The Curtiss P-40C was the second version of the P-40 manufactured for the United States Army Air Corps. They looked the same as the earlier P-40B but had self sealing tanks which made them heavier and slightly reduced their performance.

The prototype P-40 was a modification of a the earlier Curtiss P-36 and first flew in October 1938. It was tough and dependable with competitive performance at lower altitudes.

The improved P-40C had several minor improvements over the previous P-40B which included an improved radio and provision for a drop tank. 194 were made for the United States Army Air Corps, 930 for the RAF and a further100 for the American Volunteer Group in China.

Before the United States entered World War 2 the American Volunteer Group was established in China to help support the Nationalist Chinese Government in the war there against Japan.

It was initially equipped with P-40Bs and made the shark mouth marking on the nose famous.

This model represents a P-40C flown by Charles Older, 3 Squadron, American Volunteer Group at Kunming in China in the Spring of 1942.

Academy 1/72 kit completed by Steve Pulbrook in 2016.