70093 Curtiss H-75 A1/A2.

Curtiss H-75 A1 model kit in 1/72 scale 70093

New Arma Hobby 2025 moulds!

Kit contains:

• Plastic sprues (2 grey and 1 clear)
• Decals for three marking options (2 French and 1 Finnish)
• Self-adhesive masks for painting the canopy and wheels
• Instructions
• File with details for 3D self-printing

Free 3D file for self-printing

QR code and link in the kit instructions to download free 3D file with accessories for self-printing.

3D file includes:

• Bulkhead with seat and seatbelts
• Instrument panel with rudder pedals
• Exhaust tubes with covers
• Gun barrels
• Reflector gunsight
• Ring and bead gunsight

Marking Options

Curtiss H-75A-2 No. 130 (U030), 2e Escadrille GC I/5, Georges Tesseraud, Rabat, 1942

One of the most distinctive schemes worn by French Curtisses in Vichy service. On 9 November 1942, during Operation Torch, Georges Tesseraud’s aircraft took part in combat against F4F-4 Wildcats of VF-9. It was most probably attacked from above by Ens. Louis A. Menard. His gunfire struck the cockpit area and rear fuselage, seriously wounding the French pilot. Tesseraud nevertheless managed to disengage in the damaged aircraft and make a forced landing near Bouhat.

Curtiss H-75A-1 CU-577, LeLv 32, Ltn. P. Virtalahti, Nurmoila, October 1943

One of the former French Curtisses captured by the Germans after the fall of France and subsequently transferred to Finland. CU-577 served with LeLv 32 and was flown, among others, by Ltn. P. Virtalahti. Finnish Hawks saw extensive operational service on the Eastern Front.

Curtiss H-75A-2 No. 140 (U040), “1”, 3e Escadrille, 2e Groupe CIC Chartres, Spring 1940

An aircraft operated by the CIC fighter training centre at Chartres. No. 140 was also flown by Czechoslovak pilots training in France before entering combat service, including Alois Vašátko, later one of the leading Czechoslovak aces of the French Campaign. In May 1940 the aircraft was transferred to the operational unit GC II/5.

Curtiss H-75A – From France to North Africa and Finland

The Curtiss H-75A entered French service as part of an effort to strengthen the Armée de l’Air in the face of the growing threat of war. Agile, rugged and well liked by its pilots, it proved a formidable opponent for the Luftwaffe during the 1940 campaign. Among the aircraft in service at the time was H-75A-1 No. 140, operated by the fighter training centre at Chartres.

The defeat of France did not end the Curtiss’s career. Some remained with units under Vichy control, particularly in North Africa. There, in November 1942, Operation Torch produced an extraordinary situation: French Hawks built in the United States took off to fight American aircraft.

On the morning of 9 November, eight F4F-4 Wildcats of VF-9 attacked French fighters escorting bombers. In the ensuing dogfight, Ens. Louis A. Menard, flying F4F-4 9-F-15, BuNo 11762, made an overhead attack on one of the H-75s. His gunfire struck the French fighter around the cockpit and rear fuselage. Menard’s opponent was most probably H-75A-1 No. 130 of 2e Escadrille, GC I/5, flown by Georges Tesseraud – the aircraft depicted on the box art of this kit. Although badly wounded, Tesseraud managed to disengage in his damaged aircraft and make a forced landing near Bouhat.

A different fate awaited the Curtisses captured by the Germans after the fall of France. Some were subsequently transferred to Finland, where they returned to front-line service. One of these was CU-577, operated by LeLv 32 in 1943 and flown, among others, by Ltn. P. Virtalahti. Thus, H-75s originally ordered to defend France before the war continued their service under very different political circumstances and on widely separated fronts.

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