The Curtiss P-36 Hawk was a fighter aircraft designed in the 1930s. The Hawk first flew in 1935 and first entered service in 1938. The fighter had a long service life, with the last active aircraft being retired by Argentina in 1954. 215 American airframes and 900 export models were made over the production run. Obsolete by the start of World War II, it was largely replaced by an advanced derivative, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk.
The P-36 was powered by a 1,050 hp engine that could pull the plane to 313 mph at 8,500 ft, although cruise speed was closer to 270 mph. At this cruise speed, the Hawk could fly 625 miles unrefueled, but the range could be extended to 860 miles by slowing to 200 mph. The fighter could fly at altitudes of 32,700 ft and climb at a rate of 3,400 ft/min. The Hawk was armed with .30 inch or .50 inch machine guns. Later models could carry 200 lbs of bombs on a single hardpoint under each wing.
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