Curtiss P-36C “Hawk”

Curtiss P-36C “Hawk” U. S. Army Air Corps Fall 1941

A very advanced fighter when the prototype flew in 1934, with all-metal construction and fabric-covered control surfaces. Obsolete at the onset of World War II and best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40, the P-36 saw only limited combat with the USAAC, but was extensively used by French, British Commonwealth, and Chinese air units. During the Pearl Harbor attack on 7 December 1941, four P-36s were able to take off and were credited with shooting down two Japanese Nakajima B5N bombers, the fi¬rst US aerial victories of World War II.