Curtiss Model H
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| Model H | |
|---|---|
 Curtiss H-12 Large America in RNAS service |
|
| Type | Experimental flying boat |
| Manufacturer | Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company |
| Maiden flight | June 1914 |
| Introduction | 1917 |
| Retired | 1918 |
| Primary users | United States Navy RNAS |
| Number built | 478 |
| Variants | Felixstowe F.2 |
The Curtiss Model H (retrospectively designated Model 6 by Curtiss in the 1930s) was a family of early long-range flying boats developed in the United States for use in a cancelled attempt to cross the North Atlantic Ocean by air in 1914. These aircraft later saw extensive military service during World War I. As the war progressed, the Model H was developed into progressively larger variants, and it served as the basis for parallel developments in the United Kingdom under Cyril Porte which led to the "Felixstowe" series of flying boats beginning with the Felixstowe F.2.
[edit] Design and development
When London's Daily Mail newspaper put up a ₤10,000 prize for the first aerial crossing of the Atlantic in 1913, American businessman Rodman Wanamaker became determined that the prize should go to an American aircraft and commissioned the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to design and build two aircraft capable of making the flight.
The resulting Model H was a conventional biplane design with two-bay, unstaggered wings of unequal span with two tractor engines mounted side-by-side above the fuselage in the interplane gap. Wingtip pontoons were attached directly below the lower wings near their tips. The Model H resembled Curtiss' earlier flying boat designs but was considerably larger in order to carry enough fuel to cover 1,100 miles (1,770 km). The three crewmembers were accommodated in a fully-enclosed cabin.
Christened America, trials of the Model H began in June 1914 and revealed a serious shortcoming in the design; the tendency for the nose of the aircraft to try to submerge as engine power increased while taxiing on water. This phenomenon had not been encountered before, since Curtiss' earlier designs had not used such powerful engines. In order to counteract this effect, Curtiss fitted fins to the sides of the bow to add hydrodynamic lift, but soon replaced these with sponsons to add more buoyancy. These sponsons would remain a prominent feature of flying boat hull design in the decades to follow. With the problem resolved, preparations for the crossing resumed, and 5 August 1914 was selected as the date.
These plans were interrupted by the outbreak of war, which also saw Porte, who had been selected to pilot the America, recalled to service with the British Royal Navy. Impressed by the capabilities he had witnessed, Porte urged the Admiralty to commandeer (and later, purchase) the America and her sister from Curtiss. This was followed by a decision to order a further 12 similar aircraft, one Model H-2 and the remaining as Model H-4s, four examples of the latter actually assembled in the UK by Saunders. All of these were essentially identical to the design of the America, and indeed, were all referred to as Americas in Royal Navy service. The inital batch was followed by an order for 50 more.
Curtiss next developed an enlarged version of the same design, designated the Model H-8 with accommodation for four crewmembers. A prototype was constructed and offered to the United States Navy, but was ultimately also purchased by the British Admiralty. This aircraft would serve as the pattern for the Model H-12 that was used extensively by both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. Upon their adoption into service by the former, they became known as Large Americas, with the H-4s receiving the retronym Small America.
As built, the Model H-12s had 160 hp (118 kW) Curtiss V-X-X engines but with these engines they were underpowered, so in RNAS service they were re-engined with the 275 hp (205 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle I and then the 375 hp (280 kW) Eagle VIII by the British [1]. Porte re-designed the H-12 with an improved hull; this design, the Felixstowe F.2, was produced and entered service. Some of the H-12s were later rebuilt with a hull similar to the Felixstowe F.2, being known as the Converted Large America. Later aircraft for the U.S. Navy received the Liberty engine (and were designated Curtiss H-12L).[2]
Curiously, the Curtiss company designation Model H-14 was applied to a completely unrelated design (see Curtiss HS), but the Model H-16, introduced in 1917,[2] represented the final step in the evolution of the Model H design. With longer-span wings, and a reinforced hull similar to the Felixstowe flying boats, the H-16s were powered by Liberty engines in U.S. Navy service and by Eagle IVs for the Royal Navy. These aircraft remained in service through the end of World War I and following the war, remained in U.S. Navy service for some years, most receiving engine upgrades to more powerful Liberty variants.
[edit] Operational history
With the RNAS, H-12s and H-16s operated from flying boat stations on the coast in long-range anti-submarine and anti-Zeppelin patrols over the North Sea. A total of 71 Large Americas were operated by the RNAS, commencing patrols in April 1917, with 18 remaining in service in October 1918[1].
U.S. Navy H-12s were kept at home and did not see foreign service but ran anti-submarine patrols from their own naval stations. Twenty aircraft were delivered to the U.S. Navy. [2] Some of the H-16s, however, arrived at bases in the UK to see limited service just before the cessation of hostilities.
[edit] Variants
[[
- Model H-1 or Model 6 - original version intended for trans-Atlantic crossing (2 built)
- Model H-2 (1 built)
- Model H-4 - similar to H-1 for RNAS (62 built)
- Model H-8 - enlarged version of H-4 (1 built)
- Model H-12 or Model 6A - production version of H-8 with Curtiss V-X-X engines (104 built)
- Model H-12A or Model 6B - RNAS version re-engined with Rolls-Royce Eagle I
- Model H-12B or Model 6D - RNAS version re-engined with Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII
- Model H-12L - USN version re-engined with Liberty engine
- Model H-16 or Model 6C - enlarged version of H-12 (334 built by Curtiss and Naval Aircraft Factory)
- Model H-16-1 - Model 16 fitted with pusher engines (1 built)
- Model H-16-2 - Model 16 fitted with pusher engines and revised wing cellule (1 built)
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Model H-12A)
Data from British Naval Aircraft since 1912 [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: Four
- Length: 46.5 ft in (14.18 m)
- Wingspan: 92.71 ft in (28.26 m)
- Height: 16.5 ft in (5.03 m)
- Wing area: 1,216 ft² (113.0 m²)
- Empty weight: 7,293 lb (3,609 kg)
- Gross weight: 10,650 lb (5,550 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Eagle I, 275 hp (205 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 85 mph (137 km/h)
- Endurance: 6 hours
- Service ceiling: 10,800 ft (3,292 m)
- Rate of climb: 336 ft/min (1.7 m/s)
Armament
- 4 × .303 Lewis guns on flexible mounts
- 4 × 100 lb (45 kg) or 2 × 230 lb (105 kg) bombs below the wings
[edit] References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Roseberry, C.R. Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1972. ISBN 0-81560-264-2.
- Shulman, Seth. Unlocking the Sky: Glen Hammond Curtiss and the Race to Invent the Airplane. New York: Harper Collins, 2002. ISBN 0-06-019633-5.
- Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911, Second edition. London: Putnam, 1976. ISBN 0-370-10054-9.
- Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989, p. 281. ISBN 0-71060-710-5.
- Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London: Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
- World Aircraft Information Files. London: Bright Star Publishing, 2002. File 891, Sheet 44-45.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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