At the same time, by spring 1940 it was becoming obvious that France would fall soon, leaving the United Kingdom as the only bastion in Europe holding back the German war machine. In this situation, commission chairman Arthur Parvis could not allow the American contracts to fall through. On 15th June 1940 he received a confidential message from London telling that France could capitulate at any moment and therefore, appropriate measures should be taken to secure the ordered equipment which was still in American soil.
That same day, at midnight, Purvis received authorization from London to take every steep needed to save British orders. French Colonel Jacquin, residing at the Rockefeller Center, in New York and serving on the French commission on behalf of his government, met up with Purvis on 16th June. The Frenchman was well aware that the war was already lost for his country, and after discussion, it was decided that Great Britain would take over all remaining French orders.
There was a strong need of urgency, because with the resignation government in Paris, all authority held by the commission members in the US was terminated. On 17th June the French signed the relevant documents almost simultaneously with Marshal Petain's announcement of surrender, signed four days later. By then, however, all equipment originally intended for France, already belonged to Great Britain. That same day, the equipment remaining in the US destined for shipment, was secured and all French assets were frozen.
At this same time, many French Hawk 75 were landing in England, fleeing from the German invasion, crossing the English Channel. Among them were pilots of the A-1, A-2 and A-3 versions of the Hawk 75. In this way a small numbers of them ended in the RAF. A few more A-3s came directly from the United States, but these were aircraft that did not make it to their original destination in France and the ships that they were loaded in, were diverted to England, while on sea. Alongside those, five more Hawk 75A-6 from a Norwegian order, wich was also never fully fulfilled, ended up in British hands. However, the largest number of Hawks delivered to Great Britain came from the third French order and represented the A-4 variant.
Individual aircraft received RAF registration numbers and the name 'Mohawk', with the Mohawk Mk. I being the Hawk 75A-1, Mohawk Mk. II, the 75A-2 and so on, depending on the version. It is estimated that there were around 196 of the Mohawk Mk. IV (Hawk 75A-4). However, it should be remembered that ten Hawk 75A-9 previously intended for Persia and five A-5s manufactured in India were also designated at Mohawk Mk. IV. The total amount of A-4s coming from France remains unknown, although it is estimated at 233 to 260 (255 plus 5 Indian ones).
Given that the earlier Mohawk I and II version, were equipped with a much less powerful engine, they were transferred to training units as training aids for mechanics. They were also frequently used for various tests. Similarly, the Mohawk IVs were not considered equal to the British Hurricanes and Spitfires, but rather served as a reserve in case of disruptions in the supply of those British fighters.
All ex-French aircraft were first transferred to Burtonwood Aircraft Repair Depot in a gradual fashion, where instruments were replaced with those calibrated in British units, and British radio equipment and armament were installed. Instead of the Belgian-made machine guns, the Mohawks were equipped with British 7.7mm (0.303 in) Browning machine guns. It also became necessary to re-adjust the throttle lever movement to the standard pattern used everywhere except in France. It was at Burtonwood where those fighter were repainted in standard RAF day fighter camouflage.
Mohawks weren't specially popular in the RAF, just like any other radial-engined fighter, except for the Gloster Gladiator. Pilots might had fewer reservations about them, but mechanics often quibbled. American fighters required American spare parts and American tools to operate. Even if a set of tools was included with each wooden crate containing a disassembled Hawk, they wore out quickly and, it's should be pointed that not all aircraft arrived in England disassembled. Even rivets of a diameter not used in the RAF posed a problem, not to mention the Wright engines, which had not been used in British aircraft until then. Furthermore, in 1941 the production of the Hawk 75 was completely discontinued and replaced by the Curtiss P-40, ceasing consequently the production of spare parts for the Hawk 75. In this situation, the British Mohawks quickly found themselves in secondary theatres of the the war, such as Abyssinia and India-Burma.
In this theatre it was employed by Nos. 5 and 155 Squadrons, which saw some combat against Japanese fighters during 1942. However, as obsolete as they were, the type was mainly employed in bomber escort and ground attack duties until it was retired definitely in 1944. Some few units in the British Isles, No. 510 Squadron among them, also employed some old Mohawk III as squadron hacks during 1943.
It's also worth pointing that the Hawk 75 flew comparative flight tests against the Spitfire Mk. I. These took place between 29th December 1939 and 13th January 1940 at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, with the Hawk 75A-2 (No. 188 -coming from the French order-) being declared as winner. It turned out that, aside from top speed and dive acceleration, the Hawk outperformed its rival every aspect. It was more agile, climbed faster and dived at higher speeds. Pilots also found it more pleasant to fly, take off and land thanks to its more stable landing gear.
However, while the Hawk could easily outmanoeuvre the Spitfire and get on its tail, the British fighter could simply escape without any problems, taking advantage of its considerable speed advantage.
Sources:
1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 61 - Curtiss P-36 Hawk Part 1 (translated)
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_P-36_Hawk
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