TheCurtiss P-6 Hawk is an American single-engine biplane fighter introduced into service in the late 1920s with theUnited States Army Air Corps and operated until the late 1930s prior to the outbreak ofWorld War II.
A fast and highly maneuverable aircraft for its time, the XP-6 prototype took second place in the 1927 U.S. National Air Races, and the XP-6A with wing surfaceradiators 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 the17th Pursuit Squadron based atSelfridge Field nearDetroit, 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 inUnited States Army Air Forces service.[1]
In 1932, Capt. Ruben C. Moffat flew a P-6 converted with a supercharged Conqueror engine on a record-breaking flight. He flew from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, D.C. at a speed of approximately 266 mph, at an altitude of 25,000 ft.[2]
P-6As, (six of the seven surviving), re-engined in 1932 with turbocharged V-1570-C installed in 1932
XP-6E
Model 35, also designatedY1P-22, ordered in July 1931 as P-6E prototype
P-6E
46 delivered in 1931–1932, equipped the 17th and 33rd Pursuit Squadrons
XP-6F
Modified XP-6E with asupercharger and an enclosed cockpit
XP-6G
P-6E with a V-1570F
Curtiss P-6S Cuban Hawk
XP-6H
P-6E with 4 × .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns mounted in the wings
P-6S
Hawk I, three sold to Cuba with the 450 hp (336 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial, and one sold to Japan as theJapan Hawk with the V-1570 inverted Vee piston engine
P-11
Three ordered with theCurtiss H-1640 Chieftain engine of 600 hp (447 kW), two were completed with the V-1570 and redesignatedP-6D
XP-17
P-1 used as a testbed for the experimentalWright V-1470 air-cooled inverted vee
Two conversions of theXP-3A used to test the 300 hp (224 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial, one became theXP-21A when modified with the R-975, and the other was converted to theP-1F standard
Temporary designation for a P-6A used to test new radiator installations for the V-1570-23 and converted back to aP-6A
XP-23
Model 63, unfinished P-6E with light alloymonocoque fuselage, improved tail, and a turbocharged G1V-1570C with a geared propeller and the turbocharger removed. Later redesignatedYP-23
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force received eight examples of a P-6D with the Conqueror engine in 1930, another six were license-built byAviolanda in 1931 and sent to Dutch East Indies as well. Three P-6 were lost before war: two in midair collision on 27 February 1936 and one probably after crash-landing 5 February 1935.
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