The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built
fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
and
Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design with a retractable undercarriage making extensive use of metal in its construction.
Perhaps best known as the predecessor of the
Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
, the P-36 saw little combat with the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It was the fighter used most extensively and successfully by the
French Air Force during the
Battle of France. The P-36 was also ordered by the governments of the Netherlands and Norway but did not arrive in time to see action before both were occupied by Nazi Germany. The type was also manufactured under license in China, for the
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...
, as well as in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, for the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) and
Royal Indian Air Force
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
The Indian Air Force was offi ...
(RIAF).
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
and
co-belligerent
Co-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy with or without a formal treaty of military alliance. Generally, the term is used for cases where no alliance exists. Likewise, allies may not become co-belligerents in a ...
air forces also made significant use of captured P-36s. Following the fall of France and Norway in 1940, several dozen P-36s were seized by Germany and transferred to Finland; these aircraft saw extensive action with the
Finnish Air Force
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against the
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
s. The P-36 was also used by
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
air forces in several minor conflicts; in one of these, the
Franco-Thai War
The Franco-Thai War (October 1940 – January 28, 1941, th, กรณีพิพาทอินโดจีน, Krṇī phiphāth xindocīn; french: Guerre franco-thaïlandaise) was fought between History of Thailand (1932–1973), Thailand an ...
of 1940–41, P-36s were used by both sides.
From mid-1940, some P-36s en route for France and the Netherlands were diverted to Allied air forces in other parts of the world. The Hawks ordered by the Netherlands were diverted to the
Dutch East Indies and later saw action against Japanese forces. French orders were taken up by
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
air forces, and saw combat with the
South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
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(SAAF) against Italian forces in East Africa, and with the RAF over Burma. Within the Commonwealth, the type was usually referred to as the Curtiss Mohawk.
With around 1,000 aircraft built by Curtiss, the P-36 was a commercial success for the company. It also became the basis of the
P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
and two unsuccessful prototypes: the
P-37 and the
XP-42.
Design and development
The Curtiss Model 75 was a private venture by the company, designed by former
Northrop Aircraft Company
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
engineer
Don R. Berlin. The first prototype, constructed in 1934, featured all-metal construction with fabric-covered control surfaces, a Wright XR-1670-5 radial engine developing , and typical
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
armament of one and one machine gun firing through the propeller arc. Also typical of the time was the total absence of cockpit
armor
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...
or
self-sealing fuel tank
A self-sealing fuel tank is a type of fuel tank, typically used in aircraft fuel tanks or fuel bladders, that prevents them from leaking fuel and igniting after being damaged.
Typical self-sealing tanks have multiple layers of rubber and reinfo ...
s. The distinctive landing gear, which rotated 90° to fold the main wheels flat into the thin trailing portion of the wing, resting atop the lower ends of the maingear struts when retracted, was a
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...
-patented design for which Curtiss had to pay
royalties.
The prototype first flew on 6 May 1935, reaching at during early test flights. On 27 May 1935, the prototype was flown to
Wright Field
Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
, Ohio, to compete in the USAAC fly-off for a new single-seat fighter, but the contest was delayed because the
Seversky entry crashed on its way there. Curtiss took advantage of the delay to replace the unreliable engine with a Wright XR-1820-39 Cyclone producing and to rework the fuselage, adding the distinctive scalloped rear windows to improve visibility. The new prototype was designated Model 75B with the R-1670 version retroactively designated Model 75D. The fly-off finally took place in April 1936. Unfortunately, the new engine failed to deliver its rated power and the aircraft only reached .
Although the competing
Seversky P-35
The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in United States Army Air Co ...
also underperformed and was more expensive, it was still declared the winner and awarded a contract for 77 aircraft. However, on 16 June 1936, Curtiss received an order from USAAC for three prototypes designated Y1P-36. The USAAC was concerned about political turmoil in Europe, and about Seversky's ability to deliver P-35s in a timely manner, and therefore wanted a backup fighter. The Y1P-36 (Model 75E) was powered by a 900 hp
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-13 Twin Wasp engine, and the scalloped rear canopy was further enlarged. The new aircraft performed so well that it won the 1937 USAAC competition with an order for 210 P-36A fighters.
The aircraft's extremely low wing loading of just 23.9 lb/ft
2 gave it outstanding turning performance, and its high power-to-weight ratio of 0.186 hp/lb gave superb climbing performance for the time. The single speed
supercharger was a serious handicap at high altitudes. Compared to the later Allison-engined P-40, the P-36 shared the P-40's traits of excellent high-speed handling, roll rate that improved at high speed, and relatively light controls at high speed. However, it was underpowered, affecting its acceleration and top speed, and it did not accelerate in a dive as well as the P-40.
Operational history
Argentina
![FMA CURTISS HAWK 75-0](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/FMA_CURTISS_HAWK_75-0.jpg)
Argentina bought a number of the simplified, fixed landing gear Hawk 75Os, (intended for rough-field operations and ease of maintenance) and purchased a manufacturing license for the type; 30 were built and delivered by Curtiss, and 20 produced locally. These aircraft used the same engine, Wright Cyclone R-1820-G5 as the
Martin 139WAA's and
Northrop 8A-2s used by the
Argentine Army Aviation
The Argentine Army Aviation ( es, Comando de Aviación de Ejército, AvEj) is the army aviation branch of the Argentine Army. Their members have the same rank insignia and titles as the rest of the Army.
Along with its primary role of supporting ...
at the time. Usually armed with one Madsen machine gun heavily modified for aircraft use and three
Madsen light machine guns, there was provision for up to 10 bombs on underwing pylons. The last Argentinian Hawks remained in service until November 1954.
Brazil
In March 1942, 10 USAAC P-36As were transferred to Brazil.
British Commonwealth
The Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) also displayed interest in the aircraft. Comparison of a borrowed French Hawk 75A-2 with a Supermarine Spitfire Mk I revealed that the Hawk had several advantages over the early variant of the iconic British fighter. The Hawk was found to have lighter controls than the Spitfire at speeds over , especially in diving attacks, and was easier to maneuver in a dogfight (thanks to the less sensitive elevator). The Hawk also had better all-around visibility
and was easier to control on takeoff and landing. Not surprisingly, the Spitfire's superior acceleration and top speed ultimately gave it the advantage of being able to engage and leave combat at will.
Although the British decided not to purchase the aircraft, they soon came into possession of 229 Hawks by way of shipments diverted from occupied France and aircraft flown by escaping French pilots. The aircraft received the designations Mohawk I through IV, mirroring French Hawk 75A-1 through A-4, and were fitted with 0.303-cal. Vickers K machine guns and conventional throttles (forward to increase power).[March 1995, p. 68.]
Although the Hawk was considered obsolete, a number saw service with the RAF and Royal Indian Air Force
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
The Indian Air Force was offi ...
(RIAF) in India and Burma. In April 1941, the government of British India ordered 48 Cyclone-powered Mohawk IVz (Hawk 75A) for the RIAF, to be built by Hindustan Aircraft. The first such aircraft completed was test flown on 31 July 1942. Only four additional aircraft were completed before the project was abandoned. However, Chinese license production of the Hawk 75A-5 was moved to India, and these aircraft were also absorbed into the RAF/RIAF as Mohawk IVs. They were supplemented by 10 Hawk 75A-9s that were war booty captured in Iran, during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran of August 1941.[Shores ''Air Enthusiast'' 1983, p. 2.] A further 74 Mohawk IVs that had originally been ordered by France were shipped to India from the United Kingdom.[ The only RAF units to see combat in Mohawks were ]No. 5 Squadron RAF
Number 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron (although His Majesty the King awarded No. V (Army Cooperation) Squadron) was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It most recently operated the Raytheon Sentinel R1 Airborne STand-Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraf ...
and No. 155 Squadron RAF
No. 155 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force squadron.
History First World War
No.155 Squadron was formed at RAF Chingford on 14 September 1918 as a bomber unit with Airco DH.9As after an earlier decision to form at RAF Feltham was abando ...
, using the type mainly for Bomber escort and ground attack. The type was retired by the RAF/RIAF in 1944.[Shores ''Air Enthusiast'' 1983, pp. 2–9.]
The South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
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received 72 Mohawks. Its first Mohawks were delivered to East Africa in mid-1941, where they were used by 3 Squadron SAAF to support operations in the East African Campaign, taking part in the Battle of Gondar
The Battle of Gondar or Capture of Gondar was the last stand of the Italian forces in Italian East Africa during the Second World War. The battle took place in November 1941, during the East African Campaign. Gondar was the main town of Amhara in ...
which ended the campaign, and helping to patrol the border with Vichy French held Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
.[Thomas 2003, pp. 67-69.] These Mohawks were then sent to South Africa, where, supplemented by fresh deliveries, they were used for training and for home defence.[Thomas 2003, p. 69.]
China
The prototype of the Hawk 75H—a simplified version with fixed landing gear, like the 75O—was eventually sold to the Chinese Nationalist government who presented it to Claire L. Chennault
Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Air Force in World War II.
Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fighte ...
for personal use. China also received two similar demonstrators, the Hawk 75Q. They also used a number of simplified Hawk 75Ms against the Japanese. On 11 January 1939, five Hawk 75Ms of the veteran CAF 25th Fighter Squadron led by commander Liu Yijun (劉依鈞) were flown to the new wartime capital of Chongqing in preparations for defense duties there; Liu Yijun and his four specially-trained Hawk 75 pilots all died in the crash of transport aircraft in the return flight. These Hawk 75Ms were intended for the newly established 16th and 18th Fighter Squadrons that were previously light attack-bomber squadrons, but did not supersede the increasingly obsolescent Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was ...
and I-16 that formed the backbone of most of China's fighter squadrons from 1938 to 1941. The Hawk 75A-5 was built under license in China, but production was later moved to India, and these aircraft were absorbed into the RAF as the Mohawk IV.
Finland
After the fall of France, Germany agreed to sell captured Curtiss Hawk fighters to Finland in October 1940. In total, 44 captured aircraft of five subtypes were sold to Finland with three deliveries from 23 June 1941 – 5 January 1944.["Curtiss Hawk 75A."](_blank)
''Backwoods landing strip: Finnish Air Force aircraft.'' Retrieved: 28 October 2010. Not all were from the French stocks, 13 were initially sold to Norway and captured when the Germans conquered that country.[Persyn, Stenman and Thomas 2009, p. 50] The aircraft were given serial codes CU-501 to CU-507 (A-4 submodel with Cyclone) and CU-551 to CU-587 (all other submodels with Twin Wasp).
In Finnish service, the Hawk was well liked, affectionately called ''Sussu'' ("Sweetheart"). The Finnish Air Force enjoyed success with the type, credited with 190⅓ kills by 58 pilots, between 16 July 1941 and 27 July 1944, for the loss of 15 of their own.[ Finnish Hawk pilots included the type's highest-scoring ace, Altto Kalevi "Kale" Tervo, with between 14¼ and 15¾ victories in the type; another ace, Kyösti "Kössi" Karhila, scored 12¼ or 13¼ of his 32¼ victories in the Hawk.][''ADF Serials Telegraph News'', 2012, vol. 2, iss. 2 (Winter), pp. 10–24.]
The Finnish Hawks were initially armed with either four or six 7.5mm machine guns. While sufficient during the early phase of the Continuation War
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...
, the increasing speeds and armor of Soviet aircraft soon showed this armament was not powerful enough. From 1942, the State Aircraft Factory replaced the fuselage machine guns with either one or two Colt or Browning FN machine guns and installed two or four Browning machine guns in each wing. The 12.7mm Berezin UB
The Berezin UB (russian: УБ - Универсальный Березина) (''Berezin's Universal'') was a 12.7 mm caliber Soviet aircraft machine gun widely used during World War II.
Development
In 1937, Mikhail Yevgenyevich Berezin bega ...
or LKk/42 heavy machine guns were also used.[ The installation of heavier armament did not change the very good flying characteristics of the fighter, but the armament was much more effective against Soviet aircraft. The Finnish Hawks were also equipped with Revi 3D or C/12D gunsight.
Surviving Finnish aircraft remained in service with the FAF aviation units HLeLv 13, HLeLv 11 and LeSK until 30 August 1948, when the last operational Finnish Hawks were put into storage. In 1953, the stored aircraft were scrapped.][
]
France
Even before the P-36A entered production, the French Air Force entered negotiations with Curtiss for delivery of 300 aircraft. The negotiating process ended up being very drawn-out because the cost of the Curtiss fighters was double that of the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and Bloch MB.150
The Bloch MB.150 (later MB.151 to MB.157) was a French fighter aircraft developed and produced by '' Société des Avions Marcel Bloch''. It featured an all-metal construction, complete with a retractable undercarriage, low cantilever wing and ...
, and the delivery schedule was deemed too slow. Since the USAAC was unhappy with the rate of domestic deliveries and believed that export aircraft would slow things down even more, it actively opposed the sale. Eventually, it took direct intervention from U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt to give the French test pilot Michel Detroyat a chance to fly the Y1P-36.
Detroyat's enthusiasm, problems with the MB.150, and the pressure of continuing German rearmament finally forced France to purchase 100 aircraft and 173 engines. The first Hawk 75A-1 (or H75A-1 n°1) arrived in France in December 1938 and began entering service in March 1939. A few months later, this aircraft was part of "Groupe de Chasse II/5 La Fayette" (heir of the Escadrille Lafayette
The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Amer ...
that fought in France during World War I), wearing the famous Sioux Head on its fuselage side. After the first few examples, aircraft were delivered in pieces and assembled in France by the '' Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre''.
Officially designated as the Curtiss H75-C1 (the "Hawk" name was not used in France), the aircraft were powered by Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC-G engines of 900 hp and had instruments calibrated for the metric system, a seat for French dorsal parachutes, a French-style throttle which operated in reverse from U.S. and British aircraft (full throttle was to the rear rather than to the front) and armament of four (later models had six with two firing through the prop and four in the wings) 7.5 mm FN-Browning machine guns, aimed with a French-supplied Baille-Lemaire gun sight. The aircraft evolved through several modifications, the most significant being the installation of the Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. The H75-C1 variant saw little operational use due to its late delivery and reliability problems with the Wright radial engine. A total of 316 H75s were delivered to France before the German occupation.[Facon, Patrick. "Slowing Down Blitzkrieg - A Curtiss Fighter Ace in the Battle of France." ''AIR FAN International'', Publitek Ltd, March 1996, pp. 54–62. ISSN 1083-2548.]
On September 20, Sergeant André-Armand Legrand, pilot of the H75A-1 n°1 in the ''Groupe de Chasse II/5 La Fayette'' was credited of the first Allied air victory of World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
on the Western front with shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 109E of the ''Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' 3/JG 53, over Überherrn. During 1939–1940, French H75 pilots claimed 230 air-to-air kills (of a total of 1,009 air-to-air kills by the French Air Force during 1939–1940) and 81 probable victories in H75s against only 29 aircraft lost in aerial combat. While making up only 12.6 per cent of the French Air Force single-seater fighter force, the H75 accounted for almost a third of the air-to-air kills during the 1940 Battle of France.
Of the 11 French aces of the early part of the war, seven flew H75s. The leading ace of the time was Lieutenant Edmond Marin la Meslée with 15 confirmed and five probable victories in the type. H75-equipped squadrons were evacuated to French North Africa
French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. I ...
before the Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
to avoid capture by the Germans. While under the Vichy government
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
, these units clashed with British aircraft during the Battle of Mers El-Kebir and the Battle of Dakar
The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the success of the operation cou ...
. During Operation Torch in North Africa, French H75s fought against U.S. Navy F4F Wildcats, losing 15 aircraft while shooting down seven American aircraft. From late 1942, the Allies started re-equipping the formerly Vichy-controlled French H75 units with P-40s and P-39s.
Iran
A total of 10 Hawk 75A-9s were delivered to Persia, but were captured by the British during the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran while still in crates. These were then used by the RAF in India as Mohawk IVs.
Dutch East Indies
In October 1939, the Netherlands ordered 24 Hawk 75A-7s for their colonies of the Dutch East Indies (''Oost Indië''). These planes were powered by 1,200 hp Cyclones. Factory armament was one .50 inch and one .303 inch machine gun in the cowl with two .303 machine guns in the wings. After delivery, the .50 weapons were replaced to standardize parts and ammo. The plane could carry six 23 kg bombs. The fighters were shipped in 1940 and almost rerouted to the Netherlands when Germany invaded. But as the mainland surrendered, the aircraft continued to the colonies where they were used extensively against the Japanese attack on the Far Eastern part of the kingdom. By that time, the aircraft had flown so many hours that the engines were showing serious wear and tear.
Most Dutch Hawks were assigned to the ''1ste JachtVliegAfdeling - VliegtuigGroep IV'' (1ste JaVA - 1-VlG IV; "1st Fighter Squadron - Flying Group IV") of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until ...
(ML-KNIL), although some flew with 1-VlG V. These aircraft saw action over Malacca, Sumatra and Java, successfully bombing the railroad and intercepting bombers and participated in the extensive dogfights over Soerabaja, where USAAF, RAF and ML aircraft fought Japanese bombers and fighters together.
Norway
Norway ordered 24 Twin Wasp-powered Hawk 75A-6s, of which 19 were delivered and seven assembled at the time of the German invasion. None of the aircraft were combat-ready. The disassembled aircraft were disabled by a single customs employee who smashed the instruments and cut all the wires he could reach. Thirteen Norwegian Hawks captured by the Germans were part of the first batch of 29 P-36s sent to Finland.[ Norway also ordered 36 Cyclone-powered Hawk 75A-8s. Most of this batch (a total of 30) were delivered as advanced trainers to "]Little Norway
Little Norway ( no, Lille Norge), officially (FTL, "Air Force Training Camp"), was a Norwegian Army Air Service/Royal Norwegian Air Force training camp in southern Ontario during the Second World War.
Origins
When Nazi Germany attacked Norway o ...
" near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a Norwegian training base established by the London-based government-in-exile. Still later, they were resold to the U.S. and redesignated the P-36G model.
Peru
In 1943, the U.S. sent 28 Hawks to Peru under the Lend-Lease agreement. These were ex-Norwegian P-36Gs that had served in Canada.
Portugal
Portugal was officially neutral during World War II, although the Allies were allowed to use or establish ports and airfields on various Portuguese territories. One result of these friendly relations was the transfer by the British government of 12 Hawk 75A variants to the Portuguese Air Force, or ''Força Aérea Portuguesa'' (FAP), which assigned them to air defense duties in the Azores
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, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
.
Thailand
A few Hawk 75Ns were used by Thailand during the French-Thai War. They also fought at the Battle of Prachuab Khirikhan against Japanese forces during the Japanese Invasion of Thailand. On 28 January 1941, the Royal Thai Air Force
"Royal Thai Air Force March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 9 April 1937 (Royal Thai Air Force Day)
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles ...
(RTAF) dispatched nine Ki-30 Nagoyas, escorted by three Hawk 75s, to bomb Pailin and Sisophon in French Indochina. Thailand was perhaps the only country operating both Japanese and American aircraft just before World War II.
United States
The first production P-36As were delivered to the 20th Pursuit Group
The 20th Operations Group (20 OG) is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20t ...
at Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to:
Places
* Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community
* Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town
** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
*Barksdale Air Forc ...
in Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
in April 1938. The aircraft's service history was marred by numerous teething problems with the engine exhaust, skin buckling over landing gear, and weak points in the airframe, severely restricting the performance envelope. By the time these issues were resolved, the P-36 was considered obsolete and was relegated to training units and overseas detachments at Albrook Field
Albrook Air Force Station is a former United States Air Force facility in Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern ...
in the Panama Canal Zone, Elmendorf Field Elmendorf may refer to:
People with the surname
*Dave Elmendorf, former NFL player
* Douglas Elmendorf, 2009-2015 director of the Congressional Budget Office
* Lucas Conrad Elmendorf, a United States Representative from New York
* Steven Elmendorf, ...
in Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, and Wheeler Field
Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...
in Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
The P-36s had been delivered to Hawaii in February 1941 by being loaded on the aircraft carrier USS ''Enterprise'' in California, then in a first for the USAAC, flown off the carrier's deck by the P-36's U.S. Army Air Corps pilots when the ''Enterprise'' neared the coast of Hawaii. This saved considerable time over the traditional shipping method of having the fighters first disassembled, crated and then loaded by crane in the hold of a freighter, then unloaded and reassembled in Hawaii.
The only combat by U.S.-operated P-36s took place during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
. Five of the 39 P-36A Hawks at Pearl Harbor, delivered previously by the USS ''Enterprise'', were able to take off during the attack and were credited with shooting down two Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Zeros for the loss of one P-36, thereby scoring U.S. aerial victories that were among the first of the Second World War.
Variants
;Model 75A
:Company-owned demonstrator aircraft flown with several engine fits
;Model 75B
:Prototype with Wright R-1820
The Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright, widely used on aircraft in the 1930s through 1950s. It was produced under license in France as the Hispano-Suiza 9V or Hispano-Wright 9V, and in the Soviet Un ...
radial engine
;Model 75D
:First prototype, Wright Whirlwind
The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to incl ...
R-1670 radial
;Model 75H
:Internal company designation for a simplified export version with fixed landing gear, two slightly differing aircraft built, first sold to China, second to Argentina
; Model 75I
:Company designation for the P-37.
;Model 75J
:Company-owned 75A temporarily fitted with an external supercharger
;Model 75K
:Unbuilt version, intended to use the Pratt & Whitney R-2180 Twin Hornet radial.
;Model 75P
:Production P-36A (serial 38-010) fitted with Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engine, prototype for Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
;Model 75R
:Company-owned 75A temporarily fitted with R-1830-SC2-G with turbo-supercharger, attained but proved complex and unreliable
; Model 75S
:Company designation for the P-42
;Y1P-36 (Model 75E)
:USAAC prototype, Pratt & Whitney R-1830
;P-36A (Model 75L)
:USAAC version
;P-36B
:Production P-36A fitted with an R-1830-25 producing , reached , returned to original P-36A configuration
;P-36C
:An additional 0.30 in machine gun installed in each wing with external ammunition boxes under the wings, R-1830-17 of ; last 30 production aircraft were completed as P-36Cs
;XP-36D
:Production P-36A modified with two machine guns in the nose and four 0.30 in machine guns in the wings
;XP-36E
:Production P-36A armed with four 0.30 in machine guns in the wings, retained standard fuselage guns
;XP-36F
:Production P-36A fitted with two Madsen autocannons under the wings, reverted to P-36A because guns imposed an unacceptable performance penalty with top speed of only .
;P-36G
:Hawk 75A-8 used by Norway for training in Canada; later delivered to Peru. R-1820-G205A of 1,200 hp.
;Hawk 75A-1
:First production batch for France, four machine guns, R-1830-SC-G of ; 100 built
;Hawk 75A-2
:Second production batch for France, either R-1830-SC-G or R-1830-SC3-G, six 7.5 mm machine guns; 100 built
;Hawk 75A-3
:Third production batch for France, similar with Hawk 75A-2;[Persyn 2007] 135 built (133 delivered).
;Hawk 75A-4
:Last production batch for France, Hawk 75A-2 with Wright R-1820-G205A Cyclone radial with 1,200 hp: 285 built, 81 delivered to France; others to Great Britain as Mohawk IV
;Hawk 75A-5
:Similar to Hawk 75A-4. Built under license in China (production was later moved to India), absorbed into RAF as Mohawk IV
;Hawk 75A-6
:Version for Norway; aircraft captured during the German invasion were eventually sold to Finland
;Hawk 75A-7
:Version for Netherlands East Indies: 1,200 hp Cyclone, one and one in cowl and two in wings; later four (two in nose, one in each wing) and six bombs.
;Hawk 75A-8
:Export version for Norway. Later redesignated P-36G.
;Hawk 75A-9
:10 aircraft delivered to Persia, captured still in crates and used by RAF in India as Mohawk IVs
;Hawk 75M
:Simplified version with fixed landing gear and Wright R-1820 Cyclone for China, built by both Curtiss and Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company in China
;Hawk 75N
:Simplified version for Siam (Thailand) with non-retractable landing gear and wheel pants.
;Hawk 75O
:Simplified version for Argentina, 30 built and delivered by Curtiss with additional 200 to be built under license locally by ''Fabrica Militar de Aviones
Fabrica means a device in Latin, and derivative words mean "factory" in French (''fabrique''), Italian (''fabbrica''), Portuguese (''fábrica''), Romanian (''fabrica'') and Spanish (''fábrica'') among other Romance languages. It may also refer to ...
'', however only 20 were completed.[Padin 1999, pp. 9, 15.]
;Hawk 75Q
:Two additional simplified demonstrators for China. At least one is reputed to have been given an armament similar to that of the XP-36F and to have engaged in combat over Shanghai during the Japanese attacks in September 1937, reportedly shooting down several bombers before being brought down with the loss of the American pilot.
; XP-37
:Allison V-1710 inline, cockpit moved to the rear of the fuselage
;YP-37
:Service test version of XP-37, 13 built
; XP-40
:Allison V-1710 inline, prototype of the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
, one converted from a P-36A
; XP-42
:Testbed for streamlining cowlings around air-cooled engines
Operators
;
* Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...
;
* Finnish Air Force
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* French Air Force
; Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
* Royal Indian Air Force
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
The Indian Air Force was offi ...
;
* Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force ( nl, Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until ...
;
* Portuguese Air Force
;
* Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
;
* South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
, colours =
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, mascot =
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, equipment ...
;
* United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
* United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Surviving aircraft
;New Zealand
* CU-554 – Hawk 75A-6 under restoration to airworthy condition at Ardmore Airport, New Zealand for Jerry Yagen's Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
. Formerly located at Omaka Aerodrome in Blenheim, New Zealand.
;Thailand
* Unknown ID – Hawk 75N on static display in the Royal Thai Air Force Museum
The Royal Thai Air Force Museum is located in Don Mueang District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located on the Phahonyothin Road just to the south of Wing 6 of the domestic terminal of the Don Mueang Airport. It was served by the Royal Thai Air Force ...
in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
.
;United Kingdom
* N°82 – Hawk 75A-1 airworthy at The Fighter Collection in Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, about south of Cambridge. It is part of the Hundred Parishes area.
History
The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex. One of the ...
. It was one of the first 100 delivered to the French in April 1939. It wears French camouflage and is painted in markings from two different periods during its service on either side of the fuselage.
* 38-210 – P-36C airworthy at The Fighter Collection in Duxford, Cambridgeshire. It was the last P-36C built and was restored in 2015 in Chino, California
Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chi ...
, before being shipped to England. It is painted in US Army Air Corps silver and yellow.
;United States
* 38-001 – P-36A on static display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...
. It is the first P-36A to be delivered to the Air Corps and is displayed in the markings of the P-36A flown by Lt Phil Rasmussen during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Specifications (P-36A)
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft, 1907-1947''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979. .
* Bowers, Peter M. ''The Curtiss Hawk 75: Aircraft in Profile No. 80''. London: Profile Publications, 1966.
* Bridgwater, H.C. ''Combat Colours Number 3: The Curtiss P-36 and P-40 in USAAC/ USAAF Service 1939-1945''. Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, UK: Guideline Publications Ltd., 2001. .
* Brindley, John F. ''French Fighters of World War Two''. London: Hylton Lacy, 1971. SBN 85064 0156
*
* Dean, Francis H. and Dan Hagedorn. ''Curtiss Fighter Aircraft: A Photographic History 1917-1948''. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2007. .
* Fleischer, Seweryn and Jiri Chodil. ''Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Cz.3 (Monograpfie Lotnicze 63)'' (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2000. .
* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters''. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1961 (Sixth impression 1969). .
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 1''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1977. .
*
*
*
* March, Daniel J., ed. ''British Warplanes of World War II''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1998. .
*
*
* Padin, Jorge Núñez, ed. ''Curtiss Hawk'' (Serie Fuerza Aérea Argentina: No. 5) (in Spanish). Bahía Blanca, Argentina: Fuerzas Aeronavales, 1999.
*
* Persyn, Lionel. ''Les Curtiss H-75 de l'armée de l'Air'' (in French). Outreau, France: Éditions Lela Presse, 2007. .
*
*
*
*
* Rys, Marek. ''Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Cz.1 (Monograpfie Lotnicze 61)'' (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2000. .
* Rys, Marek and Seweryn Fleischer. ''Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Cz.2 (Monograpfie Lotnicze 62)'' (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: AJ-Press, 2000. .
* Shores, Chris. "The RAF's Little Indians". ''Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...
'', Twenty-three, December 1983-March 1984. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 1–9.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft Since 1909''. London:Putnam, 1963.
* Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft Since 1909''. Washington, DC: Smithsonian, 1989. .
* Thomas, Andrew. "Indians Over Africa: Curtiss Mohawks in SAAF Service". ''Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...
'', No. 107, September/October 2003, pp. 66–69.
* ''United States Air Force Museum Guidebook''. Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio: Air Force Museum Foundation, 1975.
* Williford, Glen M. ''Racing the Sunrise: The Reinforcement of America's Pacific Outposts, 1941–1942 ''. Annapolis: Maryland : Naval Institute Press, 2010. .
*
External links
(1938) Detail Specifications for Curtiss Hawk 75-A Airplane
The Fighter Collection Curtiss 75-Hawk
Curtiss YP-37
Curtiss XP-42
"Plane Speed Record Shattered In Power Dive"
''Popular Mechanics'', April 1939.
{{Thai fighter designations
P-36
Curtiss P-36
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1935
World War II aircraft of Finland
World War II Chinese fighter aircraft