| Built by: | Michael Turner |
| Kit: | 1/48 Hobby Craft P-40F “Desert Hawk” (HC1413) |
| Kit Media: | Plastic |
| Modifications and Additions: | Built ‘Out Of Box’, aftermarket seatbelts |
| Unit: | GC II/5 ‘Lafayette’ |
| Location: | Tunisia, November 1942 |
| Pilot: | Com. Constantine ‘Kosta’ Rozanoff |
Area of Operations
History
With the French surrender to German forces in 1940, the country was split, with the north occupied by the Germans and the south, plus the African territories (including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia) were governed by the collaborationist government in Vichy, led by Marshal Philippe Petain. I opposition to this, General Charles de Gaulle led a ‘Free French’ government in exile from London.
When American forces landed in Morocco and Algeria on the 8th of November 1942, they were initially opposed by Vichy forces. Soon, however, the majority of these forces switched sides and joined the Allies under the Free French banner.
In late November, GC II/5 (Group de Chase – Fighter Group) swapped its Dewotine D.520 fighters for 36 second-hand US P-40Fs, with the official transfer occurring on the 9th of January 1943 at Cassablanca. The Group participated in the drive to Tunisia that saw the Axis forces expelled from Africa in May. By March, however, only 7 of the original 36 P-40Fs were serviceable and the group re-equipped with P-40Ls.
With the start of production of the famous Rolls Royce Merlin engine by Packard in America, Curtiss decided to replace the Allison engine of the P-40E in the hope of achieving improved performance. A difference in carburettor configuration between the engines led to the intake being moved from the top of the cowling and into a redesigned radiator scoop under the nose. The first batch of P-40Fs retained the rear fuselage of the P-40e, but from the P-40F-5 block onwards the vertical tail was moved further aft to restore directional stability with the greater power of the Merlin. The performance improvement was not as great as had been hoped, although there was worthwhile gain at altitude.
Com. Constantine ‘Kosta’ Rozanoff was born in Poland but became a French citizen in 1927. He was second in command of CG II/4 in the Battle of France and served with the Vichy Air Force in North Africa after the armistice, eventually switching sides and taking command of GC II/5 ‘Lafayette’ on the 21st of November 1942, leading them in combat until the end of the Tunisian campaign.
After a stint as assistant director of the flight schools in North Africa he took command of CG II/3 on the 16th of July 1943. In December he left for Britain to attend test pilot school.
Post war he worked for Dassault and became the first French pilot to break the sound barrier while flying a Mystere IV. He lost his life in the same plane on the 3rd of April 1954 when attempting to break the sound barrier at ground level during a flying display. An electrical servo motor in the stabilizer failed, causing the aircraft to nose in and crash.
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