The Curtiss-Wright CW-22 is a 1940s American general-purpose advanced

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

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 wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

aircraft built by the

Curtiss-Wright Corporation The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is an American manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wrigh ...

. It was operated by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

trainer with the designation SNC-1 Falcon.

Design and development

Developed at the Curtiss-Wright

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

factory, the CW-22 was developed from the CW-19 via the single-seat CW-21 light fighter-

interceptor Interceptor may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Interceptor'', a British drama series on BBC One * Interceptor (game show), ''Interceptor'' (game show), a British television game show that ran during 1989 * Interc ...

. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

first flew in 1940. With less power and performance than the CW-21, the two-seat, low-wing, all-metal CW-A22 had retractable

tailwheel landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

, with the main gear retracting rearward into underwing fairings. The CW-22 was seen as either a civilian

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

or training monoplane or suitable as a combat trainer, reconnaissance and general-purpose aircraft for military use. The prototype CW-A22 Falcon (U.S. civilian registration NC18067) was used as a company demonstrator and is one of four of the type still in existence.

Operational history

The main customer for the aircraft equipped with the

Wright R-975 Whirlwind The Wright R-975 Whirlwind was a series of nine-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of about and power ratings of . They were the largest memb ...

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

was the

Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (, ML-KNIL) was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1939 until 1950. It was an entirely separate organisation from the Royal Netherl ...

and 36 were exported. The aircraft had to be delivered to the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

due to the advancing

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese forces. A developed version, the CW-22B, was sold to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(50), the Netherlands East Indies (25) and in small numbers in South America. Some of the Dutch aircraft were captured and operated by the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

. The CW-22 and CW-22B were armed with two machine guns, one fixed. An unarmed advanced training version (CW-22N) was demonstrated to the United States Navy. To help to meet the expanding need for training, the Navy ordered 150 aircraft in November 1940. Further orders brought the total to 305 aircraft which were designated SNC-1 Falcon. Curtiss converted a CW-19 into a CW-22 demonstrator. They hoped to use this to sell the CW-22 to China. The aircraft was obtained by the Burma Volunteer Air Force, and later used by the Royal Air Force in India. It was scrapped in 1946.

Variants

Curtiss SNC refueling NAS Corpus Christi 1942

Curtiss SNC-1 Falcon at Naval Aviation Museum

;CW-A22 :Prototype ;CW-22 :Production armed variant for the

, 36 built. ;CW-22B :Improved armed variant, approx 100 built. ;SNC-1 Falcon (CW-22N) :

designation for the CW-22N, 305 built (BuNo 6290-6439, 05085-05234, 32987-32991).

Operators

; *The Bolivian Air Force operated 10 aircraft. ; * Burma Volunteer Air Force ;

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

; *The

operated captured ex-Dutch aircraft. ; ; *

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

; * The

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

in India operated the former Burma Volunteer Air Force aircraft ; *

; *

Uruguayan Air Force The Uruguayan Air Force (, abbreviated FAU) is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on December 4, 1953. It is the ...

9 SNC-1 aircraft operated from 1942 to 1951.

Surviving aircraft

;Turkey * s/n 2615 – CW-22B on static display at the Istanbul Aviation Museum in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. ;United States * c/n A22-1 – CW-22 owned by the

Collings Foundation The Collings Foundation is a private non-profit educational foundation located in Stow, Massachusetts, with a mission dedicated to the preservation and public display of transportation-related history, namely automobile and aviation history. The ...

Stow, Massachusetts Stow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located west of Boston, in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. The population was 7,174 at the 2020 census. Stow was officially incorporated in 1683 with an are ...

. * c/n 3707 – CW-22 in storage at the

Fantasy of Flight Fantasy of Flight is an aviation museum in Polk City, Florida. It opened in November 1995, to house Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft that, until Hurricane Andrew damaged many in 1992, were housed at the Weeks Air Museum in Kendall-Tamiami E ...

Polk City, Florida Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland–Winter Haven, Florida, Winter Haven Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan s ...

. * BuNo 05194 – SNC-1 on static display at the

National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. ;Uruguay * SNC-1 on display at the Colonel Jaime Meregalli Aeronautical Museum in

Ciudad de la Costa, Canelones Ciudad de la Costa is a city in Canelones Department of Uruguay, on the banks of the Río de la Plata between the streams Arroyo Carrasco and Arroyo Pando. It is considered an extension of Montevideo metropolitan area, the metropolitan area of Mon ...

Specifications (SNC-1)

Curtiss SNC-1 Falcon 3-view line drawing

References

Bibliography

* Andrade, John. ''U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909''. Hinckley, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979. . * Bowers, Peter M. ''Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947''. London: Putnam, 1979. . * Bowers, Peter M. ''United States Navy Aircraft since 1911''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990. . * Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997 . * '' The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * *

External links

Curtiss-Wright CW-22 Falcon SNC
* ttps://books.google.com/books?id=nCcDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+September+1941&pg=PA87 ''Popular Mechanics'', November, ''Navy Fliers Win Their Spurs in New Navy Combat Training Plane''early article with photos on US Navy SNC-1 {{USN scout aircraft CW-22 1940s United States military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1940 Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft