This picture shows several American Curtiss P40 Warhawks flying in formation: Mass-produced, tough, and liked by pilots, the British also used P40s, calling them Kittyhawks or Tomahawks: British P40 Kittyhawk P40s claimed more kills than any other Allied fighter in the European theatre. The following photographs show Warhawks that were captured by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Apparently there were about ten captured Warhawks, and they were used operationally by the Japanese in the defence of Rangoon. In a friendly fire incident, Japanese pilots flying Warhawks were responsible for shooting at several of their own bombers. Battered Japanese P40 recaptured by Allied forces. 3 GIs sitting on a stripped down P40. This last photo I find a little puzzling, as there appears to be a B17 Flying Fortress in the background ! [All photos will enlarge, main source: HERE ]
Maybe not so unusual. The Germans also used Allied Aircraft in this way. KG200 used B-17's that were patched up after crash landing as well as British & Russian Aircraft to do specialised missions. The Allies on the other hand would tend to fully evaluate captured Axis Aircraft to find their strengths & weaknesses.
