Ordered in July 1937 and in production until December 1944, the Curtiss P-40 served on almost all World War II fronts. Although basically obsolete when America entered the war, 13,738 were built for Allied air forces. It proved a rugged low-altitude fighter and close support aircraft. Developed from the radial engined P-36, the P-40 entered combat for America at Pearl Harbor. The American Volunteer Group demonstrated how successful l the P-40 could be if its strengths were used correctly. Called Tomahawks, Warhawks, and Kitty hawks depending on the model, P-40's actually continued in combat with the Netherlands in what is now Indonesia until July 1949.

The Museum's example is one of 30 TP-40N dual control conversion trainers converted by Curtiss at Buffalo, NY, and supplied to the Army to bridge the gap between the AT-6 advanced trainer and the high performance fighters in front-line service. It survived as a museum piece with the Smithsonian and the Air Force Museum before coming to Minnesota in February 1972. It came to Mr. Pond's collection in 1979.