Curtiss F7C Seahawk

F7C-1 Seahawk
The Curtiss XF7C-1 in June 1929
Role	Fighter Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
First flight	28 February 1927
Retired	1933
Primary user	United States Marine Corps
Number built	17

The Curtiss F7C Seahawk was a carrier-capable biplane fighter aircraft of the United States Navy Marine Corps in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Design and development

Curtiss' Model 43 was their first aircraft designed expressly for the Navy, rather than a modified Army type. While clearly a descendant of the P-1 Hawk, its wings were constant-chord rather than tapered, and the upper wing had a slight sweepback. The engine was a 450 hp (340 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-B Wasp radial. Entirely fabric-covered, the top wing was framed with spruce, while the fuselage was built from a combination of aluminum and steel tubing, sufficiently strong to serve as a dive bomber as well as a fighter.

Operational history

The prototype XF7C-1 first flew on 28 February 1927. After some modification demanded by the Navy (such as the wing sweepback), 17 production aircraft F7C-1 Seahawks were built, and entered service in the USMC's VF-5M at Quantico. In 1930 VF-9M organized the Marines' first aerobatic stunt team, "The Red Devils", with F7Cs featuring red painted noses.^[1][2] They continued in service until 1933.

Variants

• XF7C-1: Prototype aircraft; one built.
• F7C-1 Seahawk: Single-seat fighter aircraft, main production version; 17 built.
• XF7C-2: Single F7C-1 conversion for evaluation with the 575 hp (429 kW) Wright R-1820-1 radial engine and large-span full-span flaps.
• XF7C-3: A demonstration prototype for China with an armament of four .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns, I-type interplane struts, and ailerons on both the upper and lower wings rather than on just the upper wing. The type was superseded by the Model 64, F11C Goshawk.

Operators

 United States

• United States Marine Corps

Specifications (F7C-1)

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 7.25 in (6.8898 m)
• Wingspan: 30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
• Height: 9 ft 8.5 in (2.959 m)
• Wing area: 275 sq ft (25.5 m²)
• Airfoil: Curtiss C-72^[4]
• Empty weight: 2,053 lb (931 kg)
• Gross weight: 2,768 lb (1,256 kg)
• Powerplant: × Pratt & Whitney R-1340B Wasp 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 155.5 mph (250.3 km/h, 135.1 kn)
• Cruise speed: 150 mph (240 km/h, 130 kn)
• Range: 355 mi (571 km, 308 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 22,100 ft (6,700 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,860 ft/min (9.4 m/s)

Armament

• Guns: 2 × fixed .30 in (7.62 mm) Browning machine guns in the forward fuselage

References

• Barrow, Jess C. WWII Marine Fighting Squadron Nine (VF-9M) (Modern Aviation Series). Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books Inc., 1981. ISBN 978-0-8306-2289-4.
• Eden, Paul and Soph Moeng, eds. cover The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2002. ISBN 0-7607-3432-1.
• Jones, Lloyd S. U.S. Naval Fighters. Fallbrook, California: Aero Publishers, 1977, pp. 50–52. ISBN 0-8168-9254-7.

Manufacturer
designations

Early types	Golden Flier Reims Racer Beachey Special
Model letters	C D E F FL GS H HA HS J JN -5 -6H K L MF N NC O R S T
Model numbers	1 B F 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 K/P 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 A B 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 I P S 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
"L" series	L-17 L-18 L-19 L-22 L-41 L-44 L-72 L-79 L-85 L-115 L-117 L-710
"CA" series	CA-1
"CR" series	CR-1 CR-2
"CW" series	CW-1 CW-2 CW-3 CW-4 CW-5 CW-6 CW-8 CW-9 CW-10 CW-11 CW-12 CW-14 CW-15 CW-16 CW-17 CW-182 CW-19 CW-20 CW-21 CW-22 CW-23 CW-24 CW-25 CW-26 CW-27 CW-28 CW-29 CW-32 CW-33 CW-40
"P" series	P-200 P-202 P-212 P-218 P-219 P-222 P-223 P-224 P-225 P-227 P-228 P-229 P-232 P-235 P-238 P-239 P-240 P-241 P-243 P-244 P-245 P-247 P-248 P-249 P-250 P-251 P-252 P-253 P-254 P-255 P-256 P-257 P-259 P-261 P-264 P-268 P-269 P-272 P-273 P-274 P-275 P-276 P-277 P-278 P-279 P-280 P-282 P-283 P-291 P-292 P-293 P-295 P-296 P-297 P-298 P-299 P-302 P-303 P-304 P-305 P-306 P-307 P-509 P-517 P-518 P-538 P-539 P-541 P-545 P-551 P-558 P-565 P-586 P-588 P-592
"X" series	X-100 X-200 X-300 X-410 X-425

Operator and role

Civil	Experimental No. 1 Model C SX-5-1 Tanager Racers and record No. 2 Cox Racer CW-B-14R Airliners Eagle Condor 18 Condor II Kingbird Thrush Commando Utility Model D Model E Model F Carrier Pigeon Falcon Robin Lark 6B CW-12 CW-14 Sportsman CW-15 Sedan CW-16 CW-19W
Army	Ground attack A-3 A-4 A-5 A-6 A-8 YA-10 A-12 YA-14 A-18 A-25 A-40 XA-43 Bombers NBS-1 B-2 XNBS-4 Transports XC-10 C-30 Condor C-46 Commando C-55 Commando C-76 C-113 Commando Fighters S 18 PN-1 PW-8 P-1 to P-5 P-6 XP-10 P-11 P-142 P-17 XP-182 XP-192 YP-20 XP-21 XP-22 XP-23 XP-31 P-36 YP-37 P-40 XP-42 XP-46 XP-53 XP-55 YP-60 XP-62 XP-71 XP-87 Observation O-1 O-11 O-12 O-13 O-16 O-18 O-242 O-26 XO-302 O-39 O-40 O-52 Racers R-6 R-8 Trainers J L JN Fledgling AT-4 Hawk AT-5 Hawk BT-4 AT-9 Jeep Experimental X-19 Licensed USAO-1 NBS-1/Model 30
Navy	Bombers CT BFC BF2C SBC SB2C XSB3C2 XBTC XBT2C Fighters HA GS TS-1 FC F2C F3C F4C F5C1 F6C F7C F8C F9C F10C F11C XF12C F13C XF14C XF15C Observation/scout CS/SC S2C XS3C S4C SC OC O2C O3C SOC SO2C SO3C Trainers N-9 N2C SNC Transports RC R4C R5C Maritime patrol H-16 F5L HS-1L & HS-2L Racers and record NC CR R2C R3C
Export	Bombers Canada CW-14 Osprey       Maritime patrol H-2, H-4, H-8 and H-16 F5L HS-2L Fighters CW-17 Pursuit Osprey2 CW-21 Demon Trainers Canuck CW-14 Osprey CW-16 CW-182 CW-22