United States' Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter

Photos

Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:	Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:	Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:	Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:
Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:	Curtiss P-36A Hawk fighter:	Curtiss P-36A Hawk fighter:
Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter:

Design

The Curtiss Model 75 Hawk was to compete for a United States Army Air Corps competition for a monoplane fighter.¹ It lost to the Seversky P-35.¹

In November 1934 Curtiss finished the design for the Curtiss P-36.²

Three were later ordered, for evaluation, by the Army Air Corps and they had Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines.¹ This was flown in February 1937 and a contract was placed shortly afterwards.¹

Prototype

The prototype Curtis Model 75 flew for the first time on May 15, 1935.¹

The Y1P-36 prototype flew in February 1937.¹

Production

• Curtiss Y1P-36: 3¹
• Curtiss P-36A: 178¹
• Curtiss P-36C: 30², 31¹
  • Production: ? - 1939²
• Curtiss P-36G: 30¹
• Total: 1,424¹
  • Manufacturer: Curtiss-Wright Corporation²

Variants

• Curtiss Model 75: Prototype.¹ Had a Wright R-1820 radial engine (900 HP).¹
• Curtiss Y1P-36: Prototype.¹
• Curtiss XP-36D: Prototype with different armament.¹
• Curtiss XP-36F: Prototype with different armament.¹
• Curtiss P-36:
• Curtiss P-36A:
• Curtiss P-36B: Experimental conversion to use more powerful Twin Wasp.¹
• Curtiss P-36C:
• Curtiss P-36G: Had Wright Cyclone engines.¹ Were originally intended for the Norwegian Air Force but was taken over by the United States.¹
• Curtiss Hawk 75: Export version with fixed undercarriage.¹ Had Wright Cyclone engine.¹ Sent to Argentina, China, and Thailand.¹
• Curtiss Hawk 75A: Export version that had Twin Wasp engine.¹
• Curtiss Hawk 75-R: Experimental version with turbocharged engine.¹

Usage

The countries that used the Hawk were Argentina, Britain, China, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Thailand, and United States.¹

20 Hawk 75s were assembled by FMA in Argentina.¹ 30-40 Hawk 75As assembled by CAMCO in China.¹ 5 Hawk 75As assembled in India by Hindustan Aircraft.¹

France

350 of 620 ordered were received by France by the time of the German invasion.¹ They claimed to have shot down 311 Luftwaffe aircraft.¹

The rest that weren't delivered were sent to the Royal Air Force and were designated the Mohawk.¹

First Japanese

The Curtis P-36 was the first to shoot down a Japanese aircraft at Pearl Harbor.¹ There were four Curtiss P-36s in operation at Pearl Harbor.²

Specifications

	Curtiss P-36 Hawk1	Curtiss P-36A Hawk1	Curtiss P-36C Hawk1,2	Curtiss Hawk 75A1
Type	Fighter bomber1		Fighter2
Crew	11		12
Engine (Type)		Pratt & Whitney R-1830-13 Twin Wasp1	Pratt & Whitney R-1830-17 Twin Wasp2
Cylinders		Radial 141	Radial 142
Cooling			Air2
HP		1,0501	1,2002
Propeller blades		31
Dimensions
Span	37' 3.5"1 11.37 m1		37' 4"2
Length	28' 6"1 8.69 m1		28' 6"2
Height	12' 2"1 3.71 m1		12' 2"2
Wing area
Weight
Empty		4,567 lb1 2,072 kg1
Loaded		6,010 lb1 2,726 kg1	6,150 lb2
Performance
Speed @ 10,000' / 3,048 m		300 mph1 483 kph1	311 mph2
Cruising speed		200 mph1 322 kph1
Climb to 15,000' / 4,572 m		4.9 minutes1
Service ceiling		33,000'1 10,058 m1	33,700'2
Range		825 miles1 1,328 km1	820 miles2
Armament			4: MG2	6: MGs1
Nose		1: 0.3" MG1 1: 0.5" MG1	1: 0.3" MG1 1: 05" MG1
Wings			2: 0.3" MG1
Bombs - under wing				400 lb1 181 kg1