Design-wise the Curtiss aircraft was a traditionally-arrange biplane fighter. There was an upper and lower wing mainplane joined by extensive cabling and N-style struts. Over the midway span of the upper wing was a structure containing the retrieval hook, or "Skyhook", to work in conjunction with the retractable "trapeze" structure to be found under the belly of the airships themselves. The engine was fitted to a forward compartment in the usual way, driving a two-bladed propeller unit, and the fuselage was well-streamlined. The tail unit showcased a single fin and low-mounted horizontal planes as well as a tailwheel. The undercarriage was spatted at the main legs for aerodynamic efficiency and each was also wheeled. The pilot's position was set aft of the upper wing assembly he operated in an open-air cockpit.
The fighter was powered by a single Wright R-975-E3 air-cooled radial piston engine of 438 horsepower and armed through 2 x 0.30 caliber Browning air-cooled machine guns firing through the spinning propeller blades by way of synchronizing gear. The aircraft weighed 960 kilograms empty and 1,260 kilograms gross. It could manage a top speed of 176 miles per hour.
In practice the Sparrowhawk fighters were lowered from their hangar aboard the airship along their already-connected retractable trapeze assemblies. The pilot would then engage his engine and detach after having assessed conditions. The Sparrowhawk could then be used to reconnoiter the terrain far off from the mothership or engage enemy fighters one-to-one. Once the mission was completed, the pilot would return his aircraft to the mothership and, using the hook above the upper wing assembly, reconnect to the airship's trapeze system. The trapeze assembly was then retracted into the airship and Sparrowhawk returned to its hangar. Several Sparrowhawks could be held aboard a single airship.
The fighter series operated from the two aforementioned American airships from the period of 1932 until 1935 and were used in reconnaissance sorties over both American coastlines. However, the program was doomed by the loss of USS Akron in 1933 along the New Jersey coastline and USS Macon in 1935 off the coast of California. Some four Sparrowhawks went down with the Macon when it crashed on February 12th, 1935. A single Sparrowhawk example survived history and is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C. and represents an example to have served at one time with USS Macon.
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