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 the Navy Department faced upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. The United States 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 Vought OS2U Kingfisher is an American catapult-launched observation floatplane. It was a compact mid-wing monoplane, with a large central float and small stabilizing floats. Performance was modest because of its low-powered engine. The OS2U could also operate on fixed, wheeled, taildragger landing gear.
The Curtiss SOC Seagull was an American single-engined scout observation seaplane, 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 during World War II. The existing Curtiss SO3C Seamew and Vought OS2U Kingfisher were gradually replaced by the Seahawk in the late stages of the war and into peacetime.
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.
A scout is a type of United States Navy aircraft whose name derives from the scout cruisers used by the US Navy for similar roles, including screening (escorting) the fleet against enemy forces and was often combined with other roles, such as artillery spotting, reconnaissance and bombing to which the role is often conflated.
The Aichi E16A Zuiun was a two-seat reconnaissance seaplane operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.
The Edo OSE was a 1940s American single-seat multi-role floatplane designed and manufactured by the Edo Aircraft Corporation.
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 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 Douglas XO2D-1 was a prototype American observation floatplane of the 1930s. It was a single engined biplane intended to be launched by aircraft catapult from ships of the United States Navy, but only one was built, the production contract going to Curtiss for the SOC Seagull.
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.
Observation Squadron 7 (VOS-7) was a United States Navy artillery observer aircraft squadron based in England during Operation Overlord. The squadron was assembled expressly to provide aerial spotting for naval gunfire support during the invasion of Normandy. Personnel and aircraft were assembled on 1 June 1944 and began flying missions on 6 June 1944. The squadron was disbanded when Allied capture of the town of Cherbourg ended naval bombardment responsibilities on 26 June 1944. It is thought to be one of the shortest-lived squadrons in the history of United States military aviation.
The Naval Aircraft Factory XOSN was an American biplane observation floatplane developed by the Naval Aircraft Factory for the United States Navy during the late 1930s.
The Keystone XOK was an American biplane observation floatplane developed for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.
The Loening XS2L was an American biplane scout amphibian developed by Keystone-Loening, for the United States Navy during the early 1930s.
Observation seaplanes are military aircraft with flotation devices allowing them to land on and take off from water. Their primary purpose was to observe and report enemy movements or to spot the fall of shot from naval artillery, but some were armed with machineguns or bombs. Their military usefulness extended from World War I through World War II. They were typically single-engine machines with catapult-launch capability and a crew of one, two or three. Most were designed to be carried aboard warships, but they also operated from seashore harbors.
The Vought V-100 Corsair Junior was an attempt to produce a cheaper, multi-purpose, export version of the Vought O2U/O3U observation aircraft it had produced for the United States Navy. It did not sell, and only the prototype was built.
