France was one of the first customers of the P-40, placing an order of 100 Hawk 81A-1, later increased to 230 aircraft. However, these aircraft were not delivered before France fell in June 1940 and these aircraft never entered French service.
After the invasion of North Africa in late 1942, the groupe de Chasse II/5, a Free French fighter unit, was equipped with P-40Fs transferred from American units. These were later replaced by P-47D Thunderbolts but the P-40 remained as a trainer in French service for some time after the war.
