F9C Sparrowhawk

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F9C Sparrowhawk in flight over Moffet Field, CA

The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk was a light biplane fighter aircraft that was carried by the United States Navy airships USS Akron and USS Macon.

The Sparrowhawk is an example of a parasite fighter, a small plane designed to be deployed from a larger plane such as an airship or bomber. At 20 feet (6m) long and with only a 25 foot (7m) wingspan, the Sparrowhawk was ideal for service in the fighter compliment of large rigid-framed airships because of its small size. Although the Sparrowhawk was armed, its primary duty was reconnaissance, and it gave the airships it served on a much wider search area. The Akron was reported to have a compliment of three Sparrowhawks, while the Macon was discovered at its underwater resting place with four in its hangar.

To achieve launching and recovery from the airship, a hook/anchor system was developed, dubbed by crews as "the flying trapeze". The Sparrowhawk had a hook on its top wing that attached to the cross-bar of the trapeze: for launching, the trapeze was retracted and the Sparrowhawk would free-fall from outside the airship's hangar, and for recovery, it would hook the trapeze in mid-flight and be mechanically pulled into the airship.

In order to increase range, some Sparrowhawks were modified by having their landing gear removed and replaced by a fuel tank. Since the planes were not intended to land on the ground, the landing gear for this variant was considered redundant.

Only one Sparrowhawk survives today. It now resides in the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida, on loan from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.