Английская Википедия:Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

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Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decades, it merged with the Wright Aeronautical to form Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

History

Файл:Curtiss-Herring Flying Machine.jpg
Curtiss-Herring flying machine photographed in Mineola, New York.

Origin

In 1907, Glenn Curtiss was recruited by the scientist Dr. Alexander Graham Bell as a founding member of Bell's Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), with the intent of establishing an aeronautical research and development organization.[1] According to Bell, it was a "co-operative scientific association, not for gain but for the love of the art and doing what we can to help one another."[2]

In 1909, shortly before the AEA was disbanded,[3] Curtiss partnered with Augustus Moore Herring to form the Herring-Curtiss Company.[4][5] It was renamed the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in 1910 and reorganized in 1912 after being taken over by the Curtiss Motor Company.[6][7][8]

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company

Файл:Curtis Biplane.JPG
Curtiss 160 hp reconnaissance biplane (1918)

The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company was created on January 13, 1916, from the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, and Curtiss Motor Company of Bath, New York. Burgess Company of Marblehead, Massachusetts, became a subsidiary in February 1916.[9][10] At the same time, the Curtiss Engineering Company was established as a subsidiary in Garden City, New York.[11]Шаблон:Efn

With the onset of World War I, military orders rose sharply, and Curtiss needed to expand quickly. In 1916, the company moved its headquarters and most manufacturing activities to Buffalo, New York, where there was far greater access to transportation, manpower, manufacturing expertise, and much needed capital. The company housed an aircraft engine factory in the former Taylor Signal Company-General Railway Signal Company.[12] An ancillary operation was begun in Toronto, Ontario, that was involved in both production and training, setting up the first flying school in Canada in 1915.[13]

In 1917, the two major aircraft patent holders, the Wright Company and the Curtiss Company, had effectively blocked the building of new airplanes, which were desperately needed as the United States was entering World War I. The U.S. government, as a result of a recommendation of a committee formed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, pressured the industry to form a cross-licensing organization (in other terms a Patent pool), the Manufacturer's Aircraft Association.[14][15][16] Later that year, Curtiss was acquired by the automobile manufacturer Willys-Overland.[17]

Curtiss was instrumental in the development of U.S. Naval Aviation by providing training for pilots and providing aircraft. The first major order was for 144 various subtypes of the Model F trainer flying boat.[4] In 1914, Curtiss had lured B. Douglas Thomas from Sopwith to design the Model J trainer, which led to the JN-4 two-seat biplane trainer (known affectionately as the "Jenny").[18][19]

The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company worked with the United States' British and Canadian allies, resulting in JN-4 (Can) trainers (nicknamed the "Canuck") being built in Canada.[20] In order to complete large military orders, JN-4 production was distributed to five other manufacturers. After the war, large numbers of JN-4s were sold as surplus, making influential as the first plane for many interwar pilots, including Amelia Earhart.[21] A stamp was printed to commemorate the Curtiss JN-4, however a printing error resulted in some having the aircraft image inverted, which has become very valuable, and one of the best known rare stamps, even being featured in a number of movies.

Файл:Curtiss plane - College Park.jpg
Curtiss military aircraft being tested in College Park, Maryland circa 1912

The Curtiss HS-2L flying boat was used extensively in the war for anti-submarine patrols and was operated from bases in Nova Scotia, France, and Portugal. The John Cyril Porte of the Royal Navy and Curtiss worked together to improve the design of the Curtiss flying boats resulting in the Curtiss F5L and the similar Felixstowe F.3. Curtiss also worked with the United States Navy to develop the NC-4, which became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1919, making several stops en route. By the end of World War I, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company would claim to be the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, employing 18,000 in Buffalo and 3,000 in Hammondsport, New York. Curtiss produced 10,000 aircraft during that war, and more than 100 in a single week.

Peace brought cancellation of wartime contracts. In September 1920, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company underwent a financial reorganization and Glenn Curtiss cashed out his stock in the company for $32 million and retired to Florida.[22] He continued as a director of the company but served only as an advisor on design. Clement M. Keys gained control of the company from Willys-Overland and it later became the nucleus of a large group of aviation companies.[23][24]

Curtiss seaplanes won the Schneider Cup in two consecutive races, those of 1923 and 1925. The 1923 race was won by U.S. Navy Lieutenant David Rittenhouse flying a Curtiss R3C to Шаблон:Convert. Piloted by U.S. Army Lt. Cyrus K. Bettis, a Curtiss R3C won the Pulitzer Trophy on October 12, 1925, at Шаблон:Convert.[25] Thirteen days later, Jimmy Doolittle won the Schneider Trophy in the same aircraft fitted with floats with a top speed of Шаблон:Convert.

The Curtiss Robin light transport was first flown in 1928, becoming one of the company's biggest sellers during the Great Depression, and the 769 built helped keep the company solvent when orders for military aircraft were hard to find.

Curtiss-Wright Corporation

On July 5, 1929, Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company together with 11 other Wright and Curtiss affiliated companies merged to become the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. One of the last projects started by Curtiss Aeroplane was the ambitious Curtiss-Bleecker SX-5-1 Helicopter, a design that had propellers located midpoint on each of the four large rotors that drove the main rotors. This design, while costly and well engineered, was ultimately a failure.[26]

Curtiss Aviation School

Curtiss also operated a flying school at Long Branch Aerodrome in Toronto Township, Ontario, from 1915 to 1917 before being taken over by the Royal Flying Corps Canada.[27]

Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station

Glenn H. Curtiss sponsored the Atlantic Coast Aeronautical Station on a 20-acre tract east of the Newport News boat harbor in the Fall of 1915 with Captain Thomas Scott Baldwin as head. Many civilian students, including Canadians, later became famed World War I flyers. Victor Carlstrom, Vernon Castle, Eddie Stinson and General Billy Mitchell trained here. The school was disbanded in 1922.

Products

Aircraft

Model name First flight Number built Type
Curtiss No. 1 1909 1 Experimental single engine biplane
Curtiss No. 2 1909 1 Experimental single engine biplane
Pfitzner Flyer 1910 1 Experimental single engine monoplane
Curtiss Model D 1910 Single engine biplane
Curtiss Model E 1911 Single engine biplane floatplane
Curtiss Model F 1912 150+ Single engine biplane flying boat
Curtiss Model J 1914 2 Single engine biplane trainer
Curtiss Model H 1914 478 family of classes of long-range flying boats
Curtiss Model K 1915 51+ Single engine biplane flying boat
Curtiss Model R 1915 ~290 Single engine biplane utility plane
Curtiss C-1 Canada 1915 12 Twin engine biplane bomber
Curtiss JN-4 1915 6,813 Single engine biplane trainer
Curtiss Model L 1916 4+ Single engine triplane trainer
Curtiss Model N 1916 560 Single engine biplane floatplane trainer
Curtiss Model T 1916 1 Four engine triplane flying boat patrol bomber
Curtiss Twin JN 1916 8 Twin engine biplane observation airplane
Curtiss HS 1917 ~1,178 Single engine biplane flying boat patrol airplane
Curtiss GS 1918 6 Single engine biplane floatplane scout
Curtiss HA 1918 6 Single engine biplane fighter/mailplane
Curtiss JN-6H 1918 1,035 Single engine biplane trainer
Curtiss NC 1918 10 Four engine biplane flying boat patrol airplane
Curtiss 18 1918 8 Single engine biplane/triplane fighter
Curtiss Eagle 1919 ~24 Three engine biplane airliner
Curtiss Oriole 1919 Single engine biplane
Curtiss Cox Racer 1920 2 Single engine monoplane/biplane/triplane racer
Curtiss CR 1921 4 Single engine biplane racer
Curtiss CT 1921 1 Twin engine biplane torpedo bomber
Curtiss Orenco D 1921 50 Single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss P-1 Hawk 1923 107 Single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss CS 1923 83 Single engine biplane torpedo bomber
Curtiss R2C 1923 3 Single engine biplane racer
Curtiss R3C 1925 3 Single engine biplane racer
Curtiss Carrier Pigeon 1925 12 Single engine biplane mailplane
Curtiss F6C Hawk 75 Single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss F7C Seahawk 1927 17 Single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss Falcon 488 Single engine biplane observation/attack airplane
Curtiss Fledgling 1927 ~160 Single engine biplane trainer
Curtiss Robin 1928 769 Single engine cabin monoplane
Curtiss Tanager 1929 1 Experimental single engine cabin biplane
Curtiss Thrush 1929 13 Single engine cabin monoplane
Curtiss Kingbird 1929 19 Twin engine monoplane airliner
Curtiss XO-30 N/A 0 Unbuilt twin engine monoplane observation plane
Curtiss P-6 Hawk 70 Single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss XP-10 1 Prototype single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss XP-18 N/A 0 Unbuilt single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss XP-19 N/A 0 Unbuilt single engine monoplane fighter
Curtiss YP-20 1 Prototype single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss XP-22 Hawk 1 Prototype single engine biplane fighter
Curtiss PN-1 1 Prototype single engine biplane night fighter
Curtiss B-2 Condor 13 Twin engine biplane bomber
Curtiss Model 41 Lark 3 Single engine biplane floatplane
Curtiss Model S ~8 Single engine biplane/triplane fighter
Curtiss Autoplane 1 Roadable aircraft
Curtiss F5L 60 Twin engine biplane flying boat
Curtiss TS 34 Single engine biplane fighter

Aircraft engines

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Шаблон:Div col end

Helicopters

See also

References

Footnotes

Шаблон:Notelist

Notes

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

  • Bell, Dana, ed. Directory of Airplanes, their Designers and Manufacturers. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 2002. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Bowers, Peter M. Curtiss Aircraft 1907–1947. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1979. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Casey, Louis S. Curtiss, The Hammondsport Era, 1907–1915. New York: Crown Publishers, 1981. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1993. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Mondey, David, ed., revised and updated by Michael Taylor. The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. London: Greenwich Editions, 2000. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1979. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Milberry, Larry. Aviation in Canada: The Pioneer Decades, Vol. 1. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CANAV Books, 2008. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Olszowka, John. "From Shop Floor To Flight: Work and Labor in the Aircraft Industry, 1908-1945." Ph.D. Dissertation, Binghamton University, 2000.
  • Sobel, Robert. The Age of Giant Corporations: A Microeconomic History of American Business, 1914–1970. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1972. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Roseberry, C.R. Glenn Curtiss: Pioneer of Flight. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1972. Шаблон:ISBN.
  • Studer, Clara. Sky Storming Yankee: The Life of Glenn Curtiss. New York: Stackpole Sons, 1937.

External links

Шаблон:Commons category

Шаблон:S-start Шаблон:Succession box Шаблон:S-end

Шаблон:Curtiss aircraft Шаблон:Curtiss aeroengines Шаблон:Authority control

  1. Casey 1981, pp. 4–5.
  2. Milberry 1979, p 13.
  3. Casey 1981, pp. 36–37.
  4. 4,0 4,1 Gunston 1993, p. 87.
  5. Шаблон:Cite news
  6. Шаблон:Cite magazine
  7. Bell 2002, p. 87.
  8. Casey 1981, p. 37.
  9. Mondey and Taylor 2000, p. 197.
  10. Шаблон:Cite news
  11. Шаблон:Cite book
  12. Шаблон:Cite web Note: This includes Шаблон:Cite web and Accompanying photographs
  13. Molson and Taylor 1982, p. 23.
  14. Шаблон:Cite web
  15. Шаблон:Cite web
  16. Шаблон:Cite web
  17. Шаблон:Cite news
  18. Casey 1981, pp. 103, 123–124, 134–136, 174–175.
  19. Casey 1981, pp. 176–179.
  20. Casey 1981, p. 196.
  21. Шаблон:Cite web
  22. Rosenberry 1972, p. 429.
  23. Studer 1937 p. 352
  24. Шаблон:Cite news
  25. "Curtiss R3C-2." Шаблон:Webarchive Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved: February 10, 2010.
  26. "New Plane May Fly Straight Up In The Air." Popular Science, September 1930.
  27. Long Branch Шаблон:Webarchive