An American Hawk replaces the Bulldog in Britain

Spinners · August 1, 2015

Curtiss P-6E Hawk - No.43 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, 1931

The 1926 Air Ministry requirement for a fast light day-bomber would eventually be met by the superb Hawker Hart first flown in 1928 and entering service in early 1930. The Hart had a level speed of 176mph making it slightly faster than the Bristol Bulldog (the RAF's front-line interceptor fighter) although this raised few eyebrows with the British public at the time until the Opposition leader Stanley Baldwin recruited the British press and soon caused a public outcry. Despite the tough economic times the Air Ministry proposed an emergency purchase of 40 Curtiss P-6E Hawk aircraft from the United States as an interim stop gap until the proposed Hawker Fury (a single-seat development of the Hart bomber) could be produced and introduced into squadron service.

Fairey Aviation were selected to assemble and test the P-6E Hawk aircraft and to then support the aircraft in RAF service alongside a handful of Curtiss engineers based at the Great West Aerodrome near Heathrow. The first batch of 20 crated P-6E's were received during January 1931 and by March 1931 service pilots were assisting Fairey test pilots in introducing the aircraft into RAF service with No.43 Squadron being the first to re-equip with the type in April 1931 quickly followed by No.1 Squadron both based at Tangmere. The P-6E's remained in service until 1938 when they were replaced by Curtiss P-36K Mohawks.