016b - Inside the Curtiss P-36


CLASS: Fighter
NICKNAME: "Hawk"
YEAR OF DESIGN: 1935

LENGTH: 28 feet 6 inches
WINGSPAN: 37 feet 4 inches
MAX AIRSPEED: 313 MPH
CEILING: 32,700 feet

TYPICAL ARMAMENT
1 x 7.62 mm [3.0 cal] M1919 Browning machine gun
[Forward-Fixed Mount]
1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun
[Swivel Mount]
[Both Guns are equipped with 250 rounds]
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Originally mass-produced in 1935 and 1936, the P-36 Hawk was a victim of the rapid progress of research and development in aviation. Although it was one of the first monoplane fighters, it could not keep up with the pace of Japanese, German, or American War Machines.
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Although the P-.3 was slower than the A6M Zero, the biggest drawback of the P-36 was its guns. The M1919 Browning forward-mount gun only carried 250 rounds, compared to 500 rounds in most contemporary and foreign guns in the Pacific Theater. Soon, it was traded off to smaller countries, like Finland, Netherlands, and Belgium, who used it to some success during the early stages of WWII.
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