From: jfb@ihlpl.att.com (Joseph F Baugher)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: In-flight refueling in WWII
Summary: Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk parasite fighter
Date: 29 Sep 92 13:00:19 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories -  Naperville, Illinois


From Joseph F Baugher <jfb@ihlpl.att.com>

In article <Buq57A.JK8@lawday.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, ntaib@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Iskandar Taib) writes:
> 
> There was also the early (1920s?) Navy experiments with biplane
> fighters carried by trapeze mounts on dirigibles...
> 
> I believe the huge airships Macon and Akron carried fighters, 
> and several were lost along with the airships..

The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk had originally been designed as a small 
single-seat shipboard fighter developed in response to a Navy spec 
laid down on May 10, 1930.  It was in competition with the General 
Aviation (formerly Fokker) XFA-1 and the Berliner-Joyce XFJ-1.  

The XF9C-1 (Navy serial number A8731) was ordered from Curtiss on June 
30, 1930.  It made its first flight in March of 1931.  It had a metal 
monocoque fuselage and tail and fabric-covered metal-frame wings.  The 
upper wing wings joined the fuselage at the top, giving the pilot an 
excellent upward view.  Power was provided by a 420 hp Wright R-975C 
(J-6-9) Whirlwind radial engine.  The high-pressure tires had no wheel 
pants or fairings.  

XF9C-2 was the unofficial designation given to a second prototype 
built by Curtiss as a private venture.  The engine was the 438 hp 
R-975E-3 engine, and it had a single-leg wire braced undercarriage and 
a four-inch-higher location for the upper wing that resulted in a more 
noticeable gull-wing effect at the fuselage.  In addition, a set of 
wheel spats were fitted.  

The Navy's small fighter concept did not ultimately prove successful, 
and the Sparrowhawk would have been abandoned along with its rivals 
had it not been for the appearance of an entirely new mission.  

Contracts for two airships, the USS *Akron* and *Macon* had been 
issued on October 6, 1928, and it was intended from the start that 
these airships should be capable of carrying aircraft and launching 
and retrieving them while in flight.  While the airships were under 
construction, however, plans for a suitable fighter to be carried by 
them lagged.  The F9C, the best of the three competitors, was deemed 
to be the only high-performance type which was small enough to be 
carried aboard these airships.  

The first airship docking tests were carried out with the prototype 
XF9C-1.  The XF9C-1 was fitted with airship hook-on gear at the Naval 
Aircraft Factory and was transferred to Lakehurst, New Jersey for 
trials.  It first hooked-on to the airship *Los Angeles* on October 
17, 1931.  Based on these tests, the Navy ordered six production 
versions of the XF9C-2 (designated F9C-2) in October 1931.  Navy 
serial numbers were 9056/9061.  The Navy then purchased the second 
prototype, and the XF9C-2 designation became official.  The serial 
number 9264 was assigned to the XF9C-2.  9264 was later modified to 
full production standards, and it was redesignated just plain F9C-2.  

As first flown on April 14, 1932, the first production F9C-2 (serial 
number 9056) was fitted with the single-leg XF9C-2 undercarriage.  
However, this undercarriage was soon changed to the earlier XF9C-1 
tripod type, and the other F9C-2s were completed with the same type.  
After a short period in service, the vertical fin area of the F9C-2s 
was increased by adding a new rudder post eight inches aft of the 
original.  The original high-pressure tires of the XF9C-1 were 
replaced by low-pressure types, and the wheels were enclosed in 
open-sided fairings.  

The production F9C-2 was powered by the 438 hp Wright R-975E-3 
Whirlwind radial engine, enclosed in an antidrag ring.  Maximum speed 
was 176.5 mph, and initial climb was 1690 feet per minute.  Service 
ceiling was 19,200 feet.  Range was 297 miles.  Weights were 2117 
pounds empty, 2779 lbs gross.  Armament was a pair of 0.30-cal machine 
guns mounted in the upper fuselage deck, firing through the cylinder 
banks and synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.  

The first F9C-2 made its first hook-on to the *Akron* on June 29, 
1932.  All six F9C-2s were delivered to the Navy in September 1932.  
The XF9C-1 and all six F9C-2s were originally assigned to the *Akron*, 
which was based at Lakehurst, New Jersey.  

The airship could each carry up to four F9C-2s in an internal hangar, 
with one more Sparrowhawk suspended from an external station.  The 
airplanes were fitted with a hook-on gear above the fuselage which 
enambled them to fly up under the airship and engage a trapeze at the 
bottom.  Once firm contact was made, an arm on the trapeze would swing 
down to steady the rear fuselage.  The aircraft would then be pulled 
up into the belly of the airship and stored in the hangar.  Although 
the F9C-2s were popularly regarded as defensive fighters, their 
principal mission was to act as scouts to extend the effective 
operating area of the motherships, which were themselves used as 
scouts.  

Consolidated N2Y-1 two-seat trainers were used as "skyhook" trainers 
for pilots assigned to the *Akron* and the *Macon*.  They were fitted 
with hook-on gear above the fuselage.  These were later replaced by 
the Waco XJW-1 two-seat trainer, which was a modification of the Waco 
UBF commercial sport plane.  These planes were also used to fly mail 
and passengers back and forth between the airships and the ground.  

The *Akron* was lost at sea off New Jersey on April 4, 1933, but no 
airplanes were aboard the airship at that time.  The Sparrowhawks were 
then transferred to the *Macon*, based at Moffett Field, California.  
They were later joined by the XF9C-2, which had been redesignated 
F9C-2.  

In addition, the prototype XF9C-1 was assigned to the *Macon* as a 
spare.  After brief service aboard the *Macon*, the XF9C-1 was 
transferred to the Naval Aircraft Factory and was scrapped there in 
January 1935.  

On a few occasions when the Sparrowhawks were operating exclusively 
from the *Macon* without using land bases, they were flown without 
undercarriages.  This reduced both weight and drag and allowed the 
installation of a streamlined auxiliary fuel tank under the fuselage 
which increased their range still further.  

The *Macon* went down at sea off Point Sur, California on February 12, 
1935.  She took four F9C-2s with her when she was destroyed.  The loss 
of the second mother airship brought an abrupt end to the parasite 
fighter program.  

The three F9C-2s that were not aboard the *Macon* when she went down 
were stripped of their hook-on gear and were redesignated XF9C-2.  Two 
of them were scrapped at San Diego in 1936.  The sole surviving XF9C-2 
(Navy serial number 9264) was reassigned to the Naval Air Station at 
Anacostia, Maryland.  In 1939, 9264 was given to the Smithsonian 
Institution, fitted with a replacement skyhook built for the purpose 
at the Naval Aircraft Factory, and put on display with an inaccurate 
color scheme and the wrong Navy serial number of 9056 taken from an 
F9C-2.  These errors were corrected when the twice-designated XF9C-2 
was refurbished by the Museum in 1975.  

Sources 

  Curtiss Aircraft, 1907-1947, Peter M. Bowers, Naval Institute Press, 
  1987.  

  United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Gordon Swanborough and Peter 
  M. Bowers, Naval Institute Press, 1990.  

  US Navy Aircraft, 1921-1941, William T. Larkins, Orion Books, 1988.  

  General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors, John Wegg, Naval 
  Institute Press, 1990.  

Joe Baugher       AT&T Bell Laboratories    2000 North Naperville Road 
		  Naperville, Illinois 60566-7033.   (708) 713-4548
Newsgroups: sci.military