The Curtiss F6C Hawk is 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, p ...

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 ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

. It was part of the long line of Curtiss Hawk airplanes built by the

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

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) is 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 190 ...

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 ri ...

service. 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 ...

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

floatplanes A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land ...

Operators

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

VF-2 VF-2 could refer to one of a following US Navy squadrons that carried the designation: * VF-2 (1927–1942) * VF-2 (1943–1945) *VFA-2 Strike Fighter Squadron 2 (VFA-2) also known as the "Bounty Hunters" is a United States Navy F/A-18F Super H ...

(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 Fighting Squadron 6 or VF-6 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as Combat Squadron 4 on 23 September 1921, it was redesignated VF-2 on 1 July 1922, redesignated VF-2B on 19 March 1923, redesignated VF-6B on 1 Jan ...

(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 engine, reciprocating type that was widely used in United States, American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, an ...

Wasp

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. ...

. *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. Displaceme ...

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

radiator A radiator is a heat exchanger 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 a ...

located inside the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

. *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 wings. 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 The Thompson Trophy race was one of the National Air Races of the heyday of early airplane racing in the 1930s. Established in 1929, the last race was held in 1961. The race was long with pylons marking the turns, and emphasized low altitude fly ...

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)

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