French H-75A-4 aircraft

[takata_1940]

Originally Posted by Alex Smart

Hi Oliver,
The number "10" is that 12807 - X809 or 13815 ?

The number "10" is supposed to be 13815, an A-4, then a Mohawk IV, missing from Bourges re-assembly factory (where the color picture above as been taken after the German capture at the end of June 1940)

Beside, I recounted my list and it's seems right : 204 including BB924.

You are welcome Alex,
Olivier.

[Alex Smart]

Hello Oliver,

Thank you once again for your help.

have a Great Day

Alex

[BlackWolf3945]

For those interested in more images showing the restored Hawk, take a looksee at this page on my site...


Fade to Black...

[Modeldad]

Based on the information provided here, such a shame that that aircraft has been "mis-reported" for so long and restored to "What-if' condition. Still a beautiful piece of work.

Or, is that data plate correct after all?

On the other hand, is that a real plate? Or a reproduction?

(I cannot remember seeing a piture of a Hawk 75 with a visable data plate)



See link below for more info.

HAWK 75 TO FLY AGAIN
Air Classics, Jul 2004

The Fighter Collection brings a nearly extinct aircraft back to life

Visitors to the USAF Museum can sec a restored Curtiss P-36A on display and, if you want to go a bit farther, there is a fixed gear H-75N Hawk on display in Bangkok, Thailand. However, in one of the most exciting restoration projects of this decade, a Curtiss H-75 Hawk is in the final stages of restoration to flying condition. This project will give the public a chance to see one of the most important early war fighters back in the air.

France was the best customer for the export version of the Air Corps' P-36 and an initial order for 100 aircraft was in France by May 1939. In service, the aircraft were numbered 1 to 100 and were issued to four Groupes de Chasse comprising I/4, II/4, I/5, and II/5. Hawk No. 82, the subject of the restoration, went to CG II/5 at Reims and was stationed at Toul during the Battle of France where the Hawks gave a good account of themselves against the Nazi invaders.

Surviving Curtiss fighters were ordered to withdraw to Algeria before the surrender of France and the remaining Curtiss fighter groups made the journey to Oran between 18 and 20 June 1940. France surrendered on 25 June. In Algeria, the armed forces came under control of the French Vichy Government which, in turn, was under the control of the Nazis.
Advertisement

The Hawks once again saw considerable action - fighting the British and then the Americans during Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. During this battle, 15 Hawks and eight French pilots were lost while at least seven US Navy Wildcats were destroyed. No. 82 participated in this turning point battle.

Surviving the war, No. 82 - along with 22 other Hawks - became an advanced trainer from 1946 to 1949 with the 4th Training Squadron at Cazaux in western France. Dropped from further use, the airframe was saved by Michel Pont who stored the plane until it was purchased by The Fighter Collection during the 1980s. With so many other projects, No. 82 was kept in storage until just recently.

The wing was shipped to New Zealand for restoration while the fuselage, tail, engine and prop, engine mount, and internal systems went to the US for restoration under the direction of Matt Nightingale. The completed wing arrived in the US during April and Matt and his dedicated team of restorers are doing a magnificent job : on what has to be one of the world's most unusual combat veterans - a fighter that fought for both sides during WWII. We will be featuring a detailed story on this machine in the near future.

Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Jul 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved






http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/hawk75st_1.htm



Blake Pickering’s photos of the Curtiss Hawk 75A-1 at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino prompted me to dig out some photos I shot of the same aircraft back in November 2004 when I was in Los Angeles on a business trip.
The aircraft’s cowl was removed when I saw it, allowing me to get some some photos of the Pratt & Whitney R1830-SC-G and accessory area behind the engine. I also took a photo of the aircraft’s data plate. It reads:

TYPE H75A1
NO DE SERIE 82
NO FABRICATION 12881
(manufactured) 4 39

Details of the rivets and panel lines on the aircraft are also noteworthy on this immaculately restored aircraft.

As Blake said, this plane is one of the stars of the Planes of Fame’s large collection.
Delivered in April 1939 as one of 100 Hawk75A-1s ordered by the French, this aircraft, a genuine Armée de l'Aire combat veteran, was assigned to GC II/5 at Reims and fought in the Phoney War and the Battle of France before heading to Oran, Algeria, where it saw action against British and American forces.
Postwar, the aircraft was on the strength of the 4th Training Squadron in Cazaux, France from 1946 to 1949, then sat in a field until The Fighter Collection acquired it and eventually restored it for the Planes of Fame Museum.

[Petitpoucet]

Hello Steven,

I think it is not a shame that that aircraft was restored as an A1. I'm French and very happy to see the only Curtiss Hawk 75 in flight with french markings.
S. Grey is not an historian, and got false informations, which were "true" few years ago.
Nobody can reproach him something. He really sought to know the truth, and a few time ago, nobody knew which n°82 has been used in Cazaux. Nobody knew that the A1 became a Finnish Hawk. And nobody knew that the A4 used a P&W engine in Cazaux.

So the data plate (not an original one) cannot be correct, because it is not the right aircraft, and because A1 n°82 = c/n 12879.

Concerning the wings, the were not complete in the wreck, and nobody can be sure that it was the original ones, they could have been changed before 1949.

[Modeldad]

Please do not misunderstand me. I love seeing the aircraft restored as an A-1. Truely a beautiful sight.

But like some some old dinosaur fossils that had been on public display, which had bones mix up (the head of one species was put on the body of another species) our understanding of the history of an aircraft can be most incorrect.

Getting the facts straight does not deminish the efforts of the restorers, it just makes us aware of the liberties they took. After all the Smithsonian national Air and spece Museum restored the Ar 234 to a "what if " scheme, because they wanted it to be more representitive of a late war aircraft. But the aircraft itself is beautiful, none the less.

[Petitpoucet]

Yes , but i really think that they believed to have the A1 n°82.

[Lucien]

Let us be realistic. What Stephen Grey and his friends did with what was a wreck is just fabulous. There is no word "big" enough to praise him.
Now what about its disguise ? The fact that this a/c is THE H751 (A4) Nr 82 is irrelevant. It has been remotorized (in France) with a P & W and it looks for all world like a H75 so what was Grey's possibilities ?
- Having it re-remotorized with a Wright and have in hands an a/c of a model never used operationnaly by the Armée de l'Air ? or
- Keep it with its present motorization and have it restored and painted as a H75 which was widely used in action during the 1939-1940 campaign ?
Personnaly, I think that he did the right thing... And the result will honour, for years I hope, the memory of those countrymen of mine who lost their lives, flying this little America beauty.
What is more questionable but this is a Franco-French problem, how our stupid (to remain polite) administration did to let this hightly historical a/c leave the country ?

[Petitpoucet]

Hello Lucien,

I completly agree with you.
But i persist in thinking that when he decided to restore his Hawk, he thought his aircraft was really the A1.
He still believed it a few time ago, and i'm not really sure that it changed.

[Modeldad]

I recently communicated with someone who was at Chino, and I was left with the distinct impression that the aircraft is still being represented as an A-1 that saw action and that any "colors uncovered" were as they were in 1939/40.

Please understand, my only issue is that I would simply like to get the facts on this restored aircraft.