P-6 Hawk

Infobox Aircraft
name = P-6 Hawk
type = Fighter
manufacturer = Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

---

caption = Curtiss P-6 Hawk, 17th Pursuit Squadron
designer =
first flight =
introduced = 1927
retired =
status =
primary user = United States Army Air Corps
more users =
produced = 1929
number built = 70 including modified P-1s
unit cost = $13,000 USD
variants with their own articles = The Curtiss P-6 Hawk was an American single-engine biplane fighter introduced into service in the late 1920s with United States Army Air Corps and operated until the late 1930s prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Design and development

The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (which became the Curtis-Wright Corporation (15 July 1929) supplied the USAAC with P-6s beginning in 1929.

Operational history

A fast and highly maneuverable aircraft for its time, the XP-6 prototype took 2^nd place in the 1927 U.S. National Air Races, and the XP-6A with wing surface radiators took first place, at 201 mph (323 km/h). The P-6 was flown in a variety of paint schemes depending on the squadron, the most famous being the "Snow Owl" markings of the 17th Pursuit Squadron based at Selfridge Field near Detroit, Michigan.

The P-6Es served between 1932 and 1937 with the 1st Pursuit Group (17th and 94th PS) at Selfridge, and with the 8th Pursuit Group (33rd PS) at Langley Field, Virginia. Numerous accidents claimed at least 27 of the 46 aircraft delivered. As the P-6Es became obsolete, instead of receiving depot overhauls, they were allowed to wear out in service and were scrapped or sold. At least one survived into 1942 in United States Army Air Forces service. [Baugher, American Military Aircraft, Curtiss P-6 Hawk]

Variants

* XP-6, Model 34P - modified from a P-1 with a Curtiss V-1570-17 "Conqueror" engine
* XP-6A, Model 34K - same as "XP-6" but with untapered wings and wing radiators to reduce drag
* P-6A - 18 ordered by the US Army, 9 were fitted with Prestone- rather than water-cooled V-1670 engines
* XP-6B - a P-1 converted to take the V-1670 engine
* P-6C - cancelled
* XP-6D - the "XP-6B" converted to take a the Curtiss V-1570-C turbocharged Conqueror engine
* P-6D - re-engined P-6As, (six of the seven surviving "P-6A"), with the Curtiss V-1570-C turbocharged Conqueror engine installed in 1932 and re-designated "P-6D"
* XP-6E, Y1P-22, Model 35 - ordered in July 1931 this was the prototype for the "P-6E"
* P-6E - 46 delivered in 1931–1932, equipped the 17^th and 33^rd Pursuit Squadrons
* XP-6F - modified "XP-6E" with a supercharged engine and an enclosed cockpit
* XP-6G - "P-6E" with a V-1570F engine installed
* XP-6H - " P-6E" with 4 .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns mounted in the wings
* P6-S, Hawk I - 3 sold to Cuba with the 450 hp (336 kW) Wasp radial engine and one to Japan with the Conqueror engine
* P-11 - three ordered with the Curtiss H-1640 Chieftain engine of 600 hp (447 kW), two were completed with the Conqueror and redesignated "P-6D"
* XP-17 - the first P-1 was used as a testbed for the experimental Wright V-1470 air-cooled inverted Vee engine
* YP-20 - "P-11" converted with a Wright Cyclone radial engine
* XP-21 - two conversions from the XP-3A used to test the Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine of 300 hp (224 kW), one became the XP-21A when modified with the Pratt & Whitney R-975 Wasp Junior, and the other was converted to the P-1F standard
* XP-22 - temporary designation for a "P-6A" used to test new radiator installations for the Curtiss V-1570-23 and converted back to a "P-6A"
* XP-23, Model 63 - an unfinished "P-6E" with light alloy monocoque fuselage, improved tail, and a turbocharged G1V-1570C Conqueror engine and geared propellor, redesignated YP-23 after the turbocharger was removed

Operators

;China as ROC
*Republic of China Air Force operated 50 "Hawk II".;CUB
*Cuban Air Force received three P-6S fighters with the 450 HP (336 kW) Wasp radial engine.;JPN
*Japan bought one P-6S, possibly updated with a Conqueror engine.;flag|Dutch East Indies
*Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force received 8 examples of a P-6D with the Conqueror engine in 1930, another 8 were built in the Netherlands.;flag|USA|1912

urvivors

A single P-6E survives. It is owned by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and is on loan and display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. Originally s/n 32-261 and assigned to the 33rd Pursuit Squadron, it was dropped from records at Tampa Field, Florida, in September 1939. It was restored and marked as 32-240 of 17th Pursuit Squadron, missing on a flight over Lake Erie on 24 September 1932.

pecifications (P-6E)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref="The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft"
crew= one, pilot
capacity=
length main= 25 ft 2 in
length alt= 7.67 m
span main= 31 ft 6 in
span alt= 9.6 m
height main= 8 ft 10 in
height alt= 2.69 m
area main= 252 ft²
area alt= 23.41 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 2,669 lb
empty weight alt= 1,224 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 3,436 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 1,559 kg
more general=
engine (prop)= Curtiss V-1570C Conqueror
type of prop= liquid-cooled V12 engine
number of props=1
power main= 700 hp
power alt= 522 kW
power original=
max speed main= 177 knots
max speed alt= 204 mph, 328.3 km/h
cruise speed main= 145 knots
cruise speed alt= 167 mph, 268.7 km/h
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 248 nm
range alt= 285 mi, 459 km
ceiling main= 24,700 ft
ceiling alt= 7,529 m
climb rate main= 2.480 ft/min
climb rate alt= 756 m/s
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
* 2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
lists=
* List of military aircraft of the United States
* List of fighter aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography

* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p6.html Joseph Baugher, American Military Aircraft, Curtiss P-6 Hawk]
* Eden, Paul and Moeng, Soph. "The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft". London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002, ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.

External links

* [http://www.af.mil/history/aircraft.asp?dec=&pid=123006531 Air Force Link]
* [http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/curtiss/p-6e.htm Aviation Enthusiast Corner]
* [http://www.marchfield.org/p6.htm March Field Air Museum]