Hawk 75 - The US Fighter Well-liked In France

The Curtiss Hawk 75 was one of the first "modern" fighters built by the US on the road to the Second World War. Despite seeing little action in American colors, it became a mainstay of the French Air Force and later of the Finnish.
Game footage and aircraft models
War Thunder - / warthunder .
00:04 History
12:25 Opinion and Conclusion
Disclaimer - This channel is apolitical. We do not endorse any kind of political view.
Corrections
Correction: 6:35 it is stated: "(...) it took a few days for what is sometimes considered to be the first allied air victory." It should be "(...) it took a few days for what is sometimes considered to be the first allied air victory in the West." Poland had achieved air victories over Germany by this point
Music
by order of appearance
History:
- Beautiful Oblivion by Scott Buckley ssoundcloud.comscottbuckley
Music promoted by httpswww.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
screativecommons.orglicensesby4.0
- Silhouette Of War by Keys of Moon | / keysofmoon
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Conclusion:
- Les Toreadors from Carmen - Bizet | KZbin Audio Library
Sources
Secondary:
- Curtiss Hawk H-75 in French Service by Lionel Persyn
- The Curtiss Hawk 75 - Profile Publications 80 by Peter M. Bowers
- P-36 Hawk Aces of World War 2 by Lionel Persyn, Kari Stenman and Andrew Thomas
- Curtiss Aircraft 1907-1947 by Peter M. Bowers
Primary:
- Detail Specifications for Curtiss Hawk 75-A from the Archives of M. Williams
- Handbook of Operation and Flight Instructions for the Models P-36A and P-36C pursuit airplanes from the Archives of M.Williams
I do not own any of the images used in this video. The owners of such images are identified in the video itself.

[@terrynewsome6698]

From the fields of France to the deserts of Algeria, from the steaming jungles of Burma to the frozen forests of Finland, from the blue seas of Honolulu to the foot hills of Ethiopia she fought. Fought on when there was no better just good enough.

[@LeopardIL2]

An incredible Odyssey the jack of all trades for several countries. Both Axis and Allies. 👍🎯

[@terrynewsome6698]

@@LeopardIL2 in war it often times not the best that serves the longest, but that which is good enough.

[@LeopardIL2]

@@terrynewsome6698 Absolutely, not only at war.

[@terrynewsome6698]

@@LeopardIL2 true

[@neilstern7108]

Well written..

[@oskar6661]

I always like seeing the P-40 lineage given its due. As someone once said "it wasn't a world beater, but it was a world saver". The Hawk and the subsequent P-40 line is so often ignored - while providing so much work to so many countries in so many theatres throughout the world. There could have been (and were) far worse options to have when you needed an early war fighter. Much like the B-24 being a workhorse but often ignored in favour of the B-17 in popular mythology, the P-40 is really downplayed by so many people. It's nice to see several prominent channels digging into this bias and revealing how useful the craft was - particularly when we needed it the most. Nice video.

[@guaporeturns9472]

P-40 was actually an excellent fighter below about 11000 feet. Could out turn almost every American fighter in the war.. had an incredible roll rate as a result of awesome aileron response.

[@abellseaman4114]

A BAD WEAPON IS BETTER THAN NO WEAPON..................which is why there are so many obsolete weapons that are "fondly remembered" thanks to LIE-beral APPEASERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@abellseaman4114 👌🏻

[@abellseaman4114]

@@guaporeturns9472 Looking good - thank you!!!

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@abellseaman4114 Well , I mean, my name IS Guapo so…..

[@razorback20]

Another notorious fight involving the H-75 took place on november 6th, 1939. A group of 27 Bf-109 Ds of the JGr.152 led by Hannes Gentzen (a veteran of the spanish civil war) pounced a formation of 9 Curtis H-75 of the very skilled GC 2/5 french fighter group that were escorting a recon plane. Despite having the advantage of altitude and surprise, the Germans totally failed their initial pass and, a bit like Mölders did in that video, confidently decided to engage into a dofight since they totally outnumbered their opponents. This happened to be a terrible blunder ! As a result, the French pilots shot down 10 Messerschmitts (8 confirmed, 2 probable) for the loss of a single H-75 (who managed a belly landing in his lines) and forced the rest to disengage in disarray and run for their lives. That had been such a shock that Gentzen himself was even summoned to Berlin to explain about this disaster. 😬 Yet, Gentzen was not dismissed, because the bottom line was clear : the older Dora version of the 109 was simply no match to the H-75 which outclimbed, outran and outmaneuvered it in turnfights. This episode remains in history as the '9 vs 27 fight' and was a highly celebrated - yet short-lived - victory for France (and a great morale booster at the time). As a result though, the Bf-109 E was pressed into service and, as soon as the end of the month, the french pilots found themselves facing more and more of these Emils that could fly faster and higher than everything thay had and violate their airspace with total impunity... 😰 But for a moment, that has been another clear reminder that you just don't mess with the Hawk 75 😎

[@samturnbaugh9135]

Fascinating incident, thanks for sharing!

[@lukeskywalker3329]

Bravo ! Good story old chap . Thank you .

[@beachcomber1able]

When the FW190 was first encountered over France in 1941 the RAF falsely identified them as souped up Hawk 75s. 😄

[@Redhand1949]

The unfortunate history of the Hawk-75A-7's in ML-KNIL service against the Japanese is worth a mention, and their camo markings aren't bad either.

[@manders7868]

Your videos on the more-obscure aircraft like the Hawk 75 are excellent and appreciated. Great work!

[@mikepette4422]

this is probably my favorite "pre-war" airplane. I mean technically a Spitfire, a Hurricane, a Bf-109 or a P-40 are all Pre War planes as well but I mean those designs were going to get their best variants during the war but the P-36/ Hawk 75 was already fully done developmentally.

[@markpomerleau6308]

Thanks for another interesting video. Curtiss made a number of handsome and capable aircraft that were asked to soldier on past the time they would be considered competitive.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

One of the things about the Hawk 75 was that Chennault was flying them for China against the Japanese when he developed his fighting techniques that he would use with the AVG. .

[@bobsakamanos4469]

The dive and climb attack wasn't new. It had been used often in WWI and the Me109s used it in the Spanish Civil war. Chennault was skilled, determined and smart enough to drill it into the heads of his mercenary pilots who'd previously learned pure dogfighting techniques.

[@Franky46Boy]

The Hawk 75 was also used by the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies against the Japanese.

[@adamwsaxe]

Yup. That's a forgotten campaign of WWII. Should get more attention. The Dutch East Indies government couldn't much together in the way of a land effort against the Japanese, but in the air and--especially--at sea they really put up a fight. That the Dutch military leaders were allocated co-equal status w/ the American, British, and Australian commanders says a lot of about the importance of the Dutch East Indies, doesn't it? There has to be a Dutch movie about that portion of the war . . .

[@Franky46Boy]

@@adamwsaxe Nobody was able to stop the Japanese on land in 1941-'42. That only changed on Guadalcanal...

[@AllthingsWW2]

That theater was unfortunately left out, but I will try to focus on the Dutch East Indies in a future video, maybe when I do the Brewster Buffalo!

[@bobsakamanos4469]

@@adamwsaxe it was another war about control of oil, which is what the Allies were trying to protect. The Brits ignored Trenchard when he advocated for building a proper air base there in the 30's.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

P-35s flying with Brewster Buffaloes in Finland was quite an interesting turn of events!

[@jenkinsbrigade9862]

The P-36 may have been a victim of the rapid pace of fighter evolution between the wars, but it was a very handsome aircraft. I don't think anyone would say the same about the M.S.406.

[@AllthingsWW2]

That is true. But, for some weird reason, I like the pentagonal-shaped air intake under the M.S. 406's spinner. It makes it look like it's smiling. But this must be just me!

[@davidwhitney1171]

The Sikorsky P-35 comprised a significant portion of the Swedish Air Force as of the beginning of WWII and was highly regarded by Swedish fighter pilots. It was also a first line aircraft in the US Army Air Force in the Philippines at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack...

[@Snobiker13]

Seversky. Reliable but somewhat lacking in perfomance.

[@joaopedrovalerio9673]

Great video as always!Great plane!I'm byased too about the gorgeous Portuguese camouflage! Keep up, Saudações

[@LeopardIL2]

👍🇵🇹🛩️

[@carlekdahl7507]

Tnx for a great video. I found your channel just a week or wo ago and have now watched all your videos. I appreciate that you cover not just the Bf 109, Spitfire and Mustang and instead cover a mix of wellknown planes and planes not getting a lot of cover on youtube and in books. Can´t wait for a video covering French bombers of ww2 like the Amiot 143, Bloch MB 200/210, Farman F220 and Potez 540. Keep up the great work.

[@K_Kara]

Le meilleur avion de chasse de l'Armée de l'air avec le D.520. Having said that, would love a video about the D.520!

[@AllthingsWW2]

Yes, I will definitely do it. But saving the best for last, I will cover the Bloch MB.152 first!

[@waynebrinker8095]

01:42 Calling the Hurricane outdated by the start of WWII is a wee bit harsh don't you think....it was powered by the mighty Merlin. With its stablemate, during summer of 1940, the Hurricane "saved Britain". With giant Vokes filter attached Hurricanes served the Desert Air Force with distinction. Then, with 4x20mm cannon, the Hurricane was a terrifying ground attacker that later became a tank buster packing 2x40mm cannons. Finally, optimized for ground attack, it was tagged Hurribomber. The Hurricane was continuously produced throughout almost the entire war until July, 1944. 06:27 What plane??.....C'mon all you experten. Great video! thanks

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Hurricane was indeed outdated, leaning on the brilliance of the RR Merlin kept it useful for the BoB, but was outclassed after that as a day fighter. Poor design with a thick wing and far too heavy... and only became heavier and less capable as a day fighter. Night intruder was a good role for it though.

[@turkeytrac1]

The hurricane was hardly outdated. It was a big part of why the battle of britian went the way it did.

[@blockheadgreen_]

It wasn't outdated necessarily, but it was certainly an obsolescent design in comparison to the Spitfire and 109 Emil. It was useful almost entirely due to the sheer number of them in service.

[@turkeytrac1]

@blockheadgreen you do realize when the brits put the latest versions of the Merlin engine in the spitfire, that the hurricane got the same engine. The edge the "Emil" had did not last for long.

[@blockheadgreen_]

@@turkeytrac1 More advanced engines were actually diverted TO the Hurricane as it desperately needed them, and despite this the Mk II Hurricane was actually no faster than the Mk I, being 50mph slower than the Spitfire Mk V or 109 Friedrich. It was hopelessly outclassed by then and when used as a fighter it was shot down in droves and quickly relegated to other duties. The revisionism surrounding the Hurricane in recent years has been pretty weird.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Well, I agree that the Hurricane wasn't outdated in the sense that there was still a lot of fight in it, as was proven during the Battle of Britain. But I said, "(...) all of these were seen as outdated." The Hurricane was certainly seen as outdated when compared with the Spitfire and the best Germany could field. In that sense, I suppose warplanes are similar to the latest iPhone. The last model wasn't really outdated, but there is a new one. I hope you enjoyed the video despite this! 👍

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

In the late summer of 1940 the Hurricane had an engine significantly boosted to make use of detonation resistant 100 octane fuel _and_ had a sophisticated automatic pitch adjusting constant speed propeller *both* absent in the Bf109E and which vastly improved it’s performance over Hurricanes the _Nazis_ had already encountered in France. The Bf109E’s two Oerlikon cannon were slow firing with low muzzle velocity so the eight very rapid firing Browning machine gun armed Battle of Britain Hurricane was _not_ vastly inferior to the Messerschmitt. Pilot experience was far more important.

[@someguy872]

I really like your video, especially the parts where you layout what variants there are and the differences between them. Keep going!

[@bigjj1109]

As usual an excellent review of the fighter precise historical details

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@salsheikh4508]

Great research Sir

[@chriscunnane7596]

nice history rev thanks

[@russbarker2727]

Great video Sir. My first thoughts when seeing this were that it bore a remarkable similarity in shape (albeit, much smaller) to the Republic P47 Thunderbolt.

[@huskergator9479]

Awesome new intro! Another excellent video brother! Respect from the Great Plains of US.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@towgod7985]

Great video, really enjoyed the history. I would mention a GRAVE error, the Hurricane WAS NOT considered obsolete at the beginning of the war. The Hurricane was considered equal to the 109E by the Luftwaffe in the B.o.B. It was the 109F that appeared in numbers in early 41 that had a clear advantage over the Hurricane. Cheers.

[@georgecoventry8441]

Great video! Yes, the French camouflage and marking schemes on the Hawk 75 made it look really beautiful, and they seem to have found it to be a good fighter.

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Nice coloring job, looks brand new.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you! I'll make more in the future and hopefully get better at it.

[@RedViking2020]

The Hurricane was in no way obsolete in 1939. Still being used as a ground attack aircraft with heavy cannon and light bombs and naval convoy protector in its Sea Hurricane variant into 1943. The Hawker Hurricane destroyed twice as many aircraft as the Spitfire during The Battle of Britain making Britain the first country to halt Hitler's European invasive progress. The excellent aircraft far outnumbered the Spitfire Squadrons that often get all the glory. An excellent bomber killer with it's tough platform and able to take more punishment than many fighters of its time. Love the Hawk 75. Interesting that a number of P-36's also managed to take off and claim kills on the Japanese at Pearl Harbour. Plus another P-40 who rarely gets mentioned as was lost in battle and the attention goes to two P-40 pilots due to their kills and survival. The Hawk had a great pedigree. Great channel. Keep up the good work :-)

[@PeteSampson-qu7qb]

Hear, Hear! For The Hurricane!! It and the Hawks shared another similarity; impeccable handling. The Spitfire is rightly hailed as one of the best handling fighters ever, especially its light controls throughout the speed range, but it would bite you right on the edge of a stall. Hawks and Hurries didn't have the lightning response (with the exception of high speed roll where the Hawk wins) of a Spit but their stability could be an advantage. Both were superior ground attack aircraft too. People ignore the early fighters that were replaced instead of upgraded like the Spits and 109s and P-38s but they were by no means failures. The Hurricane's direct replacement, the Typhoon, was a complete failure in its original role and was only kept in production because so much was invested in the program. If it had been abandoned there would have been more and better marks of Hurricanes filling the role admirably. Cheers!

[@martryan2060]

Great work 👍

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@ukulelemikeleii]

The P-36/Hawk75 was one of the prettiest fighters of World War II, especially in its silver livery.

[@ericweis9771]

Great video Thank you I had no idea that this plane was so widely used in WW2

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@colvinator1611]

Very interesting indeed. Thanks a lot.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@bobpowrie5970]

The order of the hawk successors was Tomahawk, Kittyhawk, then the Warhawk... The Hawk and Tomahawk were my faves...

[@jerrymail]

I have a cool book talking about the "Armée de l'Air" in the "Phoney War" with all the missions fought by French during this time. From what I have read, the H-75 did a good job. It was the best fighter used by France with the D.520.

[@SGusky]

My favorite part of the Hawk history is the A7 version used by the Dutch in Malaysia

[@LukeSzczepaniak]

How can the Hawk victories be considered the first? The first kill by an allied pilot was well recorded; Władysław Gnyś who was flying a PZL P.11c shot down two Do 17 bombers in the morning of Sept 1st 1939.

[@loveofmangos001]

The first for the Hawk? You forgot to think of that genius 😂

[@maciek_k.cichon]

@@loveofmangos001 Logic would say so, but at 6:34 it is stated 'first Allied air victory'. So a 'small' mistake.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Yes, I agree that it sounds incorrect as it is. I'll add a correction in the description and a card to state "First allied air victory in the West". Much respect to Poland!

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@loveofmangos001 why the attempt to belittle and ridicule him?

[@bluephoenix8470]

Excellent analysis.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@PunkinsSan]

Hawk in Vichy markings are my favourite :)

[@AllthingsWW2]

Those were awesome also. Those red and yellow stripes 👌

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

It made the French Air Force of 1940 _look_ much more potent.

[@dahutful]

Very good video

[@patrickcloutier6801]

Excellent presentation. I was unaware of the laurels that the Curtiss Hawk had earned in flight for other nations.

[@ricardobeltranmonribot3182]

Excelent video, is good to see your videos again, the Hawk serve in another thing agaist the allied, camuflage, the british though that the new radial engine fighter that the germans were using were P 36 Hawk, but no, the butcher bird was behind that shadow

[@AllthingsWW2]

Ouch, that should be a costly mistake. Thank you!

[@paulcateiii]

one of my favorite channels

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@bobsakamanos4469]

A nice little fighter trainer, wing loading 24 lb/sqft, if you didn't want armour, guns or self sealing fuel tanks. The A8 (P-36G) version P&W 1200 HP was best, used in Little Norway. Wright always had engine issues.

[@dude126]

The Hurricane was not outdated by the start of world war 2 and was responsible for two thirds of the German planes shot down in the battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, a year into the war.

[@Chounubis]

Over Burma, the H-75 (later "Mohawk" models interned from the French) were the only aircraft which could match their Japanese counterparts (primarily Army Ki-43 "Oscars") in tight turns. And, for all the horrors the British faced in Burma (notably: Japanese almost always coming in with an altitude advantage/poor early warning systems in place, etc., etc.), their overall "K/D" was not bad against well experienced Japanese pilots! Incredible, nifty little airframe which became a legend - the excellent P-40.

[@craigpennington1251]

I like this fighter a whole lot & if it had been further developed as in the same format, probably a powerhouse in the arsenal. Thanks for posting this.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@laurentdavid2147]

French 1939 Armée de l'Air considered the H75 as his best, and most expensive, fighter and it was a great honor for french pilots to be given a H75 instead of a MS406. It might have helped French H75s to score that well vs. MS406s. My great-uncle was a H75 pilot in 1939 and I was told he was the only reserve pilot to be given a H75 on the day he went back in the army...

[@pzsoldat2516]

Nice Intro!

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@Cuccos19]

USAAC P-36 Hawks had an interesting experimental all-over the aircraft three colored camouflage: white, green and sand/brown color. That looked cool also. The Hawk 75 / P-36 had something unique feature too: the operating of the control surfaces did not get heavy under high speed dives, unlike for example the early Spitfires. The British made a test about it.

[@LeopardIL2]

Good to see you back 👍🇵🇹 Molders would be shot down again later but released after the Armistice with the French. Regarding Hawk, of course the Portuguese camo is the prettiest!

[@and15re1]

Exatamente XD

[@SGusky]

I would vote for the Dutch colors as the prettiest 😉

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Allegedly, more than a thousand German aircrew were prisoners of the French when the armistice was signed. Britain had strongly urged they be sent well away from France Metropolitaine, but they weren't. Thus they fought again, in the Battle of Britain, adding to the RAF's problems . . .

[@TenkoBerry]

Weird KZbin recommended but good video 👍

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

Finns could take the Wright Flyer and make an ace out of Wilbur.

[@AllthingsWW2]

True!

[@FireDragon16180]

thank you, very good 👍

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you!

[@murphymmc]

The P-47 needs to be done. From it's mediocre beginnings when shipped to Britain pre-US involvement in 1939 to its final rendition that could take on any role. Nicknamed "The Jug" for good reason in the beginning, it evolved into something else with engine upgrades, water/alcohol injection, propeller upgrades. I believe you would do it justice.

[@edwardpate6128]

No P-47's were even flying yet in 1939. Maybe you mean the P-43 Lancer.

[@joshmeads]

Great video. Would love to see a comparison between the KI-84 and N1k2-J. I've always wondered which late War Japanese fighter was superior.

[@AllthingsWW2]

Thank you! I will certainly make a Ki-84 vs N1K2-J video, I know it's a popular topic. Now, as those comparisons are hard to do well, it might be a while until I get it done.

[@joshmeads]

@@AllthingsWW2 thanks for the response. Your vids are my fav plane based vids on KZbin! Def looking forward to that video! 👍😊

[@PeteSampson-qu7qb]

It's a pity no one thought to keep developing the P-36 with a two-stage R-1830. If they didn't add too much weight it might have given the USAAF a high altitude stop gap until the P-38s took over. On paper it looks like a fair match for the Japanese fighters and the F4Fs performance makes one wonder. Even a small number to fly top cover for P-40s might have prevented a lot of losses. Cheers!

[@scootergeorge7089]

In 1935, the biplane fighter had dominated for 30 years. 1:00 I had no idea anyone was building fighter aircraft in 1905. 🤣

[@AllthingsWW2]

Yes, I should have said the last 20 years

[@madzen112]

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say self-sealing fuel tank...

[@bobsakamanos4469]

If I had a dollar for every comment about the paint job instead of performance...

[@elliotjoseph6093]

When I see the P-26 , I think of my childhood cartoon show Tale Spin. The bad guys used the P-26.

[@CentralPALocos]

My absolute favorite WW2 plane. French, Finnish, and ML-KNIL ones are my favorite but I love them all.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

A total of 10 Hawk 75A-9s were delivered to Persia, but were captured by the British during Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran while still in crates. These were then used by the RAF in India as Mohawks IVs.

[@chris_hisss]

Nice review. I wonder if they ever would have tried to strap a R2800 to the thing how that would have went. I mean essentially that is what the P-35 to P-47 was.

[@sugarnads]

Except the 47 had a massive turbocharger behind the cockpit and was about twice the size of the curtiss.

[@jameswoodbury2806]

Thank you for the informative video. I always wonder what the early allied fighters were, especially in France. One fact I came across was that French pilots had to have received 700 flying hours pilots.. This would give them an advantage over the the German pilots who had not fought for the facists in the Spanish civil war. The Hawker Hurricane was listed as obsolete but you did not give your reasons. After the initial shock of the surprize Luftwaffe attack on the French airfields, the French deployed their fighters so far from the frontlines that they were of little use. Meanwhile the RAF fought using their Huricanes in Northern Fance, Beligum, and the Netherlands. The Spitfire was not was deployed until Dunkirk.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

Hurricanes were in fact obsolete, especially in France with fabric wings, no constant speed props, no radar control, no hope.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

To be fair Bf-109 B,C,D were outdated by 1940 as well. E-3 was very different ,far refined plane.

[@iantobanter9546]

Thanks for posting - very interesting. I was just wondering whether the Finnish example would have actually sported swastika roundels but omitted for YT sensibilities?

[@AllthingsWW2]

It had swastikas. Warthunder, the game where I get those models from, doesn't allow swastikas, so they're removed. YT, as far as I know, doesn't have any issues with them. I've got a few videos on German and Finnish aircraft where those weren't covered, and to this day I've had no issues.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

It is insulting to Finland and condescending to Warthunder’s gamers _and possibly even the viewers here,_ all presumed to be too stupid to realise that the Finnish swastika markings from 1918 onwards had nothing to do with the much later Nazi Germany. Presumably Warthunder is sensitive to Hungary’s alliance with the Nazis and current political leanings? Perhaps using those particular animations in this video was not essential or a little bit careless?

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Looks like several types, of the day. The 'T-6', the 'Texan', the 'Dauntless', the 'Devastater', to list a few. You just lost 98%, of younger American viewers, by using the term 'Fortnight', @07:20🤭. Good documentary, sir. I wasn't really familiar with this plane. Also love, the perfect selection of classical music, in the background👍😉!!!

[@ursus9104]

Nothing gives such a boost to development as a war, necessity is the mother of invention.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

and profiteering.

[@jeffyoung60]

No one has ever asked the question of whether the United States could have improved upon the P-36A Curtiss Hawk, keeping it competitive for at least two more years. This would have entailed at least two major improvements. The first would be to install a more powerful engine that could fit inside the current airframe without extensive modifications. In all likelihood, a more powerful engine would have required lengthening the forward fuselage to accommodate an engine that would be at least longer if not wider. The second would be to upgrade the armament. This meant two, M2 Colt .050 caliber heavy machine guns in the nose and one M2 in each wing, even if it required a semi-pylon or external pylon, if the wing was not thick enough. A likely candidate for more improvement would be to upgrade the starter system. The P-36A required starting the motor through the use of 'shotgun' type metal shells, no pellets of course. Replacing that antiquated system with a battery-operated electrical starting system would have been most desirable. However the end result would have been an increase in the aircraft's weight, which might have consumed most of the increased power from a bigger engine. In the end, it was academic. The USAAF was on the verge of fielding the excellent P-47 Thunderbolt, a radial-engine fighter plane with turbocharging, enabling the first generation P-47s to achieve 417 mph top speed. 1945 improved Thunderbolts would achieve 448 mph. The Thunderbolt looked like a P-36A Hawk on steroids. It wasn't necessary to upgrade the P-36A Hawk. Better, more modern fighter airplanes were on the way. Still, it might have been a feasible idea to keep some numbers of upgraded Hawks in service to add numbers to Allied air strengths.

[@AllthingsWW2]

I actually thought about this while making this video. It would be great to imagine the end product of the P-36 had it received the same amount of love as the contemporary Hurricane and Bf 109 did. Now, one can always imagine the P-40 as being the same aircraft (which it isn't). The Fw 190 traded its radial engine for a completely different in-line one, creating the Dora, and it was still considered a Fw 190. I guess it's a case of nomenclature? Thank you for the nice comment.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

No one has ever asked if the P-40 was not a development of the P-36.

[@EstoUgric]

Make vid about gloster gladiator

[@josephkrenzer627]

How much of the P36 was carried over to the P40? I've thought the P40 was the inline version of the P36. After the cowl the 2 aircraft look virtually identical.

[@cpn_porta]

the M.S. 406 was definetely not bad, but the problem was that its design was a bit too far ahead of its time: the cannon was still a rare armament in the allied airforces, making the only widely available cannon the Hispano Suiza 404 with a puny 60 rounds. The French also had a chronic engine shortage, leading to the rather poor engine on the M.S. 406. Really, if Morane-Saulnier had the same materials as Curtiss, the M.S. would have outclassed its american counterpart by a large margin.

[@robijnbruinsma4489]

Do you know the relation between the Hawk and the Curtiss 21b? Both flew against Japanese planes in the Dutch East Indies.

[@lycwydthoughts4640]

Idk, I've always like the silver metal look of the p36 a.

[@markyoung13]

In 1940 the RAF rejected the Mohawk for home duty, mainly because the French spec aircraft they were supplied with didn't have self-sealing tanks or armour, a drawback in combat which was too troublesome and expensive to remedy. Nobody else seems to have grumbled about this, maybe the UK got a cheap batch...

[@bobsakamanos4469]

In attrition warfare they were realizing that protecting the expensively trained fighter pilot was critical. The French Hawk 75 was also under-gunned and the throttle was backwards.

[@ericholder2026]

I do also like the French Camouflage !!

[@AllthingsWW2]

Imagine a P-51 Mustang or a Me 262 painted like that!

[@M60A3]

I love the p-36g in war thunder

[@teodor9975]

probably a bad request. but can you put the Hawk-75 up against the MS-406 and Bf-109 E-3 to see the true comparisons?

[@650thunderbird5]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@kirkp7470]

Plus, the Hawk was considerably better armored than the 406.

[@nigellawson8610]

The Dutch also used small numbers of Curtis Hawks in the Dutch East Indies in early 1942. Unfortunately, they proved to be totally helpless in the face of the much more capable and modern Japanese Zero fighter.

[@AllthingsWW2]

That part was unfortunately left out of this video, but I will try to focus on the Dutch East Indies in a future video, maybe when I do the Brewster Buffalo!

[@browserrr1]

@@AllthingsWW2 and then don't forget the Curtiss Interceptor, which was an interesting concept.

[@kirkp7470]

And to imagine, the Seversky P-35 initially beat out the P-36! What a joke!

[@DC.409]

It was used effectively by the SAF during the East African Campaign WW2.

[@robertfoote3255]

Your bias is excepted with out any rebuttal. 😁

[@raymathews1474]

All the combatants apparently used this one.

[@cmedeir]

Definitely the Portuguese version is best looking :)

[@lukeskywalker3329]

Yes ! God bless Portugal.

[@Riccardo_Silva]

Sorry, i must disagree. AdlA P-36 camouflage was beautiful, too bad we can't have P-40 with the same livery. Dutch colonial examples, with those fancy triangular orange ensign, were pretty elegant too.

[@slawomirkulinski]

6:00 Wrong Finish Airforce markings

[@Snobiker13]

Somebody is afraid of being banned for using swastikas.

[@domenicozagari2443]

THE JAPANESE NEVER ATTACKED PEARL HARBOR.

[@christopherbentley7289]

This may come across as off-topic but please don't tell me that, in War Thunder-like reproduction of markings, as well as the tailfin swastikas of the Luftwaffe the fuselage and wing swastikas of the Ilmavoimat are not allowed. That's beyond parody, if so, since the Finnish swastikas had absolutely nothing to do with Nazism apart from (sort of) being allied to Germany for a time. Talk about guilt by association!

[@vandenberg298]

The Hawk-75 is one of my favorite aircraft. Too bad the French didn't implement the Hispano-Suiza 12Y, I think that would have improved the performance even more.

[@Snobiker13]

Also played a prominent part in the German propaganda movie Kampfgeschwader Lützow. :(

[@andrewcarlson3486]

🇫🇷: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY

[@redwolfsvwolfe5013]

If the US had just bought the upgraded P-36K model with it's 1500HP engine and four .50Cal guns we would have cleared the skies of many axis fighters and bombers. Oh what could have been.

[@helgewaagaard747]

The Germans sold P36s to Finland and the Americans provided Russia with P40s. Who won the dogfights?

[@madigorfkgoogle9349]

I wish the next Il-2 GB battlefield to be France 1940

[@wawa8408]

Yes, po16 better dead than red

[@briandenison2325]

The French livery looked better.

[@klesarhr-bz5of]

This airplane type was Günther Rall´s first trophy

[@chriscunnane7596]

nice history rev thanks