Curtiss P-36 Hawk (Hawk 75/Mohawk)

History

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk aircraft received notable service in the years before and during World War II. Its basic appearance is not dissimilar to Curtis's better known product - the P-40 Warhawk - with a solid frame canopy and fuselage risers.

While the P-36 Hawk was by no means an impressive aircraft, it was still a viable mount to at least help the National Air Force against the likes of the Axis. Donovan Berlin is credited with designing the aircraft, which made its first flight on May 6, 1935. The aircraft officially entered service in 1938 and, surprisingly, was not fully retired until 1954, this time in Argentina.

Although some 215 P-36s were produced for the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC), the Eagle caused a stir in foreign hands (like the Eagle 75 and Mohawk), with 900 of them built.

The design of the P-36 was traditional, although it produced some fairly evolved features for its time, including an enclosed cockpit and a powered, fully retractable landing gear. The engine is traditionally mounted in the front of the fuselage and drives a three-bladed propeller assembly. The hull is tubular and the stern is tapered. The wings are mounted low and have a straight design with rounded tips. The cockpit is arranged above and behind the wings, providing adequate visibility.

However, the rear of the fuselage bulges, making it almost impossible to see the "six" clearly. The canopy is also framed in true 1930s fashion. The fin consists of a circular vertical fin and a corresponding circular horizontal plane.

The landing gear is conventional, with two single-wheel main gear legs and a small tail wheel for ground maneuvering.

The basic armament was rather weak compared to other American fighters of the war, including a 1 x .50 caliber M2 Browning heavy machine gun and a 1 x .30 caliber M1919 Browning general purpose machine gun. Later production versions contained 2 x .50 caliber heavy machine guns in the fairing, firing synchronously through rotating propeller blades.

This was further complemented by the addition of 2 or 4 x .30 caliber machine guns to the wings. Even later production models were equipped with 2 underwing-dropped bombs (100 lb each) or 3 50 lb bombs or 5 30 lb bombs, allowing pilots to use their fighter jets for attack missions.

The production P-36A model was powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-17 Twin Wasp air-cooled radial piston engine rated at 1,050 hp. Wartime radial piston engines performed well while being able to take more punishment than their sexy liquid-cooled brethren.

Performance specs include a top speed of 313 mph, a range of 625 miles, and a service ceiling of about 32,700 feet. The climb rate is 3,400 feet per minute.

The P-36 was originally born as the Curtiss Type 75A to demonstrate the feasibility of the design and evaluate the various engines available. The Type 75B had a similar range and was equipped with a Wright R-1820 radial piston engine. The 75D model is equipped with a Wright Whirlwind R-1670 series radial piston engine. The 75H models were the export version of the Curtiss mark, these models were greatly simplified in design, with fixed undercarriage, and only two were produced.

The supercharger was tested in the 75J model, while the turbocharged model 75R was evaluated but never developed further. The Type 75K was a proposed evaluation model for the Pratt & Whitney R-2180 Twin Hornet radial piston engine, but was never built.

The Type 75P was originally the official production version of the P-36 and would be powered by a liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engine, but it later became the P-40 Warhawk.

The U.S. Army Air Force eventually received its prototype Y1P-36, the Type 75E in Curtiss nomenclature. The prototype was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 production engine.

The first production version of the P-36 was thus delivered to USAAC's P-36A (Type 75L) with 4 x .30 caliber machine guns in the wings. Then there was the one-off model P-36B, which was essentially a P-36A with a 1,100-horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-1830-25 radial engine. After testing, the model reverted to the P-36A form. The P-36C had an additional pair of .30 machine guns on one wing to increase overall firepower, as well as a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-17 1,200 hp radial.

However, as the original wing design lacked interior space for additional ammunition, boxes were installed under the wings.

There were a few experimental mounts, but never mass production. These included the XP-36D, which had 2 x .50 caliber machine guns in the nose and 4 x .30 caliber machine guns in the wings, the XP-36E and up to 8 x .30 caliber machine guns, and the XP-36F, which attempted to mount under the wings Install 2 x 23mm Madsen guns.

The latter version, while significantly improved in firepower, dropped out of the competition as the added weight of the artillery armament proved detrimental to the P-36 airframe. The XP-37 was fitted with an Allison V-1710 inline engine and the cockpit was moved further aft. The XP-37 was further developed into 13 YP-37 prototypes for testing.

The XP-42 (Model 75S) was an experimental model with a specially designed aerodynamic hood.

The export Eagle is called the Eagle 75. The first production order in France was for the Hawk 75A-1 model, equipped with the R-1830-SC-6 900hp Meridian. Armament was 4 x 7.5mm machine guns, of which about 100 were produced. Hawk 75A-2s are also similar, however they are fitted with R-1830-SC-G/R-1830-SC3-G Meridian, 1,050 hp and 6 x 7.5mm machine guns.

Again about 100 examples of this type were made. A total of 135 prototypes were built for the Hawk 75A-3, which was broadly similar to the previous A-2 model. The Hawk 75A-4 is similar to the A-2 model but is equipped with a Wright R-1820-G205A Cyclone radial engine.

These made 1,200 horsepower and a total of 285 contracts. Only 81 of them ended up in the French army. The Hawk 75 saw combat action against the Luftwaffe during the French campaign and was the first fighter to achieve German aerial victories.

After the fall of France, the surviving French falcons were airlifted to England to continue fighting.

China produced Eagles under license, these were designated Eagle 75A-5. Often there are models similar to the previous French A-4. With production facilities threatened, the plane's manufacturing was moved to India, where it quickly reappeared under British control under the Mohawk IV brand. Hawk 75A-6s were originally built in Norway, but after the German conquest, these were captured and delivered (sold, not surrendered) to ally Finland.

Some Luftwaffe pilots also received this type of training. The Hawk 75A-7 brand gave birth to a tropicalized version of the Hawk, destined for the Dutch East Indies. They were armed with 1 x .50 caliber heavy machine guns and 0.30 caliber machine guns on the fairings and up to 4.30 caliber machine guns on the wings.

They were also specified to haul bombs up to 6 x 50 lbs and were equipped with 1,200 hp Wright Cyclone engines.

Norway was also a recipient of Hawk 75A-8s, these were eventually called P-36Gs. They were sent to Canada in training Norwegian pilots, graduating from the R-1820 G205A 1,200 hp radial aircraft. The G model finally found its way to Peru.

Hawk 75A-9 fought the British in India, also known as Mohawk IV. These were originally 10 specimens destined for Iran.

Some other "simplified" variants were exported as Hawk 75M, Hawk 75N, Hawk 75O and Hawk 75Q. Made in China, the 75M is equipped with a fixed landing gear system and Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. The 75N was delivered to Siam again with fixed undercarriage.

Argentina received 75O in about 20 examples. The 75Q consists of two assessment models for China to consider.

Portugal is another Hawk operator that has bought several despite its neutrality. In March 1942, the United States delivered 10 P-36A Eagles to Brazil.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes