A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are in a subclass called amphibious aircraft. Seaplanes and amphibians are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteristics: floatplanes and flying boats; the latter are generally far larger and can carry far more. These aircraft were sometimes called hydroplanes, but currently this term applies instead to motor-powered watercraft that use the technique of hydrodynamic lift to skim the surface of water when running at speed.
The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. The US Army’s requirements for an enormous quantity of airplanes created a decided lack of interest among aircraft manufacturers in the Navy's requirements for a comparatively small quantity of aircraft. The Navy Department concluded that it was necessary to build a Navy-owned aircraft factory in order to assure a part of its aircraft supply; to obtain cost data for the department’s guidance in its dealings with private manufacturers; and to have under its own control a factory capable of producing experimental designs.
The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation aircraft, designed by Alexander Solla of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation for the United States Navy. The aircraft served on battleships and cruisers in a seaplane configuration, being launched by catapult and recovered from a sea landing. The wings folded back against the fuselage for storage aboard ship. When based ashore or on carriers the single float was replaced by fixed wheeled landing gear.
The Curtiss SC Seahawk was a scout seaplane designed by the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company for the United States Navy. The existing Curtiss SO3C Seamew and the Vought OS2U Kingfisher were 1937 designs that, by 1942, needed to be replaced.
The Curtiss SO3C Seamew was developed by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation as a replacement for the SOC Seagull as the United States Navy's standard floatplane scout. Curtiss named the SO3C the Seamew but in 1941 the US Navy began calling it by the name Seagull, the same name as the aircraft it replaced, causing some confusion. The British Royal Navy kept the Curtiss name, (Seamew), for the SO3Cs that they ordered. One of the US Navy's main design requirements was that the SOC Seagull's replacement had to be able to operate both from ocean vessels with a single center float and from land bases with the float replaced by a wheeled landing gear.
The Curtiss 18T, unofficially known as the Wasp and by the United States Navy as the Kirkham, was an early American triplane fighter aircraft designed by Curtiss Engineering for the US Navy.
The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the United States in the years leading up to World War I. Widely produced, Model Fs saw service with the United States Navy under the designations C-2 through C-5, later reclassified to AB-2 through AB-5. Several examples were exported to Russia, and the type was built under license in Italy.
The Martin MO was an American observation monoplane built by the Glenn L. Martin Company of Cleveland, Ohio for the United States Navy.
The Piaggio P.6 was an Italian catapult-launched reconnaissance floatplane designed and built by Piaggio for the Regia Marina.
The Sopwith Admiralty Type 807 was a 1910s British biplane seaplane designed and built for the Admiralty by the Sopwith Aviation Company.
The Keystone NK or Keystone Pup was a two-seat biplane trainer built by Keystone Aircraft for the United States Navy.
The Berliner-Joyce OJ was an American biplane observation floatplane developed by the Berliner-Joyce Aircraft for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.
The Curtiss Model S was a single-seat fighter aircraft.
The Vought O5U was a 1930s prototype American observation floatplane to meet a United States Navy requirement for a catapult launched scouting aircraft. The contract was won by Curtiss who went on to produce the SOC Seagull; only one O5U was built.
The Vought XSO2U was an American observation floatplane developed by Vought-Sikorsky for the United States Navy during the late 1930s. Intended to replace the Curtiss SOC Seagull in service as a scout aboard cruisers, it proved superior to the Curtiss SO3C in evaluation, but failed to win a production contract due to Vought's lack of manufacturing capacity.
The Bellanca XSOE was a prototype American scout observation floatplane built for the United States Navy by the Bellanca Aircraft Company. It was never accepted by the Navy and only the prototype was built.
The Naval Aircraft Factory NO was an American three-seat observation floatplane, designed by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) for the United States Navy. Powered by a 435 hp (324 kW) Curtiss D12 engine, three were built by the NAF with the designation NO, and a further three were built by Martin with the designation M2O.
The Curtiss Model 22 Cox Racers were two specialised racing aircraft built by the American Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. The type was flown as a monoplane, biplane and triplane.
The Keystone XOK was an American biplane observation floatplane developed for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.
