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| Curtiss P-5 Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Name | Curtiss P-5 Hawk |
| Type | Pursuit aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| First flight | 1923 |
| Introduced | 1923 |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Service |
| Produced | 1 (prototype) |
Curtiss P-5 Hawk The Curtiss P-5 Hawk was a single-seat biplane pursuit prototype developed by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in the early 1920s for evaluation by the United States Army Air Service and other potential buyers. Designed during the interwar period, the aircraft reflected advances in aircraft engine installation, aerodynamic cleanup, and structural design that were being explored after World War I and amid contemporaneous projects like the Boeing PW-9 and Loening PW-2. Only a small number of prototypes and experimental airframes were built, and the type had limited influence on frontline service compared with more successful Curtiss types and designs by Boeing, Seversky, and Sikorsky.
Curtiss conceived the P-5 as an evolution of earlier pursuit designs such as the Curtiss JN-4 lineage and the production Hawks that included the Curtiss P-1 Hawk and Curtiss P-6 Hawk. The airframe combined a conventional unequal-span biplane layout with staggered wings and streamlined engine cowling similar to developments pursued by Glenn Curtiss's company during the 1920s. Powerplant trials included several experimental inline and radial engines influenced by work at Packard Motor Car Company, Liberty L-12 developments, and contemporaneous proposals by Wright Aeronautical. Structural features borrowed from Curtiss practice included wooden wing panels with plywood and fabric coverings, steel-tube fuselage structure with Warren truss bracing, and revisions to the undercarriage inspired by tests at McCook Field.
Aerodynamic refinements emphasized reduced drag via a close-fitting cowl and faired interplane struts, reflecting lessons from research at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and comparative testing against types such as the Vought VE-7 and Thomas-Morse S-4. Armament provision followed contemporary USAS standards with synchronised forward-firing machine guns influenced by synchronization gear advances co-developed with Sperry Corporation engineers. Flight testing was conducted at Langley Field and experimental trials coordinated with personnel transferred from Kelly Field and Rockwell Field.
The P-5's operational history was brief and largely confined to prototype evaluation by the United States Army Air Service and demonstration flights for foreign observers from missions linked to the United States Department of War. Performance trials compared the P-5 against procurement favorites such as the Boeing PW-9, Curtiss PW-8, and foreign imports like the Fairey Flycatcher and Gloster Grebe in pursuit competitions sponsored by the United States Army Air Corps predecessor organizations. The prototype logged test flights at Mitchell Field and participated in demonstration events attended by representatives from Royal Air Force delegations and officers previously assigned to Panama Canal Zone aviation units.
Despite competitive handling and adequate climb rates shown in comparative trials, logistical considerations, cost analyses performed by procurement officers influenced by policies from the Coolidge administration and interservice debates involving the United States Navy curtailed adoption. Subsequent Curtiss designs, notably the Curtiss P-6 Hawk and production fighters for export customers including Argentina and Chile, drew selectively on lessons from the P-5 program.
- P-5 prototype: single prototype built with experimental powerplant installations and various cowlings for evaluation. - Experimental conversions: one-off modifications trialed with alternative engines sponsored by firms such as Packard Motor Car Company and Wright Aeronautical; some airframes were used for static structural testing at McCook Field and later at Moffett Field.
- United States Army Air Service — evaluated the prototype during 1923–1925. - Observers from Royal Air Force and Latin American air services including delegations from Argentina and Chile attended demonstrations.
Note: specifications reflect the prototype configuration as tested. - Crew: 1 - Length: approx. 23 ft (7.0 m) - Wingspan: approx. 30 ft (9.1 m) - Height: approx. 9 ft (2.7 m) - Powerplant: 1 × inline or radial experimental engine (approx. 400–450 hp) from firms such as Packard Motor Car Company or Liberty L-12 derivatives - Maximum speed: comparable to contemporary pursuit aircraft of early 1920s class (approx. 145–155 mph) - Service ceiling: competitive with Boeing PW-9 class fighters - Armament: twin synchronized Vickers machine gun-type armament arrangement (provisioned per USAS standards)
No complete Curtiss P-5 Hawk airframes are known to survive in public collections; portions and components were reportedly used for experimental workshops and structural testbeds at NASM-affiliated facilities and were scrapped after static testing at McCook Field. Documentation, drawings, and photographs of the prototype are retained in archives associated with the Smithsonian Institution, the corporate records of Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company preserved in National Air and Space Museum collections, and in periodicals such as Jane's All the World's Aircraft and contemporary reports from Aviation Week.