Curtiss F6C Hawk

Curtiss · United States · first flew 1925 · fighter

The Curtiss F6C Hawk was a series of biplane fighter aircraft serving the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the late 1920s, derived from the P-1 Hawk lineage produced for the Army. It represented an important evolutionary step in American naval fighter development.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	6.9 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

1920s US Navy biplane fighter
Water-cooled V-12 or air-cooled radial depending on variant
Sesquiplane layout with N-type interplane struts

A sesquiplane biplane with N-strut interplane arrangement, either a long nose housing a V-12 engine (early variants) or a shorter round cowling over a radial (later variants); open cockpit, fixed undercarriage.

Specifications

The Curtiss F6C Hawk has a length of 6.9 m (23 ft).
It has a wingspan of 9.6 m (31 ft).
Its maximum speed is 252 km/h (157 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The F6C entered service in 1925 and served aboard early US Navy carriers including USS Langley and Saratoga. Successive variants experimented with different engines, switching between liquid-cooled and air-cooled radial powerplants. The type was succeeded by the Curtiss F7C and F8C as the Navy moved toward more capable designs.

Variants

Variants ran from F6C-1 through F6C-4, with the F6C-3 and F6C-4 using the Pratt & Whitney Wasp radial engine rather than the earlier Curtiss D-12 V-12.

Where you'll see it

Served with US Navy fighter squadrons and Marine Corps units in the late 1920s; phased out as more modern biplane designs entered service.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.