Banco de dados da Segunda Guerra Mundial (WW2DB)

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe BF2C Goshawk (Model 67) carrier fighters were introduced into United States Navy service in Oct 1934 for use aboard USS Ranger. Their service aboard Ranger would only last a number of months as it was observed that their landing gears were not up to par, but generally the US Navy felt that the 27 purchased contributed to the development of the American aircraft carrier force.

ww2dbaseCurtiss-Wright also built 137 additional examples for export. Designated Hawk III (Model 68) and Hawk IV (Model 79), the export variants were sold to China (102 aircraft), Thailand (24 aircraft; also purchased license to build 50 examples, which was done between 1937 and 1939), Argentina (11 aircraft), and Turkey (1 aircraft). In Chinese service, Hawk III fighters saw combat against the generally superior Japanese aircraft in the mid- and late-1930s with relative success, and remained in service even after the introduction of modern Soviet and American fighters.

SPECIFICATIONS

BF2C-1

Machinery	One Wright R-1820-04 Cyclone air-cooled radial engine rated at 770hp
Armament	2x7.62mm Browning machine guns, 1x215kg bomb under fuselage or 2x53kg bombs under wings
Crew	1
Span	9.60 m
Length	7.17 m
Height	3.03 m
Wing Area	24.34 m²
Weight, Empty	1,509 kg
Weight, Maximum	2,065 kg
Speed, Maximum	362 km/h
Speed, Cruising	253 km/h
Service Ceiling	8,230 m
Range, Normal	1,167 km

Photographs