Curtiss NC
| Curtiss NC | |
|---|---|
 Curtiss NC-4 |
|
| Type: | Maritime patrol |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
October 4, 1918 |
| Number of pieces: |
10 |
Curtiss NC was a series of flying boats produced by the US manufacturer Glenn Curtiss .
development
During the First World War , Curtiss designed a long-range flying boat for the US Navy , which was intended to protect against attacks by German submarines . One of the demands of the Navy was that the machines should be able to reach the European theater of war from the USA on their own.
Curtiss submitted various designs to those in charge of the Navy, including a five-engine aircraft, which was rejected as too complex. Ultimately, they agreed on a three-engine variant, which was named NC. NC stood for "Navy Curtiss"; the designation should document the close cooperation of the Navy with Curtiss. The planes were popularly known as "Nancy Boats".
A contract between the Navy and Curtiss for the construction of initially four copies of the NC series, NC-1 to NC-4, was concluded on January 8, 1918. Since Curtiss's focus at the time was on the area of developments and only limited production capacities were available, his company was not able to build the aircraft in large numbers. The Navy awarded a number of orders to supplier companies, for example the Liberty L-12 engines were manufactured by Ford and Packard .
NC series aircraft
NC-1
Curtiss delivered the NC-1's fuselage in the summer of 1918. This machine was completely assembled in September 1918 and carried out its first flight on October 4, 1918. The machine was equipped with three Liberty engines with 360 hp each and weighed more than 10 tons when it started. In the spring of 1919, calculations at Curtiss showed that when using four higher compression Liberty engines with an output of 400 hp each, a takeoff mass of 12,730 kg could be achieved.
NC-2
The four-engine variant was already implemented in the NC-2, the engines were mounted in double-tandem. The first flight of the NC-2 took place on April 1, 1919. The machine was already seriously damaged during its test flights, so it was then partially cannibalized in favor of modernizing NC-1.
NC-3 and NC-4
These two machines followed shortly after the NC-2 and had a modified engine arrangement; two engines were mounted on the outside of the wings, the other two in tandem in the middle of the fuselage.
Use of the NC series
Passenger record
On November 27, 1918, the NC-1 flew with a total of 51 people on board.
The transatlantic flight in May 1919
Plans for the first Atlantic crossing with flying boats of the NC series had existed for a long time in the US Navy, but were only substantiated and seriously prepared in early 1919. One did not want to send a single machine on its own flight, but prepared all three remaining flying boats; the NC-2 had previously been cannibalized as a spare parts supplier for upgrading the NC-1.
They didn't want to leave anything to chance and not unnecessarily endanger the lives of the participants; 56 US Navy destroyers were supposed to move into position on the planned route in order to be able to provide help in the event of a ditching. In addition, five battleships were to move into stations at the start and end points of the route.
The first section of the route led over 864 km from New York to Halifax / Nova Scotia , from there the route led over 736 km to Newfoundland . The largest section with a length of 2080 km led to the Azores , the next stage over 1280 km to Lisbon . From there, the last section to Plymouth was 1,240 km long.
And so the three aircraft took off on May 8, 1919 from the naval aviation base in Rockaway Beach, New York, and flew along the navigation lights set by the warships.
However, only one of the machines, the NC-4 , reached Plymouth on May 31, 1919 (base RAF Mount Batten ). The two other flying boats were forced to ditch in the Azores by stormy weather and were damaged in the process. The NC-1 was badly damaged and sank three days later. After ditching, the crew of NC-3 managed to drive their flying boat to the Azores at sea.
The NC-4 required a pure flight time of 51 hours and 31 minutes for a total of 6200 km, making it the first aircraft with which it was possible to cross the Atlantic.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data of the NC-4 |
|---|---|
| crew | 6th |
| length | 20.8 m |
| span | 38.4 m |
| Empty mass | 7200 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 11,968 kg |
| drive | four 12-cylinder V-engines ( Liberty L-12 ) with an output of 400 HP (approx. 290 kW) each |
| Top speed | 85 mph (approx. 140 km / h) |
| Service ceiling | 4,500 ft (approx. 1,400 m) |
| Rate of climb | 305 m in 4:30 min |
| Range (full tank) | 1,470 mi (approx. 2,370 km) (flight time at cruising speed: approx. 15 hours) |
Whereabouts of the NC-4
After the NC-4 returned from Great Britain to the USA, it was exhibited there first in Central Park in New York, and later in Philadelphia, Washington DC and other places. The NC-4's fuselage was exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution in 1920 and finally transferred to the Smithsonian in 1927. The remaining parts were stored by the Navy. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its flight, it was completely restored by the Smithsonian Institution with the help of three Navy technicians and exhibited on the National Mall from May 8, 1969 . After being dismantled again, it was rebuilt in 1974 and has since stood on loan from the National Air and Space Museum in the National Museum of Naval Aviation on Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida .
An engine from the NC-4's transatlantic flight is on display at the National Air and Space Museum .
See also
Web links
- Ted Wilbur: The First Flight Across the Atlantic online at the NHHC (English)
- The US Navy Flying-Boat, NCI (PDF) In: Flight, May 15, 1919. Flight, May 15, 1919, pp. 637–639 , accessed on May 28, 2019 (English).
- https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/100th-anniversary-first-transatlantic-flight-transcribe-albert-read-nc-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ NC-4. In: Aircraft. National Naval Aviation Museum, accessed May 27, 2019 .
- ^ Test of Strength. (PDF) 1917-1919. Naval History and Heritage Command, accessed on May 31, 2019 : “November 27, 2019 Flying boat NC-1, BuNo A-2291, established a new world record for people carried in flight by embarking 51 persons during a flight from NAS Rockaway Beach, NY "
- ↑ Bryan R. Swopes: May 27, 1919. In: This Day in Aviation. March 20, 2019, accessed May 30, 2019 .
- ↑ a b Liberty 12 Model A (Ford) V-12 Engine. In: National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution, accessed May 30, 2019 (English): "This is one of the four Ford Motor Co. Liberty 12 Model A's that powered the Navy-Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean [...]"
- ^ Curtiss NC-4. In: National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution, accessed May 30, 2019 .