Developed at the Curtiss-Wright St. Louis factory, the CW-22 was developed from the CW-19 via the single-seat CW-21 light fighter-interceptor. The prototype first flew in 1940. With less power and performance than the CW-21, the two-seat, low-wing, all-metal CW-A22 had retractabletailwheel landing gear, with the main gear retracting rearward into underwing fairings. The CW-22 was seen as either a civilian sport or training monoplane or suitable as a combat trainer, reconnaissance and general-purpose aircraft for military use. The prototype CW-A22 Falcon was used as a company demonstrator and is one of four of the type still in existence. An SNC-1 is on display at the U.S. Navy's National Museum of Naval Aviation, at NAS Pensacola, Florida.
Operational history
The main customer for the aircraft equipped with the Wright R-975 Whirlwindair-cooledradial engine was the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force and 36 were exported. The aircraft had to be delivered to the Dutch in Australia due to the advancing Japanese forces. A developed version, the CW-22B, was sold to Turkey, the Netherlands East Indies and in small numbers in South America. Some of the Dutch aircraft were captured and operated by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. The CW-22 and CW-22B were armed with two machine guns, one fixed. An unarmed advanced training version was demonstrated to the United States Navy. To help to meet the expanding need for training, the Navy ordered 150 aircraft in November 1940. Further orders brought the total to 305 aircraft which were designated SNC-1 Falcon. Curtiss converted a CW-19 into a CW-22 demonstrator. They hoped to use this to sell the CW-22 to China. The aircraft was obtained by the Burma Volunteer Air Force, and later used by the Royal Air Force in India. It was scrapped in 1946.
The Royal Air Force in India operated the former Burma Volunteer Air Force aircraft
United States Navy
Uruguayan Air Force
Survivors
One surviving CW-22 is at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, FL. It is on display in their "Golden Hill" storage facility awaiting its restoration to flying status.
