Curtiss P-1 Hawk
| P-1 Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Role | Fighter plane |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| First flight | January 1923 |
| Introduction | 27 April 1923 |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Corps |
| Produced | 1925–1929 |
| Number built | 202 built as PW-8, P-1, P-2, P-3, P-5, AT-4 and AT-5 |
| Variants |
F6C Hawk P-6 Hawk |
The P-1 Hawk (Curtiss Model 34) was 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.
The Curtiss P-1 Hawk was the first US Army Air Service aircraft to be assigned the "P" (Pursuit) designation which replaced seven designations for pursuit aircraft, including "PW" (for "Pursuit, Water-cooled engine"). The P-1 was the production version of the Curtiss XPW-8B, an improved variant of the PW-8, 25 of which were operational with the Air Service's 17th Pursuit Squadron
In September 1923, the Army ordered production of the PW-8. The PW-8 (Curtiss Model 33) had been developed from the R-6 racer and was acquired by the Air Service after a competition with the Boeing Model 15, designated the PW-9, to replace the existing Army fighter, the Boeing MB-3A. Although the PW-8 was faster than the PW-9 (both having top speeds in excess of 165 mph), it was otherwise outperformed by the Boeing plane, and its surface radiator cooling system, mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of the top wing for streamlining, was more difficult to maintain and vulnerable in combat. However, Assistant Chief of the Air Service Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell agreed to purchase 25 PW-8s in return for assistance by Curtiss in making the Dawn-to-dusk transcontinental flight across the United States.
The prototype of the P-1, the XPW-8B, came about when the Air Service, which had selected the Boeing PW-9 over the PW-8 as its main production fighter, asked Curtiss to modify the last of its three original XPW-8 prototypes with wings resembling those of the PW-9. Curtiss designated the modified aircraft its Model 34A and returned it to the Air Service for evaluation, from which the service ordered it into production as the P-1. The first production P-1, serial number 25-410, was delivered on August 17, 1925, and was followed in successive years by the P-1B and P-1C variants with improved engines. The newest P-1 variants remained in operational service until 1930.
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