Curtiss Wanamaker Triplane

Last updated
Curtiss T Wanamaker Triplane
Curtiss T Wanamaker Triplane2.jpg
RNAS Felixstowe, 1916
RolePatrol bomber flying-boat [1]
National originUnited States
Manufacturer Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
First flight1916
Retired1916
Primary user Royal Naval Air Service
Number built1

The Wanamaker Triplane or Curtiss Model T, retroactively renamed Curtiss Model 3 was a large experimental four-engined triplane patrol flying boat of World War I. It was the first four-engined aircraft built in the United States. Only a single example (No.3073) was completed. [2] At the time, the Triplane was the largest seaplane in the world. [1]

Contents

Design and development

In 1915, the American businessman Rodman Wanamaker who, prior to the outbreak of the First World War commissioned the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to build a large flying boat, America to win the £10,000 prize put forward by the British newspaper Daily Mail for the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic, commissioned Curtiss to build a new, even larger flying boat for transatlantic flight that became known as the Wanamaker Triplane, or Curtiss Model T, (retroactively re-designated Model 3 when Curtiss changed its designation system). [1]

Partially constructed, 5 July 1916. Curtiss Model T partially constructed.jpg
Partially constructed, 5 July 1916.

Early press reports showed a large triplane, 68 ft (17.9 metres) and with equal-span six-bay wings of 133 foot (40.5 metre) span. The aircraft, to be capable of carrying heavy armament, was estimated to have an all-up weight of 21,450 pounds (9,750 kilogrammes) and was to be powered by six 140 hp 104 kW) engines driving three propellers, two of which were to be of tractor configuration and the third a pusher. [3]

The British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) placed an order for 20 Triplanes. The first one was completed at the Curtiss factory, Buffalo, New York in July 1916. [4] This was the first four-engined aircraft to be built in the United States and one of the largest aircraft in the world. [5]

Fitted with a Rolls-Royce engine at RNAS Felixstowe. Curtiss Model T partially constructed 2.jpg
Fitted with a Rolls-Royce engine at RNAS Felixstowe.

The finished Model T differed from the aircraft discussed in the press in various points. Size and weight were similar, with the upper wing having a span of 134 feet, but the other wings had different spans. It was planned to be powered by four tractor 250 hp (187 kW) Curtiss V-4 engines installed individually on the middle wing, which was unusual for the time.[ clarification needed ] The crew of two pilots and a flight engineer were provided with an enclosed cabin, similar to the Curtiss Model H. To reduce the forces a pilot would need to use on the controls, small windmills could be connected to the aileron cables by electrically operated clutches to act as a form of power assisted controls. [1]

As the planned Curtiss V-4 engines were not available when the prototype was completed, it was decided not to fly the aircraft in the United States, but to take it to England by ship. where it was reassembled at the naval air station Felixstowe. Initially it was fitted with four 240 hp (180 kW) Renault engines, but these were soon exchanged for four 250 hp Rolls-Royce Eagles.

As the aircraft was damaged beyond repair on the maiden flight it was considered unsuccessful, and the order for the remaining nineteen cancelled. [7] The Wanamaker Triplane did however, provide the inspiration for John Porte of the Seaplane Experimental Station to build a massive five-engined flying boat of similar layout, the Felixstowe Fury. [1] [8] [9]

Operators

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom

Specifications (Renault engines)

Front elevation of the Model T with four Rolls-Royce engines, RNAS Felixstowe, 1916 Curtiss T Wanamaker Triplane3.jpg
Front elevation of the Model T with four Rolls-Royce engines, RNAS Felixstowe, 1916

Data from Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947 [1] [5] [10]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying boat</span> Aircraft equipped with a boat hull for operation from water

A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaplane</span> Aircraft with an undercarriage capable of operating from water surfaces

A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water. Seaplanes 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. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are in a subclass called amphibious aircraft, or amphibians. Seaplanes 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Iris</span>

The Blackburn Iris was a British three-engined biplane flying boat of the 1920s. Although only five Irises were built, it was used as a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft by the Royal Air Force, where it equipped a squadron for four years, being used to carry out a number of notable long-distance flights. The final version of the Iris, the Iris Mark V was developed into the aircraft that replaced it in Squadron service, the Blackburn Perth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe F5L</span>

The twin-engine F5L was one of the Felixstowe F series of flying boats developed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, England, during the First World War for production in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe F.2</span>

The Felixstowe F.2 was a 1917 British flying boat class designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe during the First World War adapting a larger version of his superior Felixstowe F.1 hull design married with the larger Curtiss H-12 flying boat. The Felixstowe hull had superior water contacting attributes and became a key base technology in most seaplane designs thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe Porte Baby</span>

The Felixstowe Porte Baby was a British reconnaissance flying boat of the First World War, first flying in 1915.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe F.5</span>

The Felixstowe F.5 was a British First World War flying boat designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN of the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe F.3</span>

The Felixstowe F.3 was a British First World War flying boat, successor to the Felixstowe F.2 designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cyril Porte</span> British aviator

Lieutenant Colonel John Cyril Porte, was a British flying boat pioneer associated with the First World War Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss Model F</span> American 1912 single engine flying boat

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss Model H</span> American 1914 long range flying boat

The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, 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 transatlantic 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Thompson N.T.4</span> Type of aircraft

The Norman Thompson N.T.4 was a twin-engined British flying boat of the First World War. Although less well known than similar Curtiss and Felixstowe flying boats, 50 were ordered for Britain's Royal Naval Air Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss Model E</span> Early aircraft model

The Curtiss Model E is an early aircraft developed by Glenn Curtiss in the United States in 1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe Fury</span> Type of aircraft

The Felixstowe F.4 Fury, also known as the Porte Super-Baby, was a large British, five-engined triplane flying-boat designed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, inspired by the Wanamaker Triplane/Curtiss Model T. At the time the Fury was the largest seaplane in the world, the largest British aircraft, and the first aircraft controlled successfully by servo-assisted means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hansa-Brandenburg CC</span> Flying boat

The Hansa-Brandenburg CC was a single-seat German fighter flying boat of World War I. It was used by both the Kaiserliche Marine and the Austro-Hungarian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White and Thompson No. 3</span> Type of aircraft

The White and Thompson No. 3 was a British flying boat of the First World War. While the prototype was originally designed to compete in an air-race around the UK, eight more similar aircraft were built for the Royal Naval Air Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felixstowe F.1</span> Type of aircraft

The Felixstowe F.1 was a British experimental flying boat designed and developed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe based on the Curtiss H-4 with a new hull. Its design led to a range of successful larger flying boats that was assistance in promoting Britain as a leader in this field of aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtiss C-1 Canada</span> Twin-engined bomber aircraft of the First World War

The Curtiss C-1 Canada was a twin-engined bomber aircraft of the First World War which was designed by Curtiss of America to be built by their Canadian subsidiary for the British Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Flying Corps. Although large orders were placed, only twelve were built, the type being rejected in favour of more capable aircraft such as the Handley Page O/100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White & Thompson No. 1 Seaplane</span> Type of aircraft

The White & Thompson No. 1 Seaplane was the first British built twin-engined biplane flying boat, assembled just prior to the outbreak of the First World War to compete in an air-race around the UK. It was unsuccessful, only the single prototype being built.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bowers 1979, pp. 136–137.
  2. "Curtiss-Wanamaker Triplane". All-Aero. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  3. Flight 13 January 1916, pp. 43–44.
  4. Trimble, William (2013). "9 Challenges Old and New". Hero of the Air: Glenn Curtiss and the Birth of Naval Aviation. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1612514116 . Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 Curtiss: K through Z". Aerofiles. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  6. "Felixstowe and Lowestoft Seaplanes 1914–1918". YouTube. 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  7. Johnson, E. R. (2009). American Flying Boats and Amphibious Aircraft: An Illustrated History. McFarland. p. 302. ISBN   978-0786457083 . Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  8. Bruce 1955, pp. 929–930.
  9. Thetford 1978, p. 386.
  10. Flight "A Fighting Flying Boat". Flight. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 Owers, Colin (2017). "Curtiss Model T" (PDF). Cross & Cockade International: 48. Retrieved 6 November 2019.

Bibliography