National Air and Space Museum Archives

Curtiss NC-4 Design, Construction, and Testing Reports

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0422
Creators:
United States. Navy
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Dates:
1918-1969
bulk 1919-1919
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.51 Cubic feet
2 records center boxes
2.27 Linear feet
Repository:
This collection consists of reports on the design, construction, and testing of the NC series flying boats and photographs of NC-4's construction and transatlantic flight.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of reports on the design, construction, and testing of the NC series flying boats and photographs and 3 negatives of the NC-4's construction and transatlantic flight. The collection is set up in a series of books with two copies of each book, except books 11 and 13. There is some water damage to book 10. Due to the fact that book 5 contained oversize materials, both copies of this book are filed out of sequence in box 4.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is set up in a series of books with two copies of each book, except books 11 and 13. There is some water damage to book 10. Due to the fact that book 5 contained oversize materials, both copies of this book are filed out of sequence in box 4.

Biographical/Historical note

Biographical/Historical note
In
1917
, during World War I, the
United States Navy
sent out specification for a flying boat of sufficient range to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air to Great Britain, where it would serve as an anti-submarine patrol aircraft. The
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
, in conjunction with the
United States Navy
, developed a three-engine aircraft to meet these specifications. The first of the new aircraft was the NC-1 that flew for the first time on
October 4, 1918
. This was followed by the NC-2 whose maiden flight took place on
April 12, 1919
with four engines in tandem pairs. The engine arrangement of the NC-2 had been declared unsatisfactory for the mission and the wings were removed and installed on the NC-1 to replace the originals that had been damaged in a storm. By this time, World War I had ended, but the Navy decided to continue the program in an effort to make the first transatlantic flight crossing by air. The new NC-3 and NC-4 models reverted to the three-engine format, although the NC-4 had a fourth engine mounted as a pusher behind the center engine. On
May 16, 1919
the NC-1, NC-3 and NC-4 assembled at Trepassy Bay, Newfoundland, under the command of Commander
John H. Towers
, to begin the 1400-mile flight to the Azores. The NC-1 was forced down short of the island and sank. Naval vessels stationed along the flight path rescued the crew of the NC-1. The NC-3 landed two hundred miles short and taxied the remaining distance to the island. Only the NC-4 completed the flight successfully, reaching Plymouth, England, via Lisbon, Portugal, on
May 31, 1919
. Following publicity tours of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the Curtiss NC-4 was given over to the
Smithsonian Institution
and is now part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.

Administration

Author
Hank Brown
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
Lee Pearson, XXXX-0422, Unknown.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Hank Brown, 1999.
Encoded by Amanda Buel, 2014.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access note
No restrictions on access.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Preferred Citation
Curtiss NC-4 Design, Construction, and Testing Reports, Acc. XXXX-0422, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

More Information


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Seaplanes Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curtiss NC-4 (P2N-1) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curtiss NC-Boat Family Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Military Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Financial records Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States. Navy Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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