Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company
The Curtiss Airplane and Motor Company Incorporated was an American company that deals with the production of aircraft employed and aircraft equipment parts. It was founded in 1910 by Glenn Curtiss in Hammondsport , New York .
The company delivered the double-decker type Curtiss Model D , with the Eugene B. Ely the first launch succeeded in 1910 by a ship.
After this success, the US Navy ordered further aircraft from Curtiss, which in turn responded to the special wishes of the Navy. Other air forces also became aware of the Curtiss machines and exports to Russia , Japan , Germany and England began . The production of float planes , amphibious planes and finally flying boats began .
In this area in particular, the company carried out basic research in that, after extensive tests, the stepped hull was developed as the ideal solution for high surface speeds.
The twin-engine Curtiss America was to be the first aircraft to fly over the Atlantic, but the First World War broke out before this flight in 1914 , and so this model was used in a small series as the first anti-submarine aircraft.
During the war, in addition to the Curtiss JN-4 , a high- volume trainer aircraft that was partly used until the 1930s, aircraft engines such as the Curtiss OX-5 , a water-cooled V-8 with 67 kW output, were built.
Due to the extensive orders, the company premises became too small, in 1916 the company headquarters moved to Buffalo , where the buildings soon had to be expanded again. A branch office was opened in Toronto . In that year they also went public . At that time, Curtiss, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, employed around 21,000 people.
In 1917, work began on a flying boat that could cross the Atlantic for use. Before the project could be completed, the First World War ended. Nevertheless, four Curtiss NC machines were initially built. With one of these aircraft the Atlantic crossing from New York to Lisbon succeeded in May 1919 .
By the end of the war Curtiss was facing economic ruin. However, it managed to save the company, and they turned to new areas. It gained worldwide fame with the manufacture of aircraft of the CR series, which set world speed records in the Schneider air races . These machines were powered by self-developed aircraft engines such as the Curtiss D-12 , with which chief designer Arthur Nutt had created the ancestor of all later V aircraft engines.
Due to the constant success in the popular air races at the time, the military became aware of Curtiss and ordered the Curtiss P-1 , the first type of the long series of Hawk aircraft from Curtiss.
In 1929 Curtiss and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation merged to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation .
