Curtiss F6C Hawk

The Curtiss F6C Hawk was a late 1920s American naval biplane fighter and part of the long line of Hawk aircraft that the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company built for the American military. Designed for land use, the Model 34C was virtually identical to the Army P-1 Hawk. The Navy ordered nine, and from the sixth example they were strengthened for carrier operations and redesignated Model 34D. They flew from the carriers Langley and Lexington between 1927 and 1930, and most later variants passed to Marine fighter-bomber units, while a few flew for a time as twin-float floatplanes. The F6C-4 used a Pratt and Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engine and carried two fixed .30 inch Browning machine guns. Racing conversions included the F6C-6 and the XF6C-6 parasol monoplane.