Curtiss F11C Goshawk

<!-- This article is a part of WikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. -->

For other uses of Goshawk, see Goshawk

The Curtiss F11C Goshawk was a 1930s United States naval biplane fighter aircraft that saw limited success but was part of a long line of Curtiss Hawk airplane built by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the American military.

Design and development

In April 1932, when Curtiss was planning the Model 35B, the United States Navy contracted with the manufacturer for an improved derivative of the Model 34C, F6C as the F11C. It contained major changes that included the Wright R-1510-98 radial engine, single-leg cantilever main landing-gear unit, a slight increase in the interplane gap, metal- rather than fabric-covered control surfaces, and armament based on two fixed forward-firing machine guns supplemented by a hardpoint under the fuselage for the carriage of a bomb, or an auxiliary fuel tank. Curtiss designed the type as the Model 64 Goshawk, with the U.S. Navy designation XF11C-1 (later XBFC-1 after the adoption of the BF for Bomber-Fighter category). The aircraft was of fabric-covered metal construction, used the wing cell structure of the dismantled YP-23, and was delivered in September 1932.

Shortly before ordering the XF11C-1, the Navy had bought a company-owned Model 64A demonstrator. This had a Wright R-1820-78 Cyclone...
Read More