Curtiss Model 68 Hawk III
5th "Foreign Legion" Pursuit Group, Chinese Air Force, pilot Herbert "Tommy" Walker (USA), Hankow base, China, 1937.

  A truly classic fighter of the 1930's, the Curtiss model 68 Hawk III owed its existence to an earlier, unsuccesful US Navy carrier fighter, the BF2C-1.
With a service life of barely one year with Squadron VB-5 aboard the new carrier "Ranger", the Navy grounded all 27 of its BF2C's, and with the vibration problem caused by the Wright Cyclone powerplant, returned the fighters to Curtiss.
  Unwilling to write off the developement of the BF2C, and needing an improved Hawk on the export market, Curtiss dispensed with the problematic metal wing, and substituited it with the older but proven wooden wing of the earlier Hawks. So was born the classic Hawk III.
  Between 1935 and 1938, well over 130 Hawk III's were sold abroad, becoming one of the preminent export fighters of its era, with Argentina, Turkey, Thailand and China, all placing orders for the type. By far, the greatest user of the Hawk III was China, with 102 being delivered between 1936 and 1938.
  At the start of the Sino-Japanese war in July 1937, the Hawk III formed the backbone of the Chinese fighter forces, equipping 3 fighter groups.
  Contrary to popular perception, the Hawk III was a great deal more effective in combat against the Japanese than is generally credited, and in skilled hands, the old plane could hold its own, even against the deadly Mitsubishi A5M type 96 fighters.
  It was between October and December 1937, that the celebrated American pilot Herbert "Tommy" Walker flew numerous missions in Hawk III's as a volounteer, ranging from ferocious ground-attack strikes against Japanese Army troops, to desesperate aerial combats against Japanese fighters and bombers during the defense of Nanking, at that time the Chinese capital City.
  The only other Hawk III's to see action, were those of the Thai Air Force in 1940-41, first during the France-Thai Air War of 1940, and later against the Japanese invasion of December 1941.
  Today, only one Hawk III survives. It rest in a place of honour in the Royal Thai Air Force museum, in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tecnical specifications:

Lenght:       26ft 0in (7,92m)
Wingspan:     31ft 6in (9,60m)
Range:   575mls  (925km) - internal fuel
         790mls (1270km) - with drop-tank
Engine: Wright SR-1820-F53 "Cyclone" 9 cyl. Air-cooled Radial, 785 H.P.
Max. speed: 202 MPH (325 km/h)
Ceiling: 25.800 ft (7.800 m)
Armament: 2 x 0,303 Machine guns.


                                   Informations by courtesy Peter A. Marshall, CT., USA
                                                            Sukasom Hiranphan, Thailand
                                                            Sergio Bellomo, Argentina
                                                     via MPM Ltd.,  Praha, Czech Republik

The skin represents Herbert "Tommy" Walker's aircraft in late 1937, by a detailed profile from the MPM model kit in 1:72 instruction sheet.
The 3Dz is from the Spanish Grumman G.23 skin by Woolfman.
If someone can make a better work with the 3Dz I will be very grateful, as this little plane is one of my favourite of the 1930-39 era.

It uses the P-47C slot in the ECA-panel and the F3F flight mod.
I hope that in a next edition of the ECA-Panel Charles Gunst can add a specific flight mod and a space for this classic "must have" that contributed to write a piece of history of the Air Warfare.

Dedicated to the EAW Community.

Enjoy!

Colonel Damir P. Fillen
DamirPaulFillen@hotmail.com
ICQ: 125555992
  