CR-2, CW-19, and CW-23 | |
---|---|
Curtiss-Wright CW-19 Coupe | |
Role | Civil utility aircraft |
Manufacturer | Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company, Curtiss-Wright |
First flight | 1935 |
Primary users | Bolivian Armed Forces Ecuadorian Air Force |
Number built | 26 |
Developed into | Curtiss-Wright CW-21 Curtiss-Wright CW-22 |
The Curtiss-Wright CW-19 was a civil utility aircraft designed in the United States in the mid-1930s and built in small quantities in a number of variants including the CW-23 military trainer prototype.
Originally conceived as the Curtiss-Robertson CR-2 Coupe shortly before the Curtiss-Wright merger and the dropping of the Curtiss-Robertson brand, it was an all-metal, low-wing cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration with fixed tailwheel undercarriage and side-by-side seating for two. A prominent feature on all versions other than the original CR-2 prototypes was the large "trouser"-style wheel spats. While the design was never perfected for the civil market it was originally intended for, a militarized version was soon developed that replaced the side-by-side cabin with tandem seating and added provision for guns and bombs.
Twenty-six CW-19s of all types were produced. The first was a single CW-19L built in 1935, known as either "Coupe" or "Sparrow" in documents. It would be purchased by the US Government and assigned the registration number NS-69. The second aircraft built was a CW-19W, which featured a much more powerful 145 hp Warner Super Scarab in place of the Lambert engine. It was decided that this aircraft was not well-suited for private civil aviation, and was also discontinued after one prototype.
The military-grade CW-19R saw a significant revision to the cockpit and canopy, removing the old "Coupe" design and replacing it with a tandem-seat sliding glass canopy. Powerplant options varied between the Wright R-760E2 and Wright R-975E3. A variety of armament options were also available, including a synchronized fuselage-mounted machine gun firing through the propeller arc, two gun pods mounted outboard of the landing gear, a flexible mount for the second aviator to use as a defensive turret, bombs, and an auxiliary fuel tank. Twenty two examples would be produced and would be the only version to be sold, with the majority going to South and Central American countries.
The CW-A19R was an unarmed version of the CW-19R intended for the USAAC but without any success. It would also be offered on the civil market as the ATC A-629. A total of two CW-A19R would be completed—one company demonstrator for Curtiss-Wright and one sold to a private owner. A third was not completed and rebuilt as a CW-22.
A CW-B19R was planned and advertised, based upon the CW-A19R but with a four or five-seat civilian cabin, but it was not built.
Curtiss-Wright hoped that in its militarized form the CW-19 could be sold on the export market as a ground-attack machine. But orders were disappointing, with two sold to the Dominican Republic, ten to Bolivia, six to Ecuador, and three to Cuba. Additionally, one example was delivered to China where it was likely purchased. An unarmed trainer version was also developed and offered to the USAAC but no orders were placed.
In a final attempt to find a market for the design, engine power was increased from 450 hp (340 kW ) to 600 hp (450 kW), and a retractable undercarriage was fitted. In this form, designated CW-23, the aircraft was offered once again to the USAAC, this time as an advanced trainer, but once again the service was not interested. The CW-19 did, however, form the basis of the far more successful CW-21 and CW-22 designs.
Two CW-19R survive intact, one in the Airforce Museum in Dominican Republic, and one flying with Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight. The Dominican Republic one flew as “Colon” in the 1937 Pan-American flight to raise funds for the Columbus Lighthouse in the Dominican Republic. The sole surviving flightworthy example was bartered, along with F-86 aircraft, for T-33 parts to support Bolivia's T-33 aircraft by Debra Boostrom Hoedebecke, it was transported back to the U.S. in a Bolivian C-130 aircraft only fitting by a few inches on each side to Patrick AFB transported to San Antonio Tx then to Coleman Tx for a complete rebuild. The elevation where it was on display over the monument of the Bolivian War Hero in La Paz Bolivia kept it in pristine condition at an altitude of over 12,000 feet the corrosion was very minimal. It was completely restored by Long Aircraft in Coleman Texas in 1996-97. It proudly flew to the Oshkosh air show in 1997 where is won rarest warbird! Debra Boostrom Hoedebecke sold the aircraft to antique collector Don Carter in 1999, after Carters death his estate sold it to Kermit Weeks at Fantasy of Flight on March 22, 2013, having been transported from Bolivia in 1995 for restoration. [6] The airplane carries its original Bolivian markings, per the export agreement with the Bolivian government. [7]
Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947 [8]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design with a retractable undercarriage making extensive use of metal in its construction.
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s.
The Bloch MB.130 and its derivatives were a series of French monoplane reconnaissance-bombers developed during the 1930s. They saw some limited action at the beginning of World War II but were obsolete by that time and suffered badly against the Luftwaffe. After the fall of France, a few were pressed into Luftwaffe service.
The MB.200 was a French bomber aircraft of the 1930s designed and built by Societé des Avions Marcel Bloch. A twin-engined high-winged monoplane with a fixed undercarriage, over 200 MB.200s were built for the French Air Force, and the type was also licence built by Czechoslovakia, but it soon became obsolete, and was largely phased out by the start of the Second World War.
The Ryan STs are a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built in the United States by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the militaries of several countries.
The Curtiss-Wright Model 21 was an American fighter-interceptor developed by the St. Louis Airplane Division of Curtiss-Wright Corporation during the 1930s.
The North American Aviation NA-16 is the first trainer aircraft built by North American Aviation, and was the beginning of a line of closely related North American trainer aircraft that would eventually number more than 17,000 examples, notably the T-6 Texan family.
The Farman F.220 and its derivatives were thick-sectioned, high-winged, four engined French monoplanes from Farman Aviation Works. Based on the push-pull configuration proven by the F.211, design started in August 1925 and the first flight of the prototype was on 26 May 1932. The largest bomber to serve in France between the two world wars was the final F.222 variant. One variation was intended to be an airliner.
The Breda Ba.65 was an Italian all-metal single-engine, low-wing monoplane that was used by Aviazione Legionaria during the Spanish Civil War and Regia Aeronautica in the first half of World War II. It was the only Italian ground-attack aircraft that saw active service in this role. It saw service almost exclusively in the North African and Middle-Eastern theatre. In addition to more than 150 aircraft operated by the Italian forces, a total of 55 were exported and used by the air forces of Iraq, Chile and Portugal.
The ANF Les Mureaux 110 and its derivatives were a family of all-metal military reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by the French aircraft manufacturer ANF Les Mureaux.
The Potez XV was a French single-engine, two-seat observation biplane designed as a private venture by Louis Coroller and built by Potez and under licence by Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów and Plage i Laśkiewicz in Poland.
The CAMS 37 was a French 1920s biplane flying boat designed for military reconnaissance, but which found use in a wide variety of roles.
The Loire 46 was a French single-seater fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A high-winged monoplane designed and built by Loire Aviation, it was purchased by the French Air Force. It was also supplied to the Spanish Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, but was almost out of service by the outbreak of World War II.
The Curtiss-Wright CW-22 is a 1940s American general-purpose advanced training monoplane aircraft built by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. It was operated by the United States Navy as a scout trainer with the designation SNC-1 Falcon.
The Dewoitine D.1 was a French single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s, built by the French industrial company Dewoitine.
The Caudron C.440 Goéland ("seagull") was a six-seat twin-engine utility aircraft developed in France in the mid-1930s.
The Curtiss Fledgling, known internally to Curtiss as the Model 48 and Model 51 is a trainer aircraft developed for the United States Navy in the late 1920s and known in that service as the N2C.
The Laville DI-4 was a prototype two-seat fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The chief designer Henri Laville was one of several French aviation specialists invited to work in the Soviet Union and not surprisingly the DI-4 layout was typical of the French trend at the time with the first high-mounted gull wing on a Soviet aircraft and all-metal construction.
The Wibault 7 was a 1920s French monoplane fighter designed and built by Société des Avions Michel Wibault. Variants were operated by the French and Polish military and built under licence for Chile as the Vickers Wibault.
The Loire-Nieuport 161 was a single-seat, single-engine, all-metal, low-wing monoplane fighter designed and built in France in 1935 to compete for a government contract. Accidents delayed its development and only three prototypes were completed.
Media related to Curtiss-Wright CW-19 at Wikimedia Commons