The Curtiss P-36—an Unsung Hero
© 2023 Steve Feinstein. All rights reserved.
The big-name superstars get all the attention, all the after-the-game acclimation. And for the most part, with good reason. However, every once in a while, a lesser-known participant fills a critical role, contributing more than could have been expected from such a modest source and having a disproportionate impact on the proceedings.
In the sports world, a great example of this would be the 1968 baseball World Series between the National League St. Louis Cardinals and the American League Detroit Tigers. This was a truly star-studded affair between two teams with many high-profile standouts: The Cards boasted players like the incomparable pitcher Bob Gibson and outfielders Lou Brock, Curt Flood and single-season home run king Roger Maris, who’d eclipsed Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs by hitting 61 just a few years before. The Tigers countered with 31-game winner Denny McClain, the portly and colorful Mickey Lolich and talented future Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline. But the deciding Series-winning hit was delivered by Detroit’s Jim Northrup, late in the do-or-die Game Seven. All these years later, when the conversation turns to great outfielders of the past half century, Northrup’s name is nowhere to be heard.
Such is also the case with World War II fighter aircraft. The planes that played an integral part in their country’s successes are certainly famous: The British Spitfire and Hurricane, Japan’s Mitsubishi Zero-Sen, Germany’s Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and the American P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair.
However, seemingly minor aircraft played a surprisingly impactful role at various points in the conflict. Their presence and performance may not have been the deciding factor or turned the tide of a crucial battle, but their appearance on the scene was definitely felt. They made a difference.
This is probably more true of the Curtiss P-36 than of any other single fighter plane of World War II. For a supposedly “secondary” fighter aircraft with a remarkably undistinguished performance (in terms of speed, climb and armament), the little P-36 Hawk left an outsized impression everywhere it fought.
Here is a look at the development and operational history of this surprising, oft-overlooked aircraft:
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) issued a requirement for a new single-seat pursuit plane in 1934 and the prototype P-36 (known as the Curtiss 75-B) was delivered in May of 1935. Its main competition was the Seversky P-35, designed by Alexander Kartveli, who would later go on to design one of the truly great fighter aircraft of World War II, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
Nothing like the P-47’s powerful 2000 hp. Pratt and Whitney 18-cylinder R-2800 engine existed in the mid-1930s, however, so both the P-35 and P-36 utilized 9- and 14-cylinder Wright Cyclone or Pratt and Whitney engines, ranging from 850 to 1050 hp. So equipped, the P-36 barely achieved a maximum level speed of 300 mph, far slower than its contemporaries from Britain (the Supermarine Spitfire) and Germany (the Messerschmitt Bf 109), both of which ran easily in excess of 340 mph.
The USAAC actually selected the P-35 as the winner of the contest, but the P-36 made a favorable impression and the two designs were quite close in overall performance. To safeguard against the possibility of Seversky not being able to supply the P-35, the P-36 was also awarded a production contract.
The fighter’s rugged structure, ease of maintenance and outstanding maneuverability attracted the attention of the French, who were embroiled in active warfare in Europe against Germany as early as 1939. France ordered several hundred of the type and they referred to them as “H-75s,” not P-36s.
When the Germans invaded France in the spring of 1940, the P-36 acquitted itself quite well against the aggressive, well-organized and experienced German Luftwaffe. Even though the P-36 numbered less than 15% of the French fighter force, P-36s (H-75s) are credited with shooting down nearly a third of all German planes claimed by France during the conflict, over 230 confirmed aerial victories, for a loss of just 29 aircraft in combat. Although such extreme air-to-air victory claims should be taken with the requisite grain of salt (it seems as if every World War II plane from every country has a supporter willing to put forth an impressive victory-to-loss tale), from all credible accounts, the P-36 (H-75) did indeed provide admirable combat service to the French in the face of overwhelming German opposition, despite the Germans’ marked technical superiority.
Upon France’s capitulation to Germany, the Germans took possession of several dozen P-36s, re-equipped them with German instrumentation and sold them to Finland for their fight against invading Soviet forces. The Finns were extremely successful with the P-36, establishing a very positive win-loss record and the type served for many years in Finnish hands.
Britain also took possession of some French P-36s when France fell. Although clearly not suited for first-line combat duty in Europe with the Royal Air Force (RAF), the plane (named “Mohawk” by the British) went to the Burma-India sector and provided spirited air defense against the Japanese in that theater.
By 1941, the P-36 had largely been replaced by the United States in front-line service by the P-39 Aircobra and P-40 Warhawk (the latter an extensive reworking of the basic P-36 design). Nonetheless, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941 (marking America’s entrance into the war), a few P-36s were still on active duty in Hawaii. A limited number managed to get into the air and they shot down a few of the attacking Japanese planes.
The P-36 was involved in what was unquestionably one of the most unusual combat scenarios of the entire war. As the United States regrouped and planned its first offensive action against German forces, they decided to land in Morocco North Africa in November 1942. France had been split into two after the German conquest of June 1940: Northern France was actively occupied by Germany, but southern France was left unoccupied, as long as they cooperated with the Germans. The capital of the compliant southern part of France was Vichy and this area was referred to as “Vichy France.”
Morocco was a French colony, defended by Vichy France. When the Americans landed there, the Vichy French put up armed resistance. American carrier-based Grumman F4F Wildcat fighters flew escort missions in support of the invading American forces. They were opposed by French P-36 fighters. So for the only time in the war, American-built fighters fought each other in deadly combat. Although the American-manned Wildcats eventually won the day, the tough, scrappy P-36s scored their share of victories and, once again, made a staunch, resolute showing.
Overshadowed by its more famous and capable brethren, the Curtiss P-36 will never be remembered as one of history’s great aircraft. But like Jim Northrup is to the well-versed baseball historian, for the detail-oriented aviation enthusiast, the P-36 carved out an interesting and admirable place among the ranks of World War II fighter airplanes.
