Curtiss Model H
Encyclopedia
The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boat
s, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States
in response to the ₤10,000 prize challenge
issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, the Daily Mail
, for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic. As the first aircraft having trans-Atlantic range and cargo-carrying capacity, it became the grandfather development leading to early international commercial air travel, and by extension, to the modern world of commercial aviation. The last widely produced class, the Model H-12, was retrospectively designated Model 6 by Curtiss' company in the 1930s, and various classes have variants with suffixed letters indicating differences.
) was quickly drafted into wartime use as a patrol and rescue aircraft by the RNAS, the air arm of the British Royal Navy. The original two "contest" aircraft were in fact temporarily seized by the Royal Navy, which later paid for them and placed an initial follow-on order for an additional 12 — all 14 of which were militarized (e.g. by adding gun mounts) and designated the "H-4" (the two originals were thereafter the "H-2" Models to air historians). These changes were produced under contract from Curtiss' factory in the last order of 50 "H-4s", giving a class total of 64, before the evolution of a succession of larger, more adaptable, and more robust H-class models. This article covers the whole line of nearly 500 Curtiss Model H seaplane
flying boat
aircraft known to have been produced, since successive models - by whatever sub-model designation - were physically similar, handled similarly, essentially just being increased in size and fitted with larger and improved engines — the advances in internal combustion engine
technology in the 1910s being as rapid and explosive as any technological advance has ever been.
When London's Daily Mail
newspaper in 1913 put up a ₤10,000 prize
for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic
, 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 Mails offer of a large monetary prize for "an aircraft with transoceanic range" (in an era with virtually no airports) galvanized air enthusiasts world wide, and, in America, prompted a collaboration between the American and British air pioneers: Glenn Curtiss
and John Cyril Porte
, spurred financially by the nationalistically motivated financing of air enthusiast Rodman Wanamaker
. The class, while commissioned by Wanamaker, was actually a scaled-up version of Curtiss' work for the United States Navy and his Curtiss Model E
. With Royal Navy
Lieutenant Commander
John Cyril Porte
as Chief Test Pilot, development and testing of the two prototypes proceeded rapidly, despite the inevitable surprises and teething troubles inherent in new engines, hull and fuselage. Both prototypes, once fitted with sponson
s, were then called Model H-2s and were incrementally updated alternating in succession, and were successfully fully tested by the late summer of 1914, when they were shipped to England. At this time they were scheduled for a transatlantic flight in August 1914, attempting to cross the North Atlantic Ocean
by air — a trial canceled because of the outbreak of World War I
.
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 mi (1,770 km). The three crew members were accommodated in a fully enclosed cabin.
Christened America, trials of the first 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 sponson
s 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 being 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. This initial batch was followed by an order for another 50.
These aircraft were soon of great interest to the British Admiralty
as anti-submarine patrol craft and for air-sea rescue roles. The initial Royal Navy purchase of just two aircraft eventually spawned a fleet of aircraft which saw extensive military service during World War I in these roles, being extensively developed in the process (together with many spinoff or offspring variants) under the compressed research and development cycles available in wartime. Consequently, 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 with their better hydrodynamic hull forms, beginning with the Felixstowe F.2
— a hull form which thereafter became the standard in seaplanes of all kinds, just as sponsons did for flying boats.
Curtiss next developed an enlarged version of the same design, designated the Model H-8, with accommodation for four crew members. 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, used extensively by both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. Upon their adoption into service by the RNAS, 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 Royal Naval Air Service
(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. Porte redesigned 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 F.2, these rebuilds being known as the Converted Large America. Later aircraft for the U.S. Navy received the Liberty engine (designated Curtiss H-12L).
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, 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 remained in U.S. Navy service for some years after the war, most receiving engine upgrades to more powerful Liberty variants.
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 H-12s and 75 H-16s were received by the RNAS, commencing patrols in April 1917, with 18 H-12s and 30 H-16s remaining in service in October 1918.
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. Some of the H-16s, however, arrived at bases in the UK in time to see limited service just before the cessation of hostilities.
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
s, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in response to the ₤10,000 prize challenge
Daily Mail aviation prizes
Between 1907 and 1925 the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in...
issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic. As the first aircraft having trans-Atlantic range and cargo-carrying capacity, it became the grandfather development leading to early international commercial air travel, and by extension, to the modern world of commercial aviation. The last widely produced class, the Model H-12, was retrospectively designated Model 6 by Curtiss' company in the 1930s, and various classes have variants with suffixed letters indicating differences.
Design and development
Having transatlantic range and cargo carrying capacity by design, the first H-2 class (soon dubbed "The Americans" by the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
) was quickly drafted into wartime use as a patrol and rescue aircraft by the RNAS, the air arm of the British Royal Navy. The original two "contest" aircraft were in fact temporarily seized by the Royal Navy, which later paid for them and placed an initial follow-on order for an additional 12 — all 14 of which were militarized (e.g. by adding gun mounts) and designated the "H-4" (the two originals were thereafter the "H-2" Models to air historians). These changes were produced under contract from Curtiss' factory in the last order of 50 "H-4s", giving a class total of 64, before the evolution of a succession of larger, more adaptable, and more robust H-class models. This article covers the whole line of nearly 500 Curtiss Model H seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
aircraft known to have been produced, since successive models - by whatever sub-model designation - were physically similar, handled similarly, essentially just being increased in size and fitted with larger and improved engines — the advances in internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
technology in the 1910s being as rapid and explosive as any technological advance has ever been.
When London's Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper in 1913 put up a ₤10,000 prize
Daily Mail aviation prizes
Between 1907 and 1925 the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in...
for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic
Alcock and Brown
British aviators Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland...
, American businessman Rodman Wanamaker
Rodman Wanamaker
Lewis Rodman Wanamaker was a Republican and was a Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania in 1916. Wanamaker created aviation history by financing a two plane experimental seaplane class in response to a prize contest announcement by London's The Daily Mail newspaper in 1913 – the flying boat...
became determined that the prize should go to an American aircraft and commissioned the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was an American aircraft manufacturer that went public in 1916 with Glenn Hammond Curtiss as president. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the company was the largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States...
to design and build two aircraft capable of making the flight. The Mails offer of a large monetary prize for "an aircraft with transoceanic range" (in an era with virtually no airports) galvanized air enthusiasts world wide, and, in America, prompted a collaboration between the American and British air pioneers: Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
and John Cyril Porte
John Cyril Porte
Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte CMG, DSM, Royal Navy was a flying boat pioneer associated with the World War I Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.-Biography:...
, spurred financially by the nationalistically motivated financing of air enthusiast Rodman Wanamaker
Rodman Wanamaker
Lewis Rodman Wanamaker was a Republican and was a Presidential Elector for Pennsylvania in 1916. Wanamaker created aviation history by financing a two plane experimental seaplane class in response to a prize contest announcement by London's The Daily Mail newspaper in 1913 – the flying boat...
. The class, while commissioned by Wanamaker, was actually a scaled-up version of Curtiss' work for the United States Navy and his Curtiss Model E
Curtiss Model E
-References:* * *...
. With Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
John Cyril Porte
John Cyril Porte
Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte CMG, DSM, Royal Navy was a flying boat pioneer associated with the World War I Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.-Biography:...
as Chief Test Pilot, development and testing of the two prototypes proceeded rapidly, despite the inevitable surprises and teething troubles inherent in new engines, hull and fuselage. Both prototypes, once fitted with sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s, were then called Model H-2s and were incrementally updated alternating in succession, and were successfully fully tested by the late summer of 1914, when they were shipped to England. At this time they were scheduled for a transatlantic flight in August 1914, attempting to cross the North Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
by air — a trial canceled because of the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The resulting Model H was a conventional biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
design with two-bay, unstaggered wings of unequal span with two tractor engines
Inline engine (aviation)
In aviation, an inline engine means any reciprocating engine with banks rather than rows of cylinders, including straight engines, flat engines, V engines and H engines, but excluding radial engines and rotary engines....
mounted side-by-side above the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
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 mi (1,770 km). The three crew members were accommodated in a fully enclosed cabin.
Christened America, trials of the first 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
Taxiing
Taxiing refers to the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug...
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 sponson
Sponson
Sponsons are projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, or the mounting of equipment such as armaments or lifeboats, etc...
s 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
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. Impressed by the capabilities he had witnessed, Porte urged the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
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 being assembled in the UK by Saunders
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight.-History:The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. 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. This initial batch was followed by an order for another 50.
These aircraft were soon of great interest to the British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
as anti-submarine patrol craft and for air-sea rescue roles. The initial Royal Navy purchase of just two aircraft eventually spawned a fleet of aircraft which saw extensive military service during World War I in these roles, being extensively developed in the process (together with many spinoff or offspring variants) under the compressed research and development cycles available in wartime. Consequently, 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under Cyril Porte which led to the "Felixstowe" series of flying boats with their better hydrodynamic hull forms, beginning with the Felixstowe F.2
Felixstowe F.2
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 2 December 1955, pp. 842–846.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 16 December 1955, pp. 895–898.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 23 December 1955, pp. 929–932....
— a hull form which thereafter became the standard in seaplanes of all kinds, just as sponsons did for flying boats.
Curtiss next developed an enlarged version of the same design, designated the Model H-8, with accommodation for four crew members. A prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
was constructed and offered to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, but was ultimately also purchased by the British Admiralty. This aircraft would serve as the pattern for the Model H-12, used extensively by both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy. Upon their adoption into service by the RNAS, they became known as Large Americas, with the H-4s receiving the retronym
Retronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
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 Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
(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. Porte redesigned the H-12 with an improved hull; this design, the Felixstowe F.2
Felixstowe F.2
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 2 December 1955, pp. 842–846.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 16 December 1955, pp. 895–898.* Bruce, J.M. Flight, 23 December 1955, pp. 929–932....
, was produced and entered service. Some of the H-12s were later rebuilt with a hull similar to the F.2, these rebuilds being known as the Converted Large America. Later aircraft for the U.S. Navy received the Liberty engine (designated Curtiss H-12L).
Curiously, the Curtiss company designation Model H-14 was applied to a completely unrelated design (see Curtiss HS
Curtiss HS
The Curtiss HS was a single-engined patrol flying boat built for the United States Navy during World War I. Large numbers were built from 1917 to 1919, with the type being used to carry out anti-submarine patrols from bases in France from June 1918...
), but the Model H-16, introduced in 1917, 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 remained in U.S. Navy service for some years after the war, most receiving engine upgrades to more powerful Liberty variants.
Operational history
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
and anti-Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
patrols over the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. A total of 71 H-12s and 75 H-16s were received by the RNAS, commencing patrols in April 1917, with 18 H-12s and 30 H-16s remaining in service in October 1918.
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. Some of the H-16s, however, arrived at bases in the UK in time to see limited service just before the cessation of hostilities.
Variants
- Model H-1 or Model 6: original version intended for transatlantic crossing (two 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 (one 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 FactoryNaval Aircraft FactoryThe Naval Aircraft Factory was established by the United States Navy in 1918 at Philadelphia in order to assist in solving the problem of aircraft supply which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I...
)- Model H-16-1: Model 16 fitted with pusher engines (one built)
- Model H-16-2: Model 16 fitted with pusher engines and revised wing cellule (one built)
Operators
Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- No. 228 Squadron RAFNo. 228 Squadron RAFNo. 228 Squadron RAF was a unit that during the greatest part of its existence flew over water, doing so in World War I, World War II and beyond, performing anti-submarine, reconnaissance and air-sea rescue tasks.-Formation and World War I:...
- No. 234 Squadron RAFNo. 234 Squadron RAFNo. 234 Squadron RAF had a long career within the RAF, being operational on flying boats in World War I and on fighter aircraft in World War II. After the war it remained a fighter unit till 1957. In its last incarnation the squadron was in turn Operational Training Unit , Tactical Weapon Unit and...
- No. 240 Squadron RAFNo. 240 Squadron RAFNo. 240 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force flying boat and seaplane squadron during World War I, World War II and up to 1959. It was then reformed as a strategic missile squadron, serving thus till 1963.-Formation and World War I:No...
- No. 249 Squadron RAFNo. 249 Squadron RAFNo. 249 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active in the sea-patrol, fighter and bomber roles during its existence.-First formation:...
- No. 228 Squadron RAF
- Royal Naval Air ServiceRoyal Naval Air ServiceThe Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
- United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...