Curtiss Hawk 75A-3 (P36G)

Plane: Curtiss Hawk 75A-3 (USAF designation: P36G)

Mass: 2798kg

Engine: 1,200 hp Wright Cyclone GR-1820-G3 Radial

Horsepower:  1050hp max brake horsepower

Wing Area: 21.92 meters^2

Weapons:

Ammo belting:

7.5mm MG: ap, ap, ap, ap, ap, tracer

Stall Speed: 125kph clean/115kph dirty

Best Climb Speed IAS: 245kph IAS

Maximum Reasonable AoA: 11.0 degrees

Top Speed Chart:

WEP Top Speed: 465kph

Climb Rate chart:

Roll Rate:

Turn Rate: (sustained) Flaps Up:   170kph, 110m radius, 25 deg/sec

Turn Rate: (sustained) Flaps Down:  145kph, 99m radius, 23 deg/sec

Visibility:  Good. 

Control Feel vs Speed:  Excellent at all speeds

WEP power boost percent: 15%

Safe WEP time: About 8 minutes

General Comments:

This is the first imported aircraft available to the French.  By the time of the Battle of France, the French had many H75 flying in their airforce.  This plane turned out to be one of their best fighters, and many of their highest scoring aces flew this plane. 

The Curtiss Hawk is an excellent, if slow aircraft.  It is arguably the most nimble plane in the game, and the second best turning fighter available (the best being the Hurricane, although the H75's rolling performance was superior).   There is no other aircraft in the game that flies so well from slow speed to fast speed and can turn good too.  As a bonus, this plane has excellent high speed maneuverability, and can dive very fast.

This plane is a dogfighter, and with its speed, it's best flown as a dogfighter.  This is one of the few planes that can feel safe at low altitudes, as long as the pilot has good situational awareness.  You can Boom and Zoom this fighter, but you don't need to, and any chance you get to turnfight an enemy fighter you should take.

You will often find the enemy above you in this plane.  This is because most learn real quick that the H75 will eat them alive if they try to turn with one.  It is your job to sucker them down.  Also, get good at shooting while in a dive.  Often you'll tussle with a 109 at altitude, the 109 will realize that it's in trouble and dive.  The H75 can keep up with that 109 in a dive without any trouble, but once the chase levels out, the distance will grow quickly.  Fortunately this plane rolls like a dream at high speed, so take advantage of it and try to fill your target full of holes on the way down.

You also have lots of ammo on this bird, so blaze away.  The shotgun nature of this plane's guns and the ability to get nice canopy shots when the enemy turns means that your primary method of kills are pilot hits.  You're not likely to rip off wings, and you wont get through that pilot armor, so it's best if the target turns.  Most times when you catch an aircraft unaware of your approach you want to get close and blow them away from 20ft away or closer.  However, due to the weak punch of the 7.5mm round (especially from behind), and due to the extreme agility of the H75, sometimes you want to squeeze off a few tracer rounds and get him to break.  This means that instead of a direct 6 shot that might not do serious damage, you now get a canopy shot or some other more favorable shot.  There are few things more frustrating than unloading into a 109 only to see him fly away like you never hit him.

Climbing is poor in this bird, so don't try.  If you can get above the enemy before you engage him, great.  If he starts to spiral climb away, do *not* follow.  Keep flat-turning to stay under him, but don't try to follow him up, otherwise you will find yourself wallowing at 130kph while he dives back down on you with guns blazing.  Your amazing agility requires airflow over your control surfaces, and you don't get much airflow if you climbed after someone for too long and stalled out. 

This plane turns well, but watch out if the enemy gets a shot.  Sure a Fw190a4 is much worse turning airplane, but the geometry might allow him a shot anyway, so watch for that.  If you see the enemy lining up for a shot *reverse direction* (especially with a low roll, where you roll under your plane).  That should blow his shot.  Sure you will lose the angles you have gained on him, but you turn better, you'll get it back.  It's better to stay alive when he's going to shoot.  No one wants to say in the afterlife "well I didn't want to blow my angles".  This is particularly important when there is  more than one enemy aircraft in the area.  Often the one plane will conveniently turn with you to set you up for a shot by his buddy.  Check the approach routes when turning periodically to make sure his friend isn't about to add you to his kill tally.

Specific Matchup Comments:

H75 vs Bf110C:  Due to the H75's agility, this airplane should be easy pickings for a H75.  The problem is the fact that the 110 is as fast as a H75, and it climbs better.  However, if you keep from getting in front of his nose, you should be able to tear this plane apart.

H75 vs Bf109E:  This is your primary opponent is the Bf109E4 in WW2OL.  By the time the Bf109F4 comes out in numbers, the H81 should be available, and it is recommended to take that plane instead.  The key with the Bf109E4 is to get it to turn with you.  If it dives, you can follow it easily until it levels out.  The Bf109E4 is faster than you by about 20kph, and has a big climb advantage, so do *not* follow it into a spiral climb, or try to follow it when it zooms after a pass.  All you will do is set yourself up as a target as he completes the Rope A Dope maneuver, dives back down on your helpless self, and blows you away.  Just keep dodging his passes and try to get him to make a mistake. 

H75 vs Bf109F:  This plane is trouble for a H75.  It can turn better than a Bf109E and with flaps down can almost turn with a H75.  See above about the tactic of one plane turning with you to set you up for another plane.  Since this plane has a huge climb advantage, the rule about not climbing after one of these planes holds doubly true.  It's speed advantage on the deck is 65kph, so stop chasing him after you level out and he starts to get away.

H75 vs Fw190a4: The Fw190a4 and the H75 are designed around very different philosophies.  The H75 is an agile low speed turnfighter that happens to maneuver well at speed.  The Fw190a4 is a high speed monster that can't turn as well.  You will learn fast why speed is one of the most important aspects of air to air combat as you are frustrated again and again as these planes make a pass, you evade, and they are out of range before you can get your nose back on them.  Even if you find one at your altitude or below it's tough to get a decent fight out of these guys.  They can outdive you, so following them down doesn't help.  They are 110kph faster on the deck than you are.  Their airframe is very difficult  to get down to the airspeeds that you live at, so even if one screws up, it is probably going to get away.  And it's well protected vs .30cal fire as well.  You won't get many kills against this plane, but your agility should at least keep you alive unless they start ganging up on you.

H75 vs Ju87b:  This is included here because many pilots don't know how to handle a Stuka properly.  They think "Oh, it's a bomber, it can't turn" and promptly get shot down as the Ju87b outturns them.  The Ju87b turns better than the H75.  Now before you grab the pitchfork and head down to CRS, there are a few things to point out.  The Ju87b has one of the lowest wing loadings in the game.  It has huge thick wings, which generate a lot of lift (and a good amount of drag).  It is designed to haul a big airframe, two crewmembers, armor, bombs, and lots of ammo on a relatively low amount of power.  It also has to do this while being draggy as heck.  It accomplishes this by having huge thick wings (remember how gliders fly with no power?  big wings).  What this means is that this airplane can turn.  Just like a light biplane that has only 100hp, but can turn on a dime, the Ju87b can use its huge wings to turn well.  It *will* outturn you if you flatturn it.  The two biggest problems a Stuka has are speed and climbing ability.  If you go vertical, the Stuka will die.  If you fly fast, the Stuka will die.  If you try to run away, you will get away.  If you try to turn with it for an extended amount of time, it will get a nice canopy shot on you and you will die.  It also flies so slowly that you will easily overshoot it if you are not careful.  Most turnfighters used to beating 109s in turnfights don't know how to handle a better turning plane.  Learn, or you will become very frustrated with the Stuka.