MA9-2006 AMERYKAŃSKI MYŚLIWIEC CURTISS BF2C-1 HAWK

The Curtiss BF2C Goshawk or Hawk was an American on-board fighter and fighter-bomber in the biplane configuration from the interwar period and World War II. The flight of the prototype took place in 1933, and a year later mass production started. 166 aircraft of this type were built, along with prototypes. The drive - in the basic version - was provided by a single 770 HP Wright R-1820 Cyclone engine. The plane was armed with two machine guns: the 7.62mm Browning M1919 and the 12.7mm M2. The machine could also carry a load of bombs weighing up to 215 kilograms. The Curtiss BF2C Goshawk was commissioned by the US Navy, which in the early 1930s was looking for a new carrier-capable on-board fighter with a retractable landing gear. In order to shorten the research and development work, Curtiss decided to rely on the design of the F11C aircraft, which was adapted to the needs of the navy. In the course of serial production, two main versions of the aircraft were created, the first (BF2C-1 Goshawk) was used by the US Navy, and the second (Hawk III or model 68) was exported to Argentina, China, Thailand and Turkey.