CW-21B of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Type: Interceptor
Origin: Curtis-Wright
Crew: One
Model: CW-21A & B
First Flight: January 1939
Combat Debut: February 3, 1942
Production: N/A
ENGINE:
Model: Wright-Cyclone R-1820-G5
Type: 9 Cylinder air-cooled engine
Number: One       Horsepower: 1,000 hp
DIMENSIONS:
Wing span: 35 ft. 0 in.
Length: 27 ft. 2 in.
Height: 8 ft. 11 in.
Wing Surface Area: 174.3 sq. ft.

   WEIGHTS:
   Empty: 3,382 lb.
   Loaded: 4,500 lb.
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum Speed: 315 mph at 17,000 ft.
Cruising Speed: 282 mph
Initial Climb Rate: 4,500 ft./min.
Service Ceiling: 34,300 ft.
Time to 13,120 ft.: 4 minutes
Range: 630 miles.
ARMAMENT:
Two .30 machine guns
Two .50 M2 machine guns
3-View Illustration

First Prototype (41-1210).
    The CW-21 Demon was an attempt to develop a lightweight Interceptor from the CW-19R general purpose aircraft. The project started in 1938 with the first prototype flying in January of 1939 and carrying the civil registration NX19431. The Demon was of all metal construction with the main undercarriage retracting into faired housings mounted under the wing.
    The Demon was intended primarily for export and the first order came from the Chinese government. This order was for three complete aircraft as well as tools, drawings and kits for a further 32 aircraft. This order was filled by the end of 1939 and was followed by an order for 24 aircraft of the revised CW-21B configuration by the Netherlands East Indies government. These aircraft had several modifications including retractable tail wheel, revised main undercarriage layout with the fairings being deleted and the gear retracting inwards. Fuel tankage was increased from 80 to 83 Imperial gallons and the armament was doubled.
    Deliveries began in June 1940 but only seventeen were on strength with the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Corps when on December 8th, 1941 the Netherlands declared war on Japan. These aircraft were based at Andir, Java and saw their first combat on February 3, 1942 when the Japanese assaulted Java. The CW-21B's had little armor protection, lacked self sealing fuel tanks and had a light structure and proved to be no match for the Mitsubishi A6M Zeros 20mm cannon. Interestingly enough these shortcomings are similar to those that would plague the Zero later in it's service career. Regardless, of the seventeen aircraft that entered combat on February 3rd, only five remained two days later.
    Three CW-21B's were supplied to the American Volunteer Group, the aircraft being assembled by the Chinese Aircraft Manufacturing Company at Loi-Wing. The three aircraft were accepted on charge by the A.V.G. at Rangoon. On December 23, 1941 the three aircraft took off for Kunming. Unfortunately the aircraft impacted into a mountain due to low visibility, resulting in the deaths of two of the pilots.

  
Sources:
Green, William - War Planes Of The Second World War - Fighters - Vol. 4, 1964, Doubleday And Company, Inc., New York