Curtiss Hawk 75A/Mohawk. Part Five. Various Asians users.

 

The Curtiss 75 was also employed by various users in Asia, among them, the following ones:

• British Raj: During the late 1930s India was technologically comparable to "average Asian country" and, therefore, had to rely on assistance from industrialized European countries. However, at the outbreak of the war and amidst the Japanese expansion, a group of industrialists from Bombay decided to establish an aircraft factory in Poona. This group was contacted by William D. Pawley, an American entrepreneur who funded the Chinese Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company or CAMCO and was looking for a new location for the company. The reason for this was the Japanese threat to CAMCO facilities in China, so, in December 1939 an agreement was signed.
  When French Indochina fell in September 1940 and Japan expanded its holdings, work on organizing the Indian aircraft industry intensified. On Christmas Eve 1940, Hindustan Aircraft Limited (HAL) was officially confirmed, with shares held by Intercontinent Corporation represented by Pawley, and the local Indian Government. 
  Raw materials and semi-finished products were to be shipped from the United States and several dozens of Chinese and Indian specialists were sent to that country and Great Britain to expand their knowledge and gain the experience needed. They were to take top positions at HAL and CAMCO plants. 
  Since production was expected to be quite substantial, it was decided to relocate the HAL factory from Poona to Bangalore in southern India. In August 1941, the first aircraft was manufactured there, a Harlow PC-5 trainer.
  At that time CAMCO's operations at Loiwing (Yunnan province - south-west China, where CAMCO moved its headquarters) were practically inexistant. In April 1941 the Indian government placed its first major order at HAL for 48 Hawk 75, intended to equip some squadrons at the Royal Indian Air Force. These were built using parts and equipment salvaged from the remains of Loiwing plant, which was destroyed after a Japanese bombardment on 26th October 1940, and surrendered by the Chinese government. 
  Production in India was largely dependent on American supply, which significantly curtailed after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, as when the United States entered the war every raw material suitable for wartime production was retained. Export plans changed, now entirely controlled by colonial government. As a result, HAL plant suffered greatly and production there was extremely slow until mid-1942 when larger contracts were assigned: thirty Harlow PC-5 trainers, 24 Vultee V-12 bombers, Hawks and transport gliders. It was also very valuable the ability to overhaul Allied aircraft from nearby stationed units and supply them with new equipment. One of the larger orders was for 600 jettisonable auxiliary fuel tanks for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).
  However, both the United States and Great Britain did not consider HAL plant as a viable investment and an American mission was sent there to assess the capabilities of the Indian industry and concluded that it should be treated more as a repair base than a full-fledged supplier of equipment. Influenced by this opinion the Indian colonial government severely limited the orders and, as a result, only five Hawk 75A-5 were manufactured in Bangalore, the first of which took off on 31st July 1942.
  In addition to those five aircraft, numerous Hawk 75s were deployed on Indian soil by Royal Air Force's units stationed there. More than 80 of these were British Mohawk Mk. IV.
  The Royal Indian Auxiliary Air Force operated some Mohawk IVs, which were initially intended for Iran. The No. 1 (Indian) Operational Training Unit, based at Risalpur, operated the type until late July 1942..
  
  
• Dutch East Indies: One of Curtiss' earliest customers was the Dutch East Indies, for wich the Dutch government purchased P-6 Hawk biplane fighters and got a production license for their construction in 1929. Those fighters constituted the backbone of that colonial air force until 1935 when it was determined that effective protection required large seaplanes or patrol boats as well as long-range bombers capable of attacking a potential invasion fleet far from shore. However, it was also foresaw that those aircraft, as well as the many naval bases in that region, would need fighter protection. 
  Initially the Royal Dutch Navy considered the purchase of Curtiss P-6 Hawk biplane fighters to defend the airspace of Soerabaja naval base. However, the need for more fighters arose in 1938 when the Dutch government decided to modernize the Royal Dutch East Indies' Air Force with new equipment. The American offer, with the Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Demon export fighter, was chosen. A decision was made to purchase 35 CW-21, however due to pressures from the parliament, that amount was reduced to 24 aircraft in October 1939.
  The issue of selling Hawk 75 aircraft to the Dutch arose during the negotiations for the CW-21 contract. In June 1939, Bob Fausel (Curtiss' factory pilot) was at Bandoeng airport, on Java, tasked with presenting the proposed aircraft to the local military forces. Persuading them wasn't easy, as they thought that in island conditions, most operations would be conducted over open sea, so single-seat, single-engined aircraft were simply not viable. Larger machines with a crew of at least one pilot and one navigator were required, according to their doctrine. Fausel, however, convinced them of the exact opposite, although, as he admitted later, their decision was probably influenced by France, China and Norway as, if those countries ordered or operated the type, then the Curtiss Hawk 75 couldn't been a bad aircraft.
  Negotiations conducted at the turn of 1939 and 1940 resulted in the purchase of several different types of aircraft, including two fighters: the Brewster B-339D Buffalo (an export variant produced for and hated by the US Navy) and the Curtiss Hawk 75A-7. One hundred and sixty-four Buffalos were ordered, against only 20 Hawk 75s. They were to be delivered between July and August 1940.
  The first of Dutch Hawk 75 was flown personally by Fausel on 16th April 1940 and the first batch was dispatched on 6th May. Nine more were ready at New York to be shipped when Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10th May. At that moment planes' destination was changed and, instead of heading to the colony, they were to be sent to mainland Netherlands to defend it against Germany. However, before they could reach their new destination, Netherlands capitulated and the Hawk 75s were shipped to Java, as originally intended. 
  By 1st August 1940 every delivered aircraft was assembled and transferred to 1. Jachafdeling (1st Fighter Squadron), later renamed IV. Vliegtuiggrope (IV Aircraft Group). Some aircraft were lost to accidents and, when the Royal Dutch East Indies Air Force was mobilized in November 1941 there were just 15 Hawk 75 operational. All of them were later employed in combat against the Japanese.
  
  
• Iran: In 1940 the Shah of Iran ordered ten Cyclone-powered Hawk 75A-9 from Curtiss to replace their ageing Hawker Furys. These aircraft were loaded onto ships and shipped between March and April 1941. They were to be assembled at the aircraft factory and another Curtiss' factory pilot, Ed Elliot, was to fly each one into Iran. One Hawk 75 was shot down by Iranian anti-air fire by mistake, shortly after having being taken over by the Imperial Iranian Air Force. 
  After the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, carried out on 25th August 1941, the nine remaining Hawk 75s were sent to India, where they were used in training units.

Sources:
1st  AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 61 - Curtiss P-36 Hawk Part 1 (translated)
2nd https://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/OTU_1.htm
3rd https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php/en/aircraft-factory-lists/aircrafts-c/curtiss-hawk-75a-7-uk?showall=1
4th https://www.iiaf.net/history/iiaf.html

Avro Anson, part four, Asian Users

The Avro Anson is a British multi-role aircraft of which more than 11.000 units were made. It was exported to many countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Afghanistan: The Royal Afghan Air Force obtained 13 (or 12, it's not clear as one source claim it was 13 but others claim it was 12) Anson XVIII. They were a modified version of the C.19 variant. They were used for communications, police patrol and aerial survey until 1972 when the country fell apart into a civil war.
• Bahrein: The Bahrein-based charter airline Gulf Aviation Ltd. was founded in 1949 by Freddie Bosworth, former RAF pilot. Initially it's fleet comprised just two Ansons T.21 modified to carry passengers. However, some sources claim it was a C.19. Anyway, they were used in the initial aerial routes this company made to Doha, in Qatar and Sharjah, in the Trucial States (nowadays United Arab Emirates).
• British Raj: The Royal Indian Air Force employed an unknown number of Anson Mk.I in the Navigation and Armament training role. They were assigned to the No.1 Service Flying Training School, which was based at RAF Ambala, in the Punjab province (nowadays Haryana state). It seems that the Ansons continued flying in the training role well after the war and even after the Independence of India in 1947. But it's unknown when they were written off. As we couldn't find any colour profile and the available photos are in black & white, the colours and the registration should be considered as speculative.
• Republic of India: The Indian Air Force (IAF) bought in 1948 a ad-hoc variant of the Avro Anson. It was called Anson C.18C and it was a civil crew training aircraft. Thirteen of them were bought by the Directorate of Civil Aviation and were used as civil aircrew trainers and communications aircraft. They were delivered from Yeadon, in Yorkshire one year later, in 1949.
• Indonesia: At least four Anson Mk.I were acquired by the Indonesian Air Force in 1947 from second hand retailers. One was known to have been serialed as RI-001 which was initially registered in Australia. During the Indonesia Independence War, it was captured by Dutch troops at Maguwo, in Jakarta in December 1948 and was broken up. The fate of the other three aircraft is unknown but it's known that they came from Australian civil register.
• Iraq: In March 1946 (or late 1944 according to other sources) thirty-three (30 depending on which source you check) Anson Mk.I were delivered to the Iraqi Air Force. They were assigned to I and VII Squadrons and it seems that some of them saw action as light bombers against Israel in the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948. Oddly enough, one of them was piloted by 1st Lt. Arif ar-Razzaq who in 1963 became the Commander in Chief of the Iraqi Air Force and later would be Defence Minister of that country. As the only available photo of the Anson in the Iraqi Air Force is blurry and in black and white, the colours and the registration should be considered as speculative.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

2. https://web.archive.org/web/20120803171431/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Trg-1SFTS.html

3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120711122408/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/History/1940s/Trg-1SFTS02.html

4. http://www.bahrainaviators.com/fleet.html

5. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/avro652_2.html

6. http://iraqimilitary.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=20

7. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

Fairey Battle, part two

The Fairey Battle was a British light-bomber which was designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. Though not as successful as expected, it served as a trainer and target tow during the whole World War 2. It was exported to many countries:

• Belgium: An order of 16 Battles were ordered to Fairey by the Belgian Military Aviation. The Battles, contrary to popular belief, were built at Fairey's plant in Stockport, United Kingdom. They were delivered in March 1938 and were differentiated from the British ones in having a longer radiator cowling and a smoother camouflage finish.
  They were assigned to the 5e Escadron, 3éme Regiment d'Aeronautique, (5th Squadron, 3rd Aeronautical Regiment) based at Evere airfield, near Brussels. Initially conceived as a reconnaissance unit, this squadron was quickly reformed into a bomber unit. During the period known as the "Phoney War", the British and Belgian authorities realised that the Battle was very vulnerable to German fighters due to its slowness, poor manoeuvrability and poor defensive armament and was, therefore, becoming obsolete. That's why Belgian authorities cancelled the initial supplementary order for additional machines. They instead tried to obtain, too late Bréguets, Douglas and Caproni bombers.
  The Belgian Battles became famous on 11th May 1940 when they took off on a suicidal mission to destroy three bridges (Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Briegden) on the Albert Canal. From the nine Battles that took off, six of them were destroyed (some other sources claim that all nine were destroyed) and, due to the light bomb load they were carrying, not a single bridge was destroyed.
• Greece: Back in 1939 nine Battle were ordered by the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF), but because of the war, the order was cancelled and the production was reinstated for the RAF. However, British authorities changed their mind later and eleven Battles were delivered to the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF) in late February 1940 as part of an order to twelve (the last one was sunk by a torpedo when it was aboard the merchant ship). They were given by the RAF to the Greek authorities as a compensation for 12 Bristol Blenheim IV that were sold in poor conditions due to war shortages. The Battles were assigned to the 33rd Bomber Squadron and they saw extensive action during the Greco-Italian War. On 28th October 1940 the 33rd Squadron, based at Koúklaina, was already in action. Battles bombed the Italian airfield in Koritza, in Italian Albania, destroying a Caproni Ca.133 and damaging four fighters for no Greek losses. Two Battles and two Blenheims were later engaged in another raid against Koritza airfield but they were intercepted by Italian Fiat Cr.42 and were shot down killing their crews and badly wounding another one.
  During the Greek counter-offensive in late November, three Greek Battles attacked a retreating Italian column between Koritza and Pogradets on the 22nd. Later, on 11th March 1941 the CO of 33rd Squadron was intercepted and shot down between Nivitsa and Slatinia.
  The remnants of the squadron were rebased to Menidi, due to the German advance in April 1941 and, as they couldn't hold off Luftwaffe's attacks, they were moved on to Tanagra, South of Athens, where the remaining machines were destroyed on the ground by the Luftwaffe.
• British Raj: The Indian Air Force received four Fairey Battles in 1942. A single Mk.I one and three target tows. They were sent to the Anti-Aircraft School in Karachi.
• Ireland: The Irish Army Air Corps approached the British authorities for a number of aircraft to meet their needs during the World War 2. In 1941 they asked for 13 Hawker Hurricanes, 10 North American Harvard and three Fairey Battle Target Tugs. The resulting offer was amounted later to 10 Hawker Hector biplanes, offer that the Irish authorities accepted. However, in an unexpected way a Battle TT registered as V1222 arrived on 24th April 1941 when it flew, at the hands of a Polish pilot from No.4 Observer School based RAF West Freugh, Scotland, and had to force-land at Corbally Strand, Tramore, in Ireland. The aircraft wasn't damaged and was flown to Baldonnel where it was officially interned. In June 1944 it was decided to put the Battle into use so target-towing equipment was fitted and received a new code, 92. It carried out camera gun exercises with Hurricanes and joined No.1 Squadron in September 1944 (note: our source claims it was in 1940, it must be a mistake) for air-to-air firing duties. It was withdrawn and flown to a maintenance unit in May 1946.
• South Africa: Thanks to the Joint Air Training Scheme, around 190 Battle were allocated for South Africa. But eleven were lost at sea, during delivery, other eleven were sent to Southern Rhodesia, four to India and four to Australia, so a total of 123 were destined to serve with the South African Air Force (SAAF), of which 51 were target tugs and 5 trainers. During the East African Campaign the SAAF used the Battles in their intended role, as light bombers. On 19th May 1940 R. Peller, CO of No.11 Squadron led the squadron to Nairobi, in Kenya, equipped with 24 Hawker Hartebeests and just a single Battle. The Battle was used for a reconnaissance flight over Mogadishu, over Italian Somaliland on 17th June. When it was leaving the area, they saw a Caproni Ca.133 parked near Afmadow, southern Italian Somaliland, and made a strafing run, only to be hit in the radiator by a stray bullet. Because of that, the Battle had to crash land, and the surviving crew set the machine on fire. The crew was eventually rescued.
  During mid-June the No.11 squadron was called back to South Africa to be re-equipped with 15 Battles, allowing them to strike hard on the enemy. They did that on many occasions, targeting Italian airfields, positions and vehicles with some successes but at the cost of sever losses. By June 1941, when No.11 Squadron SAAF was disbanded and their aircraft transferred to the No.15 Squadron, only four Battles were left active and one of them was soon lost on an accident. The remainder carried on until 19th August when the final example flew its last mission. The unit then withdrew to Kenya to be re-equipped.
• Turkey: The Turkish Government ordered some Battles before the World War 2. Four of them were being manufactured at Fairey's plant in Stockport (they had even been painted in Turkish Markings) but with the war in Europe, the deal was cancelled before they were delivered. After protracted negotiations, the British Government agreed to deliver 30 Battles which were initially destined for Poland and diverted them to Turkey instead.
  It was agreed that Flt. Lt. Sam Moseley would oversee and test-fly the Battles as they were assembled in Turkey, but when he arrived in Turkey, the enthusiastic Turks had already offloaded them from the ship, assembled the aircraft without any manuals, instructions or drawings and ferried them to Eskisehir, with the undercarriages deployed and flaps locked up because the hydraulics didn't work.
  Moseley's logbook confirms that 28 Battles were flight-tested with another two used for spares. A single Battle Target Tug arrived in May 1940 but plans for three more were called off. According to a memo from Turkish authorities, on 22nd January 1943 there still 25 Battles active, even though, Moseley said that Turkish pilots had a strong penchant for very low and fast flying.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle

2. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Photos/MilltaryPics/interbellum/Fairey%20Battle%20I/Fairey%20Battle%20I%20frontpage.html

3. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/fairey-battle-b-1/

4. http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/2018/02/17/the-lost-battle/

5. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle