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.
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 aluminium and steel tubing, sufficiently strong to serve as a dive bomber as well as a fighter.
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.
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The type was superseded by the Model 64, F11C Goshawk.
Specifications
F7C-1
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
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.
