Considerable interest in the Hawk had been aroused in Britain as a result of a test flight carried out with an Armee de l'Air Hawk by an RAF pilot in France. The Hawk 75A possessed remarkably good controls and the ailerons were fairly light at high speeds in contrast with the early Spitfire which had ailerons which were almost immobile at speeds over 300 mph. At the end of 1939, the Royal Aircraft Establishment arranged for a loan of a Curtiss Hawk from France (the 88th production Hawk 75A-2) for comparative trials against a Spitfire I (K9944). In many respects, the Hawk turned out to be superior to the Spitfire. The RAE found that the Hawk did indeed have exceptional handling characteristics and beautifully harmonized controls. In a diving attack at 400 mph, the Hawk was far superior to the Spitfire I owing to its lighter ailerons. In a dogfight at 250 mph, the Hawk was again superior, because its elevator control was not over-sensitive and all-round view was better. However, the Spitfire could break off combat at will because of its much higher speed. When the Spitfire dived on the Hawk, the Curtiss could avoid its opponent by banking and turning rapidly. The Spitfire could not follow the Hawk around and would overshoot the target. The Hawk 75A displayed appreciably superior take-off and climb characteristics. The swing on takeoff was smaller and more easily corrected than on the Spitfire, and during the climb the Hawk's controls were more effective. However, the Hawk tended to be rather slow in picking up speed in a dive.
Based on these trials, the British government briefly toyed with the idea of ordering the Hawk for the RAF. For whatever reason, these plans were never carried out. However, the fall of France in June 1940 caused quite a few Hawks to fall into British hands.
...
The RAF decided that its Mohawks were not suitable for the European theater, and sent 72 of them to the South African Air Force (where they were flown by the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Squadrons which operated in East Africa), while others were flown by the 5 and 155th RAF squadrons based in India. At one time, eight Mohawks provided the sole fighter defense of North-East India, and the fighter remained operational on the Burma front until finally replaced by more modern types in December 1943
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Per the Curtiss manual, had a loadout of (1) 500GP pounder on centerline, and (1) 100GP pounder and (3) 25 pounder chemical bombs under each wing and two fuselage guns, or delete 166 pounds of wing bombs for wing guns and full ammo. Listed with 163 gallons of fuel, would have a cruising range of 915 miles, with Oxygen and Radio
Pg21 from _Detail Specifications for Curtiss Hawk 75-A Airplane_ Curtiss Wright corporation 1939 document# 6895-A
Armor for the Pilot was an available, that manual doesn't list how many pounds it was. At this time, no self sealing tanks.
Could the Spitfire carry that for a bombload, flying that 900 mile distance?
No they did not.
So they sent these to the ends of the Earth.
RAF would also find the A6M not suitable, even with the cannons and still longer range over the H-75.
And they would do this, with having the FAA flying Sea Gladiators.
