[Lucien]

The exact number of H-75 A-4 (H-751 in Armée de l’Air parlance) taken into account by the Armée de l’Air before France’s collapse is not know with precision. Here are a few facts extracted from Jean Cuny and Gérard Beauchamp excellent book Curtiss H-75 Hawk (Docavia/Editions Larivière, Paris, 1985) and from my own researches :

- On May 1st 1940, H-751 s/n 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 left NYC on board of SS Île de France destination unknow but most probably Saint-Nazaire.
- On May 30th 1940, H-751 s/n 1, 26, 27, 28 to 52, 53 to 58 were awaiting shipment in NYC harbor.
- About 30 H-751 were loaded on SS Champlain. On June 17th, the ship was hit by a mine and sunk in front of La Rochelle. On June 21st the wreck was definitively destroyed by torpedoes lauched by German submarine U.65.
- About 25 H-751 of which 14 incomplete were unloaded in Casablanca, Marocco, a few days after the armistice.
- On July 1st 1940, H-751 s/n 15 was at Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque airfield in the SW of France (I personnaly find dubious this assessment).
- On June 16th 1940, the French Navy aircraft carrier Béarn and cruiser Jeanne d’Arc left Halifax (Canada), bound for Brest. On board of those vessels were loaded :
Béarn :44 Curtiss CW.77 (SBC-4 Helldiver), 25 Stinson 105 all crated, 6 Brewster Buffalo destined to the Belgian AF and 17 Curtiss H-751 of which serial numbers were : 59 to 64, 83, 85, 86, 88 to 90, 92 to 94, 96 and 97. The last two, were unassembled and crated.
Jeanne d’Arc : 6 Curtiss H-751 s/n 79 to 82, 84 and 86, all unassembled and crated and 8 Stinson 105 also crated.
The Curtiss H-751 were part of an order placed on October 5th 1939 by the French government for 530 machines. The balance of this order, as well as others, was later transferred to the British purchasing commission in the USA.

- On June 18th, Brest harbour fell into German hands and both vessels were diverted to Fort-de-France in Martinique where they arrived the 27th. On 29th Jeanne d’Arc was ordered to sail to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. Both ships, as well as others, were to remain in French Antilles until 1943.

- Soon after their arrival in their respective harbours, Béarn and Jeanne d’Arc were unloaded. In Fort-de-France, the Curtiss CW-77, the Brewster Buffaloes and the 15 assembled H-751 were rolled to a field at the Pointe des Sables and stored in the open. The two crated H-751 and the Stinsons were left on board the Béarn. In Pointe-à-Pitre, the six Curtiss crated and the Stinsons were stored in a harbour warehouse.

- This situation remained unchanged until 1942. Under tropical climatic conditions, the aircraft stored in the open were slowly rotting and were no longer airworthy. On May 12th, due to the misunderstanding of an order, all the aircraft stored at the Pointe des Sables were sabotaged ! The 15 H-751s were heavily damaged by fire.

- In 1943, following the Anglo/American landings in Morocco and Algeria of November 1942, French Antilles joined fighting France and orders was given to the Naval authorities in Martinique to ship to Morocco whatever aeronautical equipments was available in Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre (including parts recuperated at the Pointe des Sables destroyed a/c). In August, the six H-751 stored in Pointe-à-Pitre were transported in Fort-de-France for shipment to Marocco.

Thus, the eight H-751s crated which escaped the sabotages were shipped as follows :
- On March 12th 1944, s/n 96 and 97, (ex Béarn) on SS Oregon which left FdF, bound for Casablanca, were she arrived on March 30th.
- On December 12th 1944, s/n 79, 80 and 81, (ex Jeanne d’Arc) on SS Sagittaire which left FdF, bound for Casablanca, were she arrived on January 19th 1945.
- On June 15th 1945, s/n 82, 84 and 86, (ex Jeanne d’Arc) on SS Hamlin Garland which left FdF, bound for Marseille. Date of arrival unknown but somewhere between the end of June and beginning of July.

So, at least 8 additionnal H751 were taken into account by the Armée de l’Air. However, the fate of those a/c remains a triffle mysterious. It has been written that due to reliability problems with the Wright R-1820 engines ands spare parts shortage, they a/c were remotorized with Pratt & Whitney R-1830 of which stocks were still available and put into service in flying schools and other miscellaneous units.

One last thing, although denied by its present ownner and a few French “experts”, most of the knowledgeable French historians are convinced that the H-75 magnificently restored in the UK is in fact the H-751 s/n 82 remotorized in France after WWII and put into service at Cazaux. But that’s another story...