P-40 Warhawk vs Ki-43 Oscar: China, 1944-45 (Osprey Duel, No. 8)

New York: Osprey Publishing, 2008. 1st Printing. Soft Cover. Very Good. 7x0x9. Laurier, Jim. First printing. Laminate starting, edge wear. 2008 Soft Cover. 80 pp. Known for the distinctive 'sharkmouth' decoration on their noses, P-40 fighters first saw combat in China during World War II. Their most common adversary was the Japanese Nakajima Ki-43, nicknamed 'Oscar.' Carl Molesworth describes and explains the design and development of these two foes, the products of two vastly different philosophies of fighter design. The P-40 was heavily armed and sturdy with armour protection and self-sealing fuel tanks, but paid for this with the loss of speed and a sluggish performance at altitude. The Ki-43 was a rapier to the battleaxe P-40 and the Ki-43 was immensely nimble, though with less firepower and durability. This book examines these two different fighters, and the pilots who flew them over China, with an action-packed text, rare photographs and digital artwork.