Hawk 81
From Battleground Europe Wiki
Curtiss H-81
| |
| Curtiss H-81 | |
|---|---|
| Specifications | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Armament | 2 x .50 cal Heavy Machine Guns, 4 x .30 cal Machine Guns |
| Crew | 1 pilot |
| Weight | 3,322 kg |
| Top Speed | 566 km/h |
History
Made famous by the Flying Tigers of the AVG in China, the Hawk 81A-2 was neither a P-40B nor a P-40C, but a hybrid hotrod. USAAF orders had already shifted to the D and E models of the P-40 when the war broke out, so the H-81 was seen by Curtiss managers as a potential cash cow for the company sold as an export fighter. While not the best in speed or climb above low/med altitudes, its rugged construction, good maneuverability, and incredible dive performance made it a very attractive buy for France as the war drew closer. An order was placed and filled, but never delivered due to the German-French armistice of June 1940. Some of these planes were eventually delivered to Great Britain, where the type became known as the Tomahawk.
Unique in the Curtiss P-40 line, the H-81 was faster than a P-40B and lighter than a P-40C. With a decent gun arrangement of two .50 cal machine guns in the nose and an additional four .30 cal guns in the wings, the H-81 could do well in low altitude fights where its performance profile was at its best.
Game Play
French pilots, inured to being outperformed by Luftwaffe fighters in the early tiers of a Battleground Europe campaign, gratefully climb aboard their shining new H-81’s in the knowledge that this fighter has the speed to draw close and the firepower to deliver.
While the H-81 lacks speed and climbrate at medium to high altitudes, it is quite a hot rod at low altitudes where its single stage supercharger works best. Equal in flat out top speed to its main opponent the Bf 109-E, the H-81 cannot however match the Messerschmitt’s best sustained climb rate. For this reason the H-81 pilot should always strive to open hostilities from a position of advantage and to use its overhead of speed for zoom climbs. This inferiority becomes even more pronounced as the Bf 109-F is encountered, though a veteran H-81 pilot can offset the performance disadvantage with tactical prowess and teamwork.
The Tomahawk likes to fight with a good overhead of speed and excels in diving attacks. Make the most of its powerful punch and excellent stability in fast slashing attacks from superior altitude, avoid pulling too heavily on the stick and you can regain most of the altitude you spent for a subsequent attack. Key to making the H-81 work for you is to treat it gently – it does not turn quite as well in the horizontal as the H-75 or D.520 to which you are accustomed, but it can nevertheless be hauled around quickly by using the vertical plane of manoeuvre and is especially well suited for rolling reversals such as the Lag Roll Attack. Be wary of using too much rudder however, especially when you are already low and slow, as the H-81 has a wicked departure characteristic that will send the careless pilot mushing and crashing to his death.
The H-81 is the first aircraft in Battleground Europe where the effectiveness of the Browning .50 caliber machine gun can be seen, a gun that went on to become the standard fighter aircraft armament on almost every American fighter of the war. Blessed with a high RoF (rate of fire) and a flat, consistent trajectory the M2 Browning’s enjoy a fitting reputation for tearing up enemy aircraft, an attribute that Tomahawk pilots truly relish.
The Tomahawk makes an excellent all-round fighter in all respects save extended climbing contests and co-altitude combats occurring over 7 km where its performance drops off considerably. It has the speed, guns and endurance to remain effective for up to an hour and a half, and it has a great trump in case of need in its stellar rate of roll. If set upon from above the H-81 pilot can simply point his nose down and fall like a ton of bricks while rolling to change his vector outside of that which his opponent can muster. The roll rate is important for hauling deftly around in Flat Scissors and for the ability to switch and draw lead on targets to your front.
As always, the wise pilot flies with a wingman with voice communication set up. A pair of Tomahawks or a flight of four working in concert is very bad news for the Luftwaffe, allowing the team to “drag and bag” threats and to “slice and dice” anything found below by sequential attacks.
