The Curtiss-Wright CW-22, known as the Falcon, was a single-engine, low-wing, two-seat monoplane designed for a dual market. Curtiss-Wright promoted the aircraft as both a civilian sport and training aircraft and a military tool for reconnaissance, general-purpose duties, and combat training. The design evolved from the earlier CW-19 lineage, and the prototype first flew in 1940.
Production was handled by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a company formed on June 26, 1929, through the merger of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation and the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. While the exact factory locations are not documented, the company operated major plants in cities such as Buffalo, St. Louis, and Columbus during this era. Production numbers varied by variant: 36 CW-22s were built for the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL), approximately 100 CW-22B units were produced as improved export models, and 305 CW-22N aircraft were built for the U.S. Navy, where they were designated as the SNC-1 Falcon.
Technically, the Falcon was powered by a Wright R-975 "Whirlwind" air-cooled radial piston engine. The aircraft's dimensions included a wingspan of approximately 10.67 meters, a length of about 8.33 meters, and a height of 2.87 meters. Armed variants, such as the CW-22 and CW-22B, featured two .30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns: one fixed forward-firing gun and one flexible gun located in the rear cockpit.
During World War II, the Falcon saw multinational service. The U.S. Navy utilized 305 SNC-1s as advanced scout trainers. Export customers included Turkey, which operated 50 CW-22B aircraft, as well as Bolivia and Peru. The ML-KNIL operated the type in the Netherlands East Indies, though some aircraft were delivered to Australia due to Japanese advances; several of these were subsequently captured and used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. Additionally, a CW-22 demonstrator served with the Burma Volunteer Air Force before being transferred to the Royal Air Force in India and scrapped in 1946. Uruguay also operated nine SNC-1 aircraft from 1942 to 1951.
Today, the Falcon is a rare aircraft with only a few surviving examples, mostly in static display. Notable survivors include a CW-22B at the Istanbul Aviation Museum, an SNC-1 at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida, and another SNC-1 at the Colonel Jaime Meregalli Aeronautical Museum in Uruguay. Other examples are held by the Collings Foundation and Fantasy of Flight in the United States, and a CW-22B (FAB-311) is associated with the Bolivian Air Force.