Return from Canton depicts David Lee “Tex” Hill and the P-40 Warhawk during the China air war. The artwork was commissioned by the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach and incorporates aluminum from the museum's restored P-40E.
The P-40E Relic
The aircraft supplying the relic, 41-35918, was originally allocated to Britain as a Kittyhawk IA before being sent to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. It served with the 19th Guards Fighter Regiment on the Eastern Front.
Aluminum skin from P-40E 41-35918, restored by the Military Aviation Museum.
The aircraft was later recovered and restored to flying condition. Material removed during that work allowed the museum commission to incorporate a genuine piece of a surviving wartime P-40.
Tex Hill and the Flying Tigers
Hill flew with the American Volunteer Group in China, where the P-40 became inseparable from the image of the Flying Tigers. He later continued serving in China after the AVG was disbanded and American operations transitioned into regular U.S. Army Air Forces units.
Return from Canton connects Hill's combat story with a different P-40's remarkable journey—from wartime Lend-Lease service in the Soviet Union to restoration and flight in Virginia Beach.
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