The Curtiss F6C Hawk was a late 1920s

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

naval

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

. It was part of the long line of

Curtiss Hawk Curtiss Hawk was a name common to many aircraft designed and produced by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, most of them fighters: Curtiss Model 34 & Hawk I ;Model 34 : XPW-8B experimental fighter. ;Model 34A : P-1 Hawk single-seat fighter. ...

airplanes built by the

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

for the American military. Originally designed for land-based use, the Model 34C was virtually identical to the

P-1 Hawk The P-1 Hawk (Curtiss Model 34) was a 1920s open-cockpit biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Army Air Corps. An earlier variant of the same aircraft had been designated PW-8 prior to 1925."US Military Aircraft Designations & Serials 19 ...

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 ...

service. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

ordered nine, but starting with the sixth example, they were strengthened for carrier-borne operations and redesignated Model 34D. Flown from the carriers and from 1927–30, most of the later variants passed to

Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military ...

fighter-bomber units, while a few were flown for a time as twin-float floatplanes.

Operators

* ** VF-9M (US Marines) operated 5 ''Model 34C'', F6C-1 and XF6C-4 from land bases. **

VF-2 Strike Fighter Squadron 2 (VFA-2) also known as the "Bounty Hunters" is a United States Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. Their tail code is NE and their callsign is "Bullet". They a ...

(US Navy) operated 4 ''Model 34D'', F6C-2 from ** VF-5S, later renamed VF-1B (US Navy) along with VF-8M (US Marines) operated 35 ''Model 34E'', F6C-3 from ** VF-2B (US Navy) operated 31 ''Model 34H'', F6C-4 from ''Langley''

Variants

*F6C-1 Model 34C virtually identical to the P-1 series. *F6C-2 Model 34D strengthened for carrierborne operations and fitted with arrester hooks. *F6C-3 Model 34E modified version of the F6C-2. *XF6C-4 Model 34H prototype ''F6C-1'' with a

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...

Wasp

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...

. *F6C-4 Model 34H production version of the ''XF6C-4''. *XF6C-5 Model 34H prototype ''F6C-1'' with a

Pratt & Whitney R-1690 The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...

Hornet radial of . *F6C-6 Model 34E modified for racing, with its

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always ...

located inside the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. *XF6C-6 Model 34E the ''F6C-6'' which had won the 1930 Curtiss Marine Trophy was converted to parasol-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

configuration and given wing surface radiators; after achieving the fastest lap in the 1930 Thompson Trophy race the XF6C-6 crashed when its pilot was overcome by fumes. *XF6C-7 Model 34H testbed for an experimental Ranger SGV-770C-1 air-cooled inverted Vee engine.

Specifications (F6C-4)

Curtiss_F6C-4_3-view_L'Aéronautique_October,1927

References

*Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng. ''The complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. London:Amber Books, 2002. *Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. London:Putnam, Second edition, 1976. . {{USN fighters F06C Hawk Curtiss F06C Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1925

Operators

Variants

Specifications (F6C-4)

See also

References