French planners of the 1930s believed war would not begin until 1941, by which time their air force would be up to full strength with French-built airplanes. But native industry was slow to churn out viable numbers of fighter planes, so to cover the gap the ArmΘe de l'Air ordered two thousand American fighters of various types as well as propellers, engines, and machine tools to support them. Only 316 of these fighters actually made it to France and were accepted - all Hawk 75As, an export version of the Curtiss P-36. At the outbreak of war, four fighter groups were equipped with the original Hawk 75A-1 and were credited with 27 kills in skirmishes with the Germans. By May 1940 the Hawks had been upgraded to the A-2 and A-3 models - slower than a Bf 109, but sturdy and maneuverable. Of eleven French aces who scored more than ten kills, nine flew the Hawk 75.
