The Curtiss Tomahawk was as version of the Curtiss P-40B that had been ordered by the French Government. After the fall of France these aircraft were delivered to Britain. They were unsuitable for combat in Europe but were more successful in North Africa.

The Tomahawk was not considered suitable for combat in European theatres as it had been optimised for combat below 15,000 feet whereas combat was most often at up to 30,000 ft over Britain.

In North Africa most combat was at lower altitudes so Tomahawks were fairly well matched against the German and Italian fighters they fought against there.

Large numbers of Tomahawks were sent to North Africa, replacing Hawker Hurricanes.

Eventually, 27 Squadrons were equipped with P-40s with the early long nose models being replaced by Kittyhawks (P-40Ds) from 1942.

This model represents a Tomahawk IIb flown by Squadron Leader Peter Wykeham-Barnes of 73 Squadron, RAF, in Egypt in September 1941.

Airfix 1/72 kit completed by Steve Pulbrook in 2018.