Here's some historical data; the credits are given at the end of the translated article.
There may be an error re: serial numbers, but it is too late right now, for me to go chasing data, so there. : )
Saludos,
Tulio
The Argentineans were seeking to replace their Dewoitine D. 21 C1 so a contest was opened to find a successor. Amongst the airplanes evaluated, were the Dewoitine D. 371/D500, the Curtis Hawk III/IV, the Vought V- 143, and the Seversky 2PA.
A decission was made in January of 1938, The Argentinean government first purchased the second Curtiss factory demonstrator, a 75H, civilian
registration NR1277 (Curtiss c/n 12328), and then ordered 29 production examples, which were serialled C-631 to C-650 [Curtiss serials: 12769 through 12797]
These were powered by a Wright GR-1820-G5 Cyclone of 1,000 HP @2200 RPM, had fixed landing gear, were equipped with a Telefunken radio transmitter / receiver.
Curtiss designation was H-75O.
The armament consisted of four Belgian-designed Madsen machine guns:
Two, in 7.62mm, one in each wing.
One, in 7.65mm mounted atop the engine.
One, in 11.35mm mounted atop the engine.
It could carry 136 Kg. of bombs in an internal bomb-bay.
Curtiss completed the first example of the "O" model in November of 1938 and deliveries were made to Argentina, between 29 November and 30 December, 1938.
The Argentineans also negotiated and obtained a license to manufacture the H-75O, at their Fabrica Militar de Aviones [FMA], in Cordoba, with the first H-75O locally manufactured by FMA deliveredon 16 September 1940.
20 airplanes were built, and assigned serials C-631 to C-650 [C = Caza = Fighter], and provided front-line service until 1953 with the three Grupos de Caza [Fighter Groups I, II and III] of the Regimiento Aéreo Nº 2
[Aerial Regiment Nº 2] of the Comando de Aviación del Ejército [Army Aviation Command] between January 1939 and 4 September 1944, when the CAE (Comando de Aviación del Ejército) became the Fuerza Aerea
Argentina.
The H-75Os saw service together with the Curtis Hawk III; 5 aircraft were lost during service, and by 1945, 45 out of the original 50 units, remained in service.
After their removal from front line service, the survivors were transferred to training units, and were used also by high ranking officers, for airshow work and demonstrations.
The last examples were re-grouped in 1949 in the Groups I and II of the IV Brigada Aerea. Their last assignment was to the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in June 1955, when the Army rebelled against the government.
According to what I could find, the last two H-75Os were scrapped in April or May 1982...
MARKINGS:
At first, the airplanes were serialled 601 to 650 and remained in natural metal color, with only the fabric-covered surfaces receiving silver-color paint.
The antiglare panel as well as the serial numbers, were painted in black; serial numbers were carried on the fuselage and also on four positions on the wings.
Aircraft for Group and squadron commanders were identified by a red band carried behind the cockpit.
After June 1943, the airplanes were painted overall Olive Drab, with light blue undersurfaces, with the serial numbers in white, preceded by the letter "C" [C = Caza = Fighter] now located in the leading edge of the wings, the fuselage and the vertical surfaces, and also with a small Argentinean flag; the Argentinean roundels were carried on the six usual locations.
Between 1941 and 1942, some of the Hawks were painted with a black, blue or red band behind the cockpit, to identify aircraft within the same squadron.
Beginning in 1945, the propeller blades were painted overall black, with yellow wingtips.
CREDIT:
The information above, it its majority comes from this webpage:
http://www.choiquehobbies.com.ar/revist ... hawk75.htm
The author is Rodolfo Hertrig.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
