Lope's Hope | Curtiss Kittyhawk 1A | Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.
Lope’s Hope:
This Curtiss Kittyhawk 1A ‘194’ “Lope’s Hope,” built in March 1941, served with the Royal Air Force under the British military serial AK875 before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force as serial 1047. After being decommissioned in 1946, it was re-registered in the U.S. in 1947 as N1048N. In 1952, it came into the possession of the Choctaw Area Boy Scouts in Meridian, Mississippi, and was later donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1964. Following storage at Silver Hill, Maryland, it was restored at Andrews Air Force Base in 1974 and painted to represent a Curtiss P-40E Warhawk of the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group. It is now displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia.
P-40E Warhawk | Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia.
The paint scheme on this Kittyhawk is inspired by the original P-40E Warhawk flown by Lt. Donald S. Lopez of the 23rd Fighter Group during WWII. As part of the China Air Task Force, Lt. Lopez flew missions in the China-Burma-India Theater. The 75th Fighter Squadron, known as the Flying Tigers, had aircraft named "Lope's Hope" in honor of Lopez's nickname. This name underscored the P-40 series' ruggedness and versatility. Lopez's distinguished career continued as a deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Today, this Kittyhawk stands as a tribute to the bravery and skill of pilots like Lopez, connecting visitors to a significant chapter in aviation history.