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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

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Curtiss Falcon

Page 4

An experimental air-cooled Curtiss H-1640-1 engine was tried on the XO-18. The XO-16 and XO-18 were to have attack counterparts as the XA-5 and XA-6, but these projects were canceled. The XO-18 had been converted from the first O-lB, but tests were stopped on July 24, 1930, because the cooling failed. A second O-18 converted from an O-11 was tested in January 1931, but the engine never did work out. The last aircraft on the O-lE contract was completed with a geared, Prestone-cooled Conqueror as the YlO-26. CURTISS FALCON for Colombia CURTISS FALCON seaplane for Colombia

The last Air Corps Falcons were ten O-39s with V-1570-25 engines ordered May 12, 1931, and the first appeared in July 1931. They had a smooth engine cowl with small Prestone radiator underneath and a smaller rudder, but the wheel pants and cockpit canopy on the first example were usually removed from the aircraft serving at Mitchel Field. Two Browning guns were fitted, and the drop tank under the fuselage could be replaced by two 116-pound bombs.

Export Falcons
Curtiss also built Falcons for export, beginning with an O-1B type mounted on a single float and flown to Colombia in March 1928. D-12 engines also powered 18 O-1E types delivered to Chile by April 1929, and followed later by another batch (20?)assembled in Chile. Nine of those were sold to Brazil in August 1932, with one lost on the delivery flight, and another taken over by Paraguay. CURTISS FALCON II

Wright R-1820 Cyclone radials powered 23 Falcons completed for Colombia, beginning in May 1933, and used in the Leticia war with Peru. These Falcons had interchangeable landing gear of wheels or twin floats, and had a sliding cockpit canopy. Armament included a .30-caliber gun in the nose, two in the lower wings, another in the rear cockpit, and four 110-pound bombs on racks under the wings.

Bolivia also received nine Cyclone-powered Falcons, beginning in September 1934. Similar, but omitting the two wing guns, they entered the Chaco war against Paraguay, replacing the light Curtiss-Wright Osprey armed trainers previously used. Peru acquired about ten Cyclone Falcons about that time.

The last Falcon built was a prototype with a 750-hp R-1820, streamlined landing gear, full-length cockpit enclosure, and known only as F-1-37, or Falcon II. First flown on November 6, 1934, it was soon destroyed during company tests, and none were sold.

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