Curtiss' Model 43 was their first aircraft designed expressly for the Navy, rather than a modified Army type. While clearly a descendant of the
P-1 Hawk, its wings were constant-chord rather than tapered, and the upper wing had a slight sweepback. The engine was a 450
hp (340 kW)
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-B Wasp
radial. Entirely fabric-covered, the top wing was framed with
spruce, while the
fuselage was built from a combination of aluminum and steel tubing, sufficiently strong to serve as a
dive bomber as well as a fighter.
Operational history
The
prototype XF7C-1 first flew on 28 February 1927. After some modification demanded by the Navy (such as the wing sweepback), 17 production aircraft F7C-1 Seahawks were built, and entered service in the
USMC's
VF-5M at
Quantico. In 1930
VF-9M organized the Marines' first aerobatic stunt team, "The Red Devils", with F7Cs featuring red painted noses.[1][2] They continued in service until 1933.
Variants
The XF7C-1 as a seaplane without the cowling.
XF7C-1: Prototype aircraft; one built.
F7C-1 Seahawk: Single-seat fighter aircraft, main production version; 17 built.
XF7C-2: Single F7C-1 conversion for evaluation with the 575 hp (429 kW)
Wright R-1820-1 radial engine and large-span
full-span flaps.
XF7C-3: A demonstration prototype for
China with an armament of four .30 in (7.62 mm)
M1919 Browningmachine guns, I-type
interplane struts, and
ailerons on both the upper and lower wings rather than on just the upper wing. The type was superseded by the Model 64,
F11C Goshawk.