| F11C Goshawk | |
|---|---|
 XF11C-2 Goshawk during a test flight in November 1932. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Carrier-basedFighter andfighter-bomber |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Status | retired |
| Primary users | United States Navy |
| Number built | 157 fixed undercarriage variants, 140 retractable undercarriage variants. |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1932-1940 |
| Introduction date | April 1932 |
| First flight | September 1932 |
| Variant | Curtiss BF2C Goshawk |
TheCurtiss F11C Goshawk is a 1930s Americanbiplanefighter aircraft. It was part of a long line ofCurtiss Hawkairplanes built by theCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the American military and for export.
In April 1932, when Curtiss was planning theModel 35B, theUnited States Navy contracted with the manufacturer for an improved derivative of theModel 34C, F6C as theF11C. It contained major changes that included the 600 hp (450 kW)Wright R-1510-98radial engine, single-legcantilever mainlanding-gear units, a slight increase in the interplane gap, metal- rather than fabric-covered control surfaces, and armament based on two .30 in (7.62 mm) fixed forward-firingmachine guns supplemented by ahardpoint under the fuselage for the carriage of a 474 lb (215 kg) bomb, or an auxiliary fuel tank. Curtiss designed the type as theModel 64 Goshawk, with the U.S. Navy designation XF11C-1 (later XBFC-1 after the adoption of the BF for Bomber-Fighter category). The aircraft was of fabric-covered metal construction, used the wing cell structure of the dismantledXP-23, and was delivered in September 1932.[1]
Shortly before ordering theXF11C-1, the Navy had bought a company-ownedModel 64A demonstrator. This had aWright R-1820-78 Cyclone engine, slightly longer main landing-gear legs carrying wheels with low-pressure tires, a tailwheel in place of the tailskid, fabric-covered control surfaces on the tail, and external provision for underwing racks for light bombs as well as an under-fuselagehardpoint for either a 50 US gal (190 L; 42 imp gal) fuel tank or the crutch that would swing a bomb clear of the propeller disc before release in a dive-bombing attack.[1]
Flight trials of thisXF11C-2 (later redesignated as theXBFC-2) revealed the need for some minor changes. After these, theXF11C-2 became the prototype for theF11C-2, of which 28 were ordered as fighter-bombers in October 1932.[1]
From March 1934, the aircraft were revised with a semi-enclosed cockpit and a number of other modifications before they received the revised designationBFC-2 in recognition of theirfighter-bomber role[1] The last aircraft in the XF11C-2 contract was converted to the prototypeXF11C-3, incorporating a more powerful R-1820-80 engine and a hand-operated retractable landing gear.[2]
The only U.S. Navy units to operate theF11C-2 were the Navy's "High Hat Squadron",VF-1B, aboard the carrierUSS Saratoga, andVB-6 briefly assigned toUSS Enterprise. In March 1934, when the aircraft were redesignatedBFC-2, the "High Hat Squadron" was renumberedVB-2B, and thenVB-3B, and retained itsBFC-2s until February 1938.VB-6 never embarked onEnterprise with itsBFC-2 fighter-bombers.[3]
The F11C-2 Goshawk was produced in an export version as theHawk II fighters. A slightly modified XF11C-2, the Hawk II was fitted with a Wright R-1820F-3 Cyclone rated at 710 hp (530 kW) at 1,676 m (5,499 ft) and 78 imp gal; 94 US gal (356 L) of fuel while the Hawk I had 42 imp gal; 50 US gal (189 L) of internal fuel. Both versions carried the same armament as the production F11C-2. The Hawk II was exported in quantity to Turkey, the first customer, who took delivery of 19 beginning in August 1932. Colombia ordered Hawk IIs at the end of October 1932 and receiving an initial batch of four twinfloat-equipped examples, the first of 26 floatplane fighters delivered by the end of July 1934. TheColombian Air Force used Hawk II on floats in theColombia-Peru War in 1932-1933. Nine Hawk IIs were supplied to Bolivia, of which three had interchangeable wheel/float undercarriages, four were delivered to Chile, four to Cuba where they were used to create theCuban 8 aerobatic manoeuvre, two went to Germany for experiments with dive bombing, one company demonstrator went to Norway while 12Hawk IIs went to Siam.[4]
TheChinese Nationalist Air Force received 50Hawk IIs and fought against the Japanese during theSecond Sino-Japanese War. One pilot at the28th Squadron, 5th Fighter Group fromChuyung Airbase for the defense ofNanking at the outbreak of the war against the Imperial Japanese invasion, made a partial claim in the shooting-down of aMitsubishi G3M heavy bomber on 15 August, 1937. Half of the squadron were dispatched toTaiyuan in the northern front of the war in China,[5] and took part in theBattle of Taiyuan[6] It was the main battlefield of the Hawk IIs and IIIs in World War II.[7]
Siamese Hawk IIIs saw action during World War II, including against the Royal Air Force. On 8 April 1944, a Siamese Hawk III was shot down by aNo. 211 Squadron RAFBristol Beaufighter overLamphun.[8]
During the spring of 1933, Göring authorized funds to purchase two Hawk IIs for dive bombing trials. In October 1933 the pair arrived in Bremerhaven aboard the linerSS Europa.[11]Ernst Udet used one of these in aerobatic exhibitions held during the1936 Summer Olympics. That aircraft survived the war, and was eventually found in a field outsideKraków,[12] and is now on display in thePolish Aviation Museum.[13]
A BFC-2 is in theNational Naval Aviation Museum on NAS Pensacola, Florida.[14]
The sole surviving Hawk III was restored by theRoyal Thai Air Force Museum. The aircraft is displayed with (Hanuman, white body) insignia identifying it as belonging to Wing 4.[15]
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947,[16] The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft[17]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
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