P-40較為人知的戰績是在東亞戰場締造，由美國飛行員陳納德成立的空中傭兵部隊—飛虎隊在二戰初與日軍摧枯拉朽之際，駕駛著P-40戰鬥機與鋒芒正盛的日軍交手並多次贏得勝利，其發動機下顎漆上的鯊魚嘴成為宣傳中廣為人知的P-40塗裝象徵。

The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war. It was the third most-produced American fighter, after the P-51 and P-47; by November 1944, when production of the P-40 ceased, 13,738 had been built,^[4] all at Curtiss-Wright Corporation's main production facilities at Buffalo, New York.

P-40 Warhawk was the name the United States Army Air Corps adopted for all models, making it the official name in the United States for all P-40s. The British Commonwealth and Soviet air forces used the name Tomahawk for models equivalent to the P-40B and P-40C, and the name Kittyhawk for models equivalent to the P-40D and all later variants.

P-40戰鷹式戰鬥機由寇帝斯公司(Curtiss)以該公司先前設計生產的P-36戰鬥機的機體加上艾利森公司(Allison)的V-1710-19液冷式發動機而成的新戰鬥機。第一架原型機在1938年10月展開試飛。　　第二次世界大戰爆發時，這是美國唯一可以量產並大量外銷的機種。　、中國戰區的AVG 1943年末，P-40迎來了產量最大的最終系列：P-40N。

P-40於1941年7月首次進駐北非戰場參加戰鬥任務，皇家空軍的No. 112 Squadron RAF是第一個在北非使用P-40的作戰中隊，P-40著名的鯊魚嘴塗裝也是從此中隊開始流傳，鯊魚嘴的來源有種說法是英國人效法德國人將漆在BF-110戰機上的鯊魚嘴漆在自己的飛機上，不論來源為何，這個傳統將被飛虎隊繼承下去，並且更加廣為人知，其中飛虎隊使用自英國轉移的100架外銷型在緬甸與中國戰區協助抵抗日本人的作戰，傳自英國人的鯊魚嘴塗裝也成為飛虎隊的歷史象徵