P-40 Warhawk - Marlin 336 30-30 Tribute Rifle

P-40 Warhawk - Marlin 336 30-30 Tribute Rifle

Posted by Adam Devine, CEO, Ranger Point Precision on Apr 4th 2017

I've always been a WWII history buff. One of my favorite novels is Col. Robert L. Scott's novel, God is My Co-Pilot, one of the finest combat stories ever written. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA has some amazing exhibits that allow you to step back in time, with their most recent addition, the newly refurbished Patrol-Torpedo (PT) boat PT-305 that can be seen cruising Lake Pontchartrain - and offering passengers the ride of a lifetime.

As a mechanical engineer and former mechanic, the WWII planes have always captured my attention the most.

Reading about the flying heroes and perusing through the photos of the planes has been a casual pastime for

dozens of years. I have a particular affinity for the "Flying Tigers" and in particular the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk. On that

fateful day when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the lone aerial opposition came not from an organized action

of the planes stationed in Hawaii but from the individual pilots, like George Welch, whose exploits that day in the P-40

Warhawk downed four Japanese aircraft, winning him the Distinguished Flying Cross.


Ran across a great article this morning by Ray I. in The Firearms Blog, P-40E Kittyhawk .50cal Machine Gun Test Firing, where he featured a video of a Kittyhawk test firing .50cal Brownings at the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow in New Zealand. Great stuff!


Fallen Soldier's Marlin 336 30-30 Tribute Rifle: 

Finally, just last week, we completed a project for a U.S Army special forces soldier. A good friend and fellow solider 

had been KIA during an operation they'd been in together in Kunduz, Afghanistan along with one other member of the

 detachment. The Taliban had the troops trapped, and these two brave soldiers gave their lives helping to save the 

unit. Our customer had his fallen friend’s Marlin 336 30-30 rifle and wanted to make it a tribute to both soldiers lost 

during the battle. In addition to all of the performance work and parts, he wanted a nostalgic WWII paint scheme akin

 to the P-40 Warhawk along with a star and each soldier’s call sign # on either side of the butt stock.

P-40 P40 Warhawk Marlin 336 30-30 Lever Action Rifle

P-40 P40 Warhawk Marlin 336 30-30 Lever Action Rifle

This project was a labor of love and we desperately wish that things had turned out differently that day in Kunduz.

To all of our soldiers, may God bless each and every one of you. For everything that you do for us every day. We will 

keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many guns did the P-40 Warhawk have?

The Warhawk was armed with six 0.5 in M2 Browning machine guns, placed in three sets inside the wings.

What planes had the shark mouth?

With the influence of WWII’s distinctive nose art, shark mouths soon became popular on aircraft, Allied and Axis.

Inspired by the news photos of the No. 112 Squadron Tomahawks, pilots of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) adopted the shark mouth for all the group’s P-40B fighters in late 1941, resulting in further inspiration for many other pilots, units, and countries.