems, the "daimyōs", the "shōen" system, the great temples and shrines, the "sōhei", the "shugo" and "jitō", the "jizamurai" and early modern "daimyō". Each shogunate reflected the necessity of new ways of balancing the changing requirements of central and regional authorities.


title: Shogun

text: Since Minamoto no Yoritomo turned the figure of the shogun into a permanent and hereditary position and until the Meiji Restoration there were two ruling classes in Japan: 1. the emperor or , who acted as "chief priest" of the official religion of the country, Shinto, and 2. the shogun, head of the army who also enjoyed civil, military, diplomatic and judicial authority. Although in theory the shogun was an emperor's servant, it became the true power behind the throne.


title: Shogun

text: No shogun tried to usurp the throne, even when they had at their disposal the military power of the territory. There were two reasons primarily:


title: Shogun

text: Unable to usurp the throne, the shoguns sought throughout history to keep the emperor away from the country's political activity, relegating them from the sphere of influence. One of the few powers that the imperial house could retain was that of being able to "control time" through the designation of the Japanese Nengō or Eras and the issuance of calendars.


title: Shogun

text: Emperors twice tried to recover the power they enjoyed before the establishment of the shogunate. In 1219 the Emperor Go-Toba accused the Hōjō as outlaws. Imperial troops mobilized, leading to the Jōkyū War (1219–1221), which would culminate in the third Battle of Uji (1221). During this, the imperial troops were defeated and the emperor Go-Toba was exiled. With the defeat of Go-Toba, the samurai government over the country was confirmed. At the beginning of the fourteenth century the Emperor Go-Daigo decided to rebel, but the Hōjō, who were then regents, sent an army from Kamakura. The emperor fled before the troops arrived and took the imperial insignia. The shogun named his own emperor, giving rise to the era .


title: Shogun

text: During the 1850s and 1860s, the shogunate was severely pressured both abroad and by foreign powers. It was then that various groups angry with the shogunate for the concessions made to the various European countries found in the figure of the emperor an ally through which they could expel the Tokugawa shogunate from power. The motto of this movement was and they finally succeeded in 1868, when imperial power was restored after centuries of being in the shadow of the country's political life.


title: Shogun

text: Upon Japan's surrender after World War II, American Army General Douglas MacArthur became Japan's "de facto" ruler during the years of occupation. So great was his influence in Japan that he has been dubbed the .


title: Shogun

text: Today, the head of the Japanese government is the Prime Minister; the usage of the term "shogun" has nevertheless continued in colloquialisms. A retired Prime Minister who still wields considerable power and influence behind the scenes is called a , a sort of modern incarnation of the cloistered rule. Examples of "shadow shoguns" are former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and the politician Ichirō Ozawa.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter of World War II, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built, all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities in Buffalo, New York.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps gave the plane, and after June 1941, the USAAF


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: adopted the name for all models, making it the official name in the U.S. for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the original P-40, P-40B, and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: P-40s first saw combat with the British Commonwealth squadrons of the Desert Air Force in the Middle East and North African campaigns, during June 1941. No. 112 Squadron Royal Air Force, was among the first to operate Tomahawks in North Africa and the unit was the first Allied military aviation unit to feature the "shark mouth" logo, copying similar markings on some Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine fighters.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40's lack of a two-speed supercharger made it inferior to Luftwaffe fighters such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 or the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in high-altitude combat and it was rarely used in operations in Northwest Europe. However, between 1941 and 1944, the P-40 played a critical role with Allied air forces in three major theaters: North Africa, the Southwest Pacific, and China. It also had a significant role in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Alaska and Italy. The P-40's performance at high altitudes was not as important in those theaters, where it served as an air superiority fighter, bomber escort and fighter-bomber. Although it gained a postwar reputation as a mediocre design, suitable only for close air support, more recent research including scrutiny of the records of individual Allied squadrons indicates that this was not the case: the P-40 performed surprisingly well as an air superiority fighter, at times suffering severe losses, but also inflicting a very heavy toll on enemy aircraft. Based on war-time victory claims, over 200 Allied fighter pilots – from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the US and the Soviet Union – became aces flying the P-40. These included at least 20 double aces, mostly over North Africa, China, Burma and India, the South West Pacific and Eastern Europe. The P-40 offered the additional advantages of low cost and durability, which kept it in production as a ground-attack aircraft long after it was obsolescent as a fighter.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: On 14 October 1938, Curtiss test pilot Edward Elliott flew the prototype XP-40 on its first flight in Buffalo. The XP-40 was the 10th production Curtiss P-36 Hawk, with its Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine replaced at the direction of Chief Engineer Don R. Berlin by a liquid-cooled, supercharged Allison V-1710 V-12 engine. The first prototype placed the glycol coolant radiator in an underbelly position on the fighter, just aft of the wing's trailing edge. USAAC Fighter Projects Officer Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey flew this prototype some 300 miles in 57 minutes, approximately . Hiding his disappointment, he told reporters that future versions would likely go faster. Kelsey was interested in the Allison engine because it was sturdy and dependable, and it had a smooth, predictable power curve. The V-12 engine offered as much power as a radial engine but had a smaller frontal area and allowed a more streamlined cowl than an aircraft with a radial engine, promising a theoretical 5% increase in top speed.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Curtiss engineers worked to improve the XP-40's speed by moving the radiator forward in steps. Seeing little gain, Kelsey ordered the aircraft to be evaluated in a NACA wind tunnel to identify solutions for better aerodynamic qualities. From 28 March to 11 April 1939, the prototype was studied by NACA. Based on the data obtained, Curtiss moved the glycol coolant radiator forward to the chin; its new air scoop also accommodated the oil cooler air intake. Other improvements to the landing gear doors and the exhaust manifold combined to give performance that was satisfactory to the USAAC. Without beneficial tail winds, Kelsey flew the XP-40 from Wright Field back to Curtiss's plant in Buffalo at an average speed of . Further tests in December 1939 proved the fighter could reach .


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: An unusual production feature was a special truck rig to speed delivery at the main Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York. The rig moved the newly built P-40s in two main components, the main wing and the fuselage, the eight miles from the plant to the airport where the two units were mated for flight and delivery.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40 was conceived as a pursuit aircraft and was agile at low and medium altitudes but suffered from a lack of power at higher altitudes. At medium and high speeds it was one of the tightest-turning early monoplane designs of the war, and it could out turn most opponents it faced in North Africa and the Russian Front. In the Pacific Theater it was out-turned at lower speeds by the lightweight fighters A6M Zero and Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar" which lacked the P-40's structural strength for high-speed hard turns. The American Volunteer Group Commander Claire Chennault advised against prolonged dog-fighting with the Japanese fighters due to speed reduction favoring the Japanese.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Allison's V-1710 engines produced at sea level and . This was not powerful compared with contemporary fighters, and the early P-40 variants' top speeds were only average. The single-stage, single-speed supercharger meant that the P-40 was a poor high-altitude fighter. Later versions, with Allisons or more powerful 1,400 hp Packard Merlin engines were more capable. Climb performance was fair to poor, depending on the subtype. Dive acceleration was good and dive speed was excellent. The highest-scoring P-40 ace, Clive Caldwell (RAAF), who claimed 22 of his 28½ kills in the type, said that the P-40 had "almost no vices", although "it was a little difficult to control in terminal velocity". The P-40 had one of the fastest maximum dive speeds of any fighter of the early war period, and good high-speed handling.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40 tolerated harsh conditions and a variety of climates. Its semi-modular design was easy to maintain in the field. It lacked innovations such as boosted ailerons or automatic leading edge slats, but its strong structure included a five-spar wing, which enabled P-40s to pull high-G turns and survive some midair collisions. Intentional ramming attacks against enemy aircraft were occasionally recorded as victories by the Desert Air Force and Soviet Air Forces. Caldwell said P-40s "would take a tremendous amount of punishment, violent aerobatics as well as enemy action". Operational range was good by early war standards and was almost double that of the Supermarine Spitfire or Messerschmitt Bf 109, although inferior to the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Nakajima Ki-43 and Lockheed P-38 Lightning.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Caldwell found the P-40C Tomahawk's armament of two .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 "light-barrel" dorsal nose-mount synchronized machine guns and two .303 Browning machine guns in each wing to be inadequate. This was improved with the P-40D (Kittyhawk I) which abandoned the synchronized gun mounts and instead had two .50 in (12.7 mm) guns in each wing, although Caldwell still preferred the earlier Tomahawk in other respects. The D had armor around the engine and the cockpit, which enabled it to withstand considerable damage. This allowed Allied pilots in Asia and the Pacific to attack Japanese fighters head on, rather than try to out-turn and out-climb their opponents. Late-model P-40s were well armored. Visibility was adequate, although hampered by a complex windscreen frame, and completely blocked to the rear in early models by a raised turtledeck. Poor ground visibility and relatively narrow landing gear track caused many losses on the ground.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Curtiss tested a follow-on design, the Curtiss XP-46, but it offered little improvement over newer P-40 models and was cancelled.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In April 1939, the U.S. Army Air Corps, having witnessed the new, sleek, high-speed, in-line-engined fighters of the European air forces, placed the largest fighter order it had ever made for 524 P-40s.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: An early order came from the French "Armée de l'Air", which was already operating P-36s. The "Armée de l'Air" ordered 100 (later the order was increased to 230) as the Hawk 81A-1 but the French were defeated before the aircraft had left the factory and the aircraft were diverted to British and Commonwealth service (as the Tomahawk I), in some cases complete with metric flight instruments.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In late 1942, as French forces in North Africa split from the Vichy government to side with the Allies, U.S. forces transferred P-40Fs from 33rd FG to "GC II/5", a squadron that was historically associated with the Lafayette Escadrille. GC II/5 used its P-40Fs and Ls in combat in Tunisia and later for patrol duty off the Mediterranean coast until mid-1944, when they were replaced by Republic P-47D Thunderbolts.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In all, 18 Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons, four Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), three South African Air Force (SAAF) and two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadrons serving with RAF formations, used P-40s. The first units to convert were Hawker Hurricane squadrons of the Desert Air Force (DAF), in early 1941. The first Tomahawks delivered came without armor, bulletproof windscreens or self-sealing fuel tanks, which were installed in subsequent shipments. Pilots used to British fighters sometimes found it difficult to adapt to the P-40's rear-folding landing gear, which was more prone to collapse than the lateral-folding landing gear of the Hawker Hurricane or Supermarine Spitfire. In contrast to the "three-point landing" commonly employed with British types, P-40 pilots were obliged to use a "wheels landing": a longer, low angle approach that touched down on the main wheels first.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Testing showed the aircraft did not have the performance needed for use in Northwest Europe at high-altitude, due to the service ceiling limitation. Spitfires used in the theater operated at heights around , while the P-40's Allison engine, with its single-stage, low altitude rated supercharger, worked best at or lower. When the Tomahawk was used by Allied units based in the UK from February 1941, this limitation relegated the Tomahawk to low-level reconnaissance with RAF Army Cooperation Command


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: and only No. 403 Squadron RCAF was used in the fighter role for a mere 29 sorties, before being replaced by Spitfires. Air Ministry deemed the P-40 unsuitable for the theater. UK P-40 squadrons from mid-1942 re-equipped with aircraft such as Mustangs


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The Tomahawk was superseded in North Africa by the more powerful Kittyhawk ("D"-mark onwards) types from early 1942, though some Tomahawks remained in service until 1943. Kittyhawks included many improvements and were the DAF's air superiority fighter for the critical first few months of 1942, until "tropicalised" Spitfires were available. In 2012, the virtually intact remains of a Kittyhawk were found; it had run out of fuel in the Egyptian Sahara in June 1942. DAF units received nearly 330 Packard V-1650 Merlin-powered P-40Fs, called Kittyhawk IIs, most of which went to the USAAF and the majority of the 700 "lightweight" L models, also powered by the Packard Merlin, in which the armament was reduced to four .50 in (12.7 mm) Brownings (Kittyhawk IIA). The DAF also received some 21 of the later P-40K and the majority of the 600 P-40Ms built; these were known as Kittyhawk IIIs. The "lightweight" P-40Ns (Kittyhawk IV) arrived from early 1943 and were used mostly as fighter-bombers. From July 1942 until mid-1943, elements of the U.S. 57th Fighter Group (57th FG) were attached to DAF P-40 units. The British government also donated 23 P-40s to the Soviet Union.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Tomahawks and Kittyhawks bore the brunt of "Luftwaffe" and "Regia Aeronautica" fighter attacks during the North African campaign. The P-40s were considered superior to the Hurricane, which they replaced as the primary fighter of the Desert Air Force.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40 initially proved quite effective against Axis aircraft and contributed to a slight shift of advantage in the Allies' favor. The gradual replacement of Hurricanes by the Tomahawks and Kittyhawks led to the "Luftwaffe" accelerating retirement of the Bf 109E and introducing the newer Bf 109F; these were to be flown by the veteran pilots of elite "Luftwaffe" units, such as "Jagdgeschwader" 27 (JG27), in North Africa. The P-40 was generally considered roughly equal or slightly superior to the Bf 109 at low altitude but inferior at high altitude, particularly against the Bf 109F. Most air combat in North Africa took place well below , negating much of the Bf 109's superiority. The P-40 usually had an advantage over the Bf 109 in turning, dive speed and structural strength, was roughly equal in firepower but was slightly inferior in speed and outclassed in rate of climb and operational ceiling.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40 was generally superior to early Italian fighter types, such as the Fiat G.50 Freccia and the Macchi C.200. Its performance against the Macchi C.202 "Folgore" elicited varying opinions. Some observers consider the Macchi C.202 superior. Caldwell, who scored victories against them in his P-40, felt that the "Folgore" was superior to the P-40 and the Bf 109 except that its armament of only two or four machine guns was inadequate. Other observers considered the two equally matched or favored the "Folgore" in aerobatic performance, such as turning radius. The aviation historian Walter J. Boyne wrote that over Africa, the P-40 and the "Folgore" were "equivalent". Against its lack of high-altitude performance, the P-40 was considered to be a stable gun platform and its rugged construction meant that it was able to operate from rough front line airstrips with a good rate of serviceability.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The earliest victory claims by P-40 pilots include Vichy French aircraft, during the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign, against Dewoitine D.520s, a type often considered to be the best French fighter of the war. The P-40 was deadly against Axis bombers in the theater, as well as against the Bf 110 twin-engine fighter. In June 1941, Caldwell, of 250 Squadron in Egypt, flying as flying Officer (F/O) Jack Hamlyn's wingman, recorded in his log book that he was involved in the first air combat victory for the P-40. This was a CANT Z.1007 bomber on 6 June. The claim was not officially recognized, as the crash of the CANT was not witnessed. The first official victory occurred on 8 June, when Hamlyn and Flight Sergeant (Flt Sgt) Tom Paxton destroyed a CANT Z.1007 from "211 Squadriglia" of the "Regia Aeronautica", over Alexandria. Several days later, the Tomahawk was in action over Syria with No. 3 Squadron RAAF, which claimed 19 aerial victories over Vichy French aircraft during June and July 1941, for the loss of one P-40 (and one lost to ground fire).


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Some DAF units initially failed to use the P-40's strengths or used outdated defensive tactics such as the Lufbery circle. The superior climb rate of the Bf 109 enabled fast, swooping attacks, neutralizing the advantages offered by conventional defensive tactics. Various new formations were tried by Tomahawk units from 1941 to 1942, including "fluid pairs" (similar to the German "rotte"); the Thach Weave (one or two "weavers") at the back of a squadron in formation and whole squadrons bobbing and weaving in loose formations. Werner Schröer, who was credited with destroying 114 Allied aircraft in only 197 combat missions, referred to the latter formation as "bunches of grapes", because he found them so easy to pick off. The leading German "expert" in North Africa, Hans-Joachim Marseille, claimed as many as 101 P-40s during his career.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: From 26 May 1942, Kittyhawk units operated primarily as fighter-bomber units, giving rise to the nickname "Kittybomber". As a result of this change in role and because DAF P-40 squadrons were frequently used in bomber escort and close air support missions, they suffered relatively high losses; many Desert Air Force P-40 pilots were caught flying low and slow by marauding Bf 109s.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Caldwell believed that Operational Training Units did not properly prepare pilots for air combat in the P-40 and as a commander, stressed the importance of training novice pilots properly.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Competent pilots who took advantage of the P-40's strengths were effective against the best of the "Luftwaffe" and "Regia Aeronautica". In August 1941, Caldwell was attacked by two Bf 109s, one of them piloted by German ace Werner Schröer. Although Caldwell was wounded three times and his Tomahawk was hit by more than 100 bullets and five 20 mm cannon shells, Caldwell shot down Schröer's wingman and returned to base. Some sources also claim that in December 1941, Caldwell killed a prominent German "Experte", Erbo von Kageneck (69 kills), while flying a P-40. Caldwell's victories in North Africa included 10 Bf 109s and two Macchi C.202s. Billy Drake of 112 Squadron was the leading British P-40 ace with 13 victories. James "Stocky" Edwards (RCAF), who achieved 12 kills in the P-40 in North Africa, shot down German ace Otto Schulz (51 kills) while flying a Kittyhawk with No. 260 Squadron RAF. Caldwell, Drake, Edwards and Nicky Barr were among at least a dozen pilots who achieved ace status twice over while flying the P-40. A total of 46 British Commonwealth pilots became aces in P-40s, including seven double aces.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The Flying Tigers, known officially as the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), were a unit of the Chinese Air Force, recruited from U.S. Navy, Marines and Army aviators.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Chennault received crated Model Bs which his airmen assembled in Burma at the end of 1941, adding self-sealing fuel tanks and a second pair of wing guns, such that the aircraft became a hybrid of B and C models. These were not well-liked by their pilots: they lacked drop tanks for extra range, and there were no bomb racks on the wings. Chennault considered the liquid-cooled engine vulnerable in combat because a single bullet through the coolant system would cause the engine to overheat in minutes. The Tomahawks also had no radios, so the AVG improvised by installing a fragile radio transceiver, the RCA-7-H, which had been built for a Piper Cub. Because the plane had a single-stage low-altitude supercharger, its effective ceiling was about . The most critical problem was the lack of spare parts; the only source was from damaged aircraft. The planes were viewed as cast-offs that no one else wanted, dangerous and difficult to fly. But the pilots did appreciate some of the planes' features. There were two heavy sheets of steel behind the pilot's head and back that offered solid protection, and overall the planes were ruggedly constructed.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Compared to opposing Japanese fighters, the P-40B's strengths were that it was sturdy, well armed, faster in a dive and possessed an excellent rate of roll. While the P-40s could not match the maneuverability of the Japanese Army air arm's Nakajima Ki-27s and Ki-43s, nor the much more famous Zero naval fighter in slow, turning dogfights, at higher speeds the P-40s were more than a match. AVG leader Claire Chennault trained his pilots to use the P-40's particular performance advantages. The P-40 had a higher dive speed than any Japanese fighter aircraft of the early war years, for example, and could exploit so-called "boom-and-zoom" tactics. The AVG was highly successful, and its feats were widely publicized by an active cadre of international journalists to boost sagging public morale at home. According to its official records, in just months, the Flying Tigers destroyed 297 enemy aircraft for the loss of just four of its own in air-to-air combat.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In the spring of 1942, the AVG received a small number of Model E's. Each came equipped with a radio, six .50-caliber machine guns, and auxiliary bomb racks that could hold 35-lb fragmentation bombs. Chennault's armorer added bomb racks for 570-lb Russian bombs, which the Chinese had in abundance. These planes were used in the battle of the Salween River Gorge in late May 1942, which kept the Japanese from entering China from Burma and threatening Kunming. Spare parts, however, remained in short supply. "Scores of new planes...were now in India, and there they stayed—in case the Japanese decided to invade... the AVG was lucky to get a few tires and spark plugs with which to carry on its daily war."


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: A total of 15 USAAF pursuit/fighter groups (FG), along with other pursuit/fighter squadrons and a few tactical reconnaissance (TR) units, operated the P-40 during 1941–45. As was also the case with the Bell P-39 Airacobra, many USAAF officers considered the P-40 exceptional but it was gradually replaced by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the North American P-51 Mustang. The bulk of the fighter operations by the USAAF in 1942–43 were borne by the P-40 and the P-39. In the Pacific, these two fighters, along with the U.S. Navy Grumman F4F Wildcat, contributed more than any other U.S. types to breaking Japanese air power during this critical period.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The P-40 was the main USAAF fighter aircraft in the South West Pacific and Pacific Ocean theaters during 1941–42. At Pearl Harbor and in the Philippines, USAAF P-40 squadrons suffered crippling losses on the ground and in the air to Japanese fighters such as the A6M Zero and Ki-43 Hayabusa respectively. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, most of the USAAF fighters were P-40Bs, most of which were destroyed. However, a few P-40s managed to get in the air and shoot down several Japanese aircraft, most notably by George Welch and Kenneth Taylor.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In the Dutch East Indies campaign, the 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional), formed from USAAF pilots evacuated from the Philippines, claimed 49 Japanese aircraft destroyed, for the loss of 17 P-40s The seaplane tender USS "Langley" was sunk by Japanese airplanes while delivering P-40s to Tjilatjap, Java. In the Solomon Islands and New Guinea Campaigns and the air defence of Australia, improved tactics and training allowed the USAAF to better use the strengths of the P-40. Due to aircraft fatigue, scarcity of spare parts and replacement problems, the US Fifth Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force created a joint P-40 management and replacement pool on 30 July 1942 and many P-40s went back and forth between the air forces.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The 49th Fighter Group was in action in the Pacific from the beginning of the war. Robert M. DeHaven scored 10 kills (of 14 overall) in the P-40 with the 49th FG. He compared the P-40 favorably with the P-38:


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The 8th, 15th, 18th, 24th, 49th, 343rd and 347th PGs/FGs, flew P-40s in the Pacific theaters between 1941 and 1945, with most units converting to P-38s from 1943 to 1944. In 1945, the 71st Reconnaissance Group employed them as armed forward air controllers during ground operations in the Philippines, until it received delivery of P-51s. They claimed 655 aerial victories.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Contrary to conventional wisdom, with sufficient altitude, the P-40 could turn with the A6M and other Japanese fighters, using a combination of a nose-down vertical turn with a bank turn, a technique known as a low yo-yo. Robert DeHaven describes how this tactic was used in the 49th Fighter group:


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: USAAF and Chinese P-40 pilots performed well in this theater against many Japanese types such as the Ki-43, Nakajima Ki-44 "Tojo" and the Zero. The P-40 remained in use in the China Burma India Theater (CBI) until 1944 and was reportedly preferred over the P-51 Mustang by some US pilots flying in China. The American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) was integrated into the USAAF as the 23rd Fighter Group in June 1942. The unit continued to fly newer model P-40s until the end of the war, achieving a high kill-to-loss ratio.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In the Battle of the Salween River Gorge of May 1942 the AVG used the P-40E model equipped with wing racks that could carry six 35-pound fragmentation bombs and Chennault's armorer developed belly racks to carry Russian 570-pound bombs, which the Chinese had in large quantity.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Units arriving in the CBI after the AVG in the 10th and 14th Air Forces continued to perform well with the P-40, claiming 973 kills in the theater, or 64.8 percent of all enemy aircraft shot down. Aviation historian Carl Molesworth stated that "...the P-40 simply dominated the skies over Burma and China. They were able to establish air superiority over free China, northern Burma and the Assam valley of India in 1942, and they never relinquished it." The 3rd, 5th, 51st and 80th FGs, along with the 10th TRS, operated the P-40 in the CBI. CBI P-40 pilots used the aircraft very effectively as a fighter-bomber. The 80th Fighter Group in particular used its so-called "B-40" (P-40s carrying 1,000-pound high-explosive bombs) to destroy bridges and kill bridge repair crews, sometimes demolishing their target with one bomb. At least 40 U.S. pilots reached ace status while flying the P-40 in the CBI.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: On 14 August 1942, the first confirmed victory by a USAAF unit over a German aircraft in World War II was achieved by a P-40C pilot. 2nd Lt Joseph D. Shaffer, of the 33rd Fighter Squadron, intercepted a Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 maritime patrol aircraft that overflew his base at Reykjavík, Iceland. Shaffer damaged the Fw 200, which was finished off by a P-38F. Warhawks were used extensively in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II by USAAF units, including the 33rd, 57th, 58th, 79th, 324th and 325th Fighter Groups. While the P-40 suffered heavy losses in the MTO, many USAAF P-40 units achieved high kill-to-loss ratios against Axis aircraft; the 324th FG scored better than a 2:1 ratio in the MTO. In all, 23 U.S. pilots became aces in the MTO on the P-40, most of them during the first half of 1943.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: P-40 pilots from the 57th FG were the first USAAF fliers to see action in the MTO, while attached to Desert Air Force Kittyhawk squadrons, from July 1942. The 57th was also the main unit involved in the "Palm Sunday Massacre", on 18 April 1943. Decoded Ultra signals revealed a plan for a large formation of Junkers Ju 52 transports to cross the Mediterranean, escorted by German and Italian fighters. Between 1630 and 1830 hours, all wings of the group were engaged in an intensive effort against the enemy air transports. Of the four Kittyhawk wings, three had left the patrol area before a convoy of a 100+ enemy transports were sighted by 57th FG, which tallied 74 aircraft destroyed. The group was last in the area, and intercepted the Ju 52s escorted by large numbers of Bf 109s, Bf 110s and Macchi C.202s. The group claimed 58 Ju 52s, 14 Bf 109s and two Bf 110s destroyed, with several probables and damaged. Between 20 and 40 of the Axis aircraft landed on the beaches around Cap Bon to avoid being shot down; six Allied fighters were lost, five of them P-40s.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: On 22 April, in Operation Flax, a similar force of P-40s attacked a formation of 14 Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" ("Giant") six-engine transports, covered by seven Bf 109s from II./JG 27. All the transports were shot down, for a loss of three P-40s. The 57th FG was equipped with the Curtiss fighter until early 1944, during which time they were credited with at least 140 air-to-air kills. On 23 February 1943, during Operation Torch, the pilots of the 58th FG flew 75 P-40Ls off the aircraft carrier to the newly captured Vichy French airfield, Cazas, near Casablanca, in French Morocco. The aircraft supplied the 33rd FG and the pilots were reassigned.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The 325th FG (known as the "Checkertail Clan") flew P-40s in the MTO and was credited with at least 133 air-to-air kills from April–October 1943, of which 95 were Bf 109s and 26 were Macchi C.202s, for the loss of 17 P-40s in combat. The 325th FG historian Carol Cathcart wrote:


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Cathcart wrote that Lt. Robert Sederberg assisted a comrade being attacked by five Bf 109s, destroyed at least one German aircraft, and may have shot down as many as five. Sederberg was shot down and became a prisoner of war.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: A famous African-American unit, the 99th FS, better known as the "Tuskegee Airmen" or "Redtails", flew P-40s in stateside training and for their initial eight months in the MTO. On 9 June 1943, they became the first African-American fighter pilots to engage enemy aircraft, over Pantelleria, Italy. A single Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was reported damaged by Lieutenant Willie Ashley Jr. On 2 July the squadron claimed its first verified kill; a Fw 190 destroyed by Captain Charles Hall. The 99th continued to score with P-40s until February 1944, when they were assigned P-39s and P-51 Mustangs.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The much-lightened P-40L was most heavily used in the MTO, primarily by U.S. pilots. Many US pilots stripped down their P-40s even further to improve performance, often removing two or more of the wing guns from the P-40F/L.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The Kittyhawk was the main fighter used by the RAAF in World War II, in greater numbers than the Spitfire. Two RAAF squadrons serving with the Desert Air Force, No. 3 and No. 450 Squadrons, were the first Australian units to be assigned P-40s. Other RAAF pilots served with RAF or SAAF P-40 squadrons in the theater.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Many RAAF pilots achieved high scores in the P-40. At least five reached "double ace" status: Clive Caldwell, Nicky Barr, John Waddy, Bob Whittle (11 kills each) and Bobby Gibbes (10 kills) in the Middle East, North African and/or New Guinea campaigns. In all, 18 RAAF pilots became aces while flying P-40s.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Nicky Barr, like many Australian pilots, considered the P-40 a reliable mount: "The Kittyhawk became, to me, a friend. It was quite capable of getting you out of trouble more often than not. It was a real warhorse."


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: At the same time as the heaviest fighting in North Africa, the Pacific War was also in its early stages, and RAAF units in Australia were completely lacking in suitable fighter aircraft. Spitfire production was being absorbed by the war in Europe; P-38s were trialled, but were difficult to obtain; Mustangs had not yet reached squadrons anywhere, and Australia's tiny and inexperienced aircraft industry was geared towards larger aircraft. USAAF P-40s and their pilots originally intended for the U.S. Far East Air Force in the Philippines, but diverted to Australia as a result of Japanese naval activity were the first suitable fighter aircraft to arrive in substantial numbers. By mid-1942, the RAAF was able to obtain some USAAF replacement shipments.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: RAAF Kittyhawks played a crucial role in the South West Pacific theater. They fought on the front line as fighters during the critical early years of the Pacific War, and the durability and bomb-carrying abilities (1,000 lb/454 kg) of the P-40 also made it ideal for the ground attack role. During the Battle of Port Moresby RAAF 75 destroyed or damaged some 33 Japanese aircraft of various types. With another 30 probables. General Henry H. Arnold said of No 75 squadron: "Victory in the entire air war against Japan can be traced back to the actions which took place from that dusty strip at Port Moresby in early 1942." For example, 75, and 76 Squadrons played a critical role during the Battle of Milne Bay, fending off Japanese aircraft and providing effective close air support for the Australian infantry, negating the initial Japanese advantage in light tanks and sea power. The Kittyhawks fired "nearly 200,000 rounds of half-inch ammunition" during the course of the battle.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The RAAF units that most used Kittyhawks in the South West Pacific were 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 84 and 86 Squadrons. These squadrons saw action mostly in the New Guinea and Borneo campaigns.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Late in 1945, RAAF fighter squadrons in the South West Pacific began converting to P-51Ds. However, Kittyhawks were in use with the RAAF until the end of the war, in Borneo. In all, the RAAF acquired 841 Kittyhawks (not counting the British-ordered examples used in North Africa), including 163 P-40E, 42 P-40K, 90 P-40 M and 553 P-40N models. In addition, the RAAF ordered 67 Kittyhawks for use by No. 120 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron (a joint Australian-Dutch unit in the South West Pacific). The P-40 was retired by the RAAF in 1947.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: A total of 13 Royal Canadian Air Force units operated the P-40 in the North West European or Alaskan theaters.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In mid-May 1940, Canadian and US officers watched comparative tests of a XP-40 and a Spitfire, at RCAF Uplands, Ottawa. While the Spitfire was considered to have performed better, it was not available for use in Canada and the P-40 was ordered to meet home air defense requirements. In all, eight Home War Establishment Squadrons were equipped with the Kittyhawk: 72 Kittyhawk I, 12 Kittyhawk Ia, 15 Kittyhawk III and 35 Kittyhawk IV aircraft, for a total of 134 aircraft. These aircraft were mostly diverted from RAF Lend-Lease orders for service in Canada. The P-40 Kittyhawks were obtained in lieu of 144 P-39 Airacobras originally allocated to Canada but reassigned to the RAF.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: However, before any home units received the P-40, three RCAF Article XV squadrons operated Tomahawk aircraft from bases in the United Kingdom. No. 403 Squadron RCAF, a fighter unit, used the Tomahawk Mk II briefly before converting to Spitfires. Two Army Co-operation (close air support) squadrons: 400 and 414 Sqns trained with Tomahawks, before converting to Mustang Mk. I aircraft and a fighter/reconnaissance role. Of these, only No. 400 Squadron used Tomahawks operationally, conducting a number of armed sweeps over France in the late 1941. RCAF pilots also flew Tomahawks or Kittyhawks with other British Commonwealth units based in North Africa, the Mediterranean, South East Asia and (in at least one case) the South West Pacific.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy occupied two islands, Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutians, off Alaska. RCAF home defense P-40 squadrons saw combat over the Aleutians, assisting the USAAF. The RCAF initially sent 111 Squadron, flying the Kittyhawk I, to the US base on Adak island. During the drawn-out campaign, 12 Canadian Kittyhawks operated on a rotational basis from a new, more advanced base on Amchitka, southeast of Kiska. 14 and 111 Sqns took "turn-about" at the base. During a major attack on Japanese positions at Kiska on 25 September 1942, Squadron Leader Ken Boomer shot down a Nakajima A6M2-N ("Rufe") seaplane. The RCAF also purchased 12 P-40Ks directly from the USAAF while in the Aleutians. After the Japanese threat diminished, these two RCAF squadrons returned to Canada and eventually transferred to England without their Kittyhawks.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In January 1943, a further Article XV unit, 430 Squadron was formed at RAF Hartford Bridge, England and trained on obsolete Tomahawk IIA. The squadron converted to the Mustang I before commencing operations in mid-1943.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In early 1945 pilots from No. 133 Squadron RCAF, operating the P-40N out of RCAF Patricia Bay, (Victoria, British Columbia), intercepted and destroyed two Japanese balloon-bombs, which were designed to cause wildfires on the North American mainland. On 21 February, Pilot Officer E. E. Maxwell shot down a balloon, which landed on Sumas Mountain in Washington State. On 10 March, Pilot Officer J. 0. Patten destroyed a balloon near Saltspring Island, British Columbia. The last interception took place on 20 April 1945 when Pilot Officer P.V. Brodeur from 135 Squadron out of Abbotsford, British Columbia shot down a balloon over Vedder Mountain.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: Some Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) pilots and New Zealanders in other air forces flew British P-40s while serving with DAF squadrons in North Africa and Italy, including the ace Jerry Westenra.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: A total of 301 P-40s were allocated to the RNZAF under Lend-Lease, for use in the Pacific Theater, although four of these were lost in transit. The aircraft equipped 14 Squadron, 15 Squadron, 16 Squadron, 17 Squadron, 18 Squadron, 19 Squadron and 20 Squadron.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: RNZAF P-40 squadrons were successful in air combat against the Japanese between 1942 and 1944. Their pilots claimed 100 aerial victories in P-40s, whilst losing 20 aircraft in combat Geoff Fisken, the highest scoring British Commonwealth ace in the Pacific, flew P-40s with 15 Squadron, although half of his victories were claimed with the Brewster Buffalo.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The overwhelming majority of RNZAF P-40 victories were scored against Japanese fighters, mostly Zeroes. Other victories included Aichi D3A "Val" dive bombers. The only confirmed twin engine claim, a Ki-21 "Sally" (misidentified as a G4M "Betty") fell to Fisken in July 1943.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: From late 1943 and 1944, RNZAF P-40s were increasingly used against ground targets, including the innovative use of naval depth charges as improvised high-capacity bombs. The last front line RNZAF P-40s were replaced by Vought F4U Corsairs in 1944. The P-40s were relegated to use as advanced pilot trainers.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The remaining RNZAF P-40s, excluding the 20 shot down and 154 written off, were mostly scrapped at Rukuhia in 1948.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The Soviet "Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily" (VVS; "Military Air Forces") and "Morskaya Aviatsiya" (MA; "Naval Air Service") also referred to P-40s as "Tomahawks" and "Kittyhawks". In fact, the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk / Kittyhawk was the first Allied fighter supplied to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: The USSR received 247 P-40B/Cs (equivalent to the Tomahawk IIA/B in RAF service) and 2,178 P-40E, -K, -L, and -N models between 1941 and 1944. The Tomahawks were shipped from Great Britain and directly from the US, many of them arriving incomplete, lacking machine guns and even the lower half of the engine cowling. In late September 1941, the first 48 P-40s were assembled and checked in the USSR. Test flights showed some manufacturing defects: generator and oil pump gears and generator shafts failed repeatedly, which led to emergency landings. The test report indicated that the Tomahawk was inferior to Soviet "M-105P-powered production fighters in speed and rate of climb. However, it had good short field performance, horizontal maneuverability, range, and endurance." Nevertheless, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks were used against the Germans. The 126th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP), fighting on the Western and Kalinin Fronts, were the first unit to receive the P-40. The regiment entered action on 12 October 1941. By 15 November 1941, the regiment had shot down 17 German aircraft. However, Lt (SG) Smirnov noted that the P-40 armament was sufficient for strafing enemy lines but rather ineffective in aerial combat. Another pilot, Stephan Ridny (a Hero of the Soviet Union), remarked that he had to shoot half the ammunition at 50–100 meters (165–340 ft) to shoot down an enemy aircraft.


title: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

text: In January 1942, some 198 aircraft sorties were flown (334 flying hours) and 11 aerial engagements were conducted, in which five Bf 109s, one Ju 88, and one He 111 were downed. These statistics reveal a surprising fact: it turns out that the Tomahawk was fully capable of successful air combat with a Bf 109. The reports of pilots about the circumstances of the engagements confirm this fact. On 18 January 1942, Lieutenants S. V. Levin and I. P. Levsha (in pair) fought an engagement with seven Bf 109s and shot down two of them without loss. On 22 January, a flight of three aircraft led by Lieutenant E. E. Lozov engaged 13 enemy aircraft and shot down two Bf 109Es, again without loss. Altogether, in January, two Tomahawks were lost; one downed by German anti-aircraft artillery and one lost to Messerschmitts.