Naval Aircraft Factory PN

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Aircraft_Factory_PN

The Naval Aircraft Factory PN was a series of open cockpit American flying boats
of the 1920s and 1930s. A development of the Felixstowe F5L flying boat of the
First World War, variants of the PN were built for the United States Navy by
Douglas, Keystone Aircraft and Martin.

The F5L was a license-built version of the British Felixstowe F.5 using the
American Liberty engine. The series of Felixstowe flying boats, developed by the
Seaplane Experimental Station, had started with improving the hull of the
Curtiss H12. The Naval Aircraft Factory, which had built F.5Ls during World War
I, continued development of the design, which was redesignated PN-5 in 1922
(although in practice continued to be known as F.5Ls), with the final two being
built to an improved design, the F-6L (later designated PN-6). In 1925, the
Naval Aircraft Factory produced a version with new wings with an airfoil section
of greater maximum lift coefficient. It was powered by experimental 525 hp (391
kW) Wright T-2 piston engines, and was designated PN-7.

Although the new wing proved successful, the engines were unreliable, and the
wooden hull inherited from the F.5 required much maintenance, so two aircraft
with metal hull construction, powered by 475 hp (354 kW) Packard engines, were
built as the PN-8. Further, similar aircraft were built as the PN-9 and PN-10,
but the water-cooled V-12 Packard engines were disappointing and radial engines
were substituted to produce the PN-12. This combination of the revised wings
introduced by the PN-7, with a metal hull and radial engines met the
requirements of the Navy and therefore the PN-12 formed the basis of more
extensive production to re-equip its patrol squadrons. As the production
capacity of the Naval Aircraft Factory was limited, production was contracted
out to several aircraft companies, with versions being built by Douglas (PD-1),
Keystone Aircraft (PK-1) and Martin (PM-1 and PM-2).

The early prototypes of PN sea planes were used in a series of long-distance
flights. During the afternoon of 31 August 1925, an attempt was made to fly a
pair of PN-9 planes non-stop from San Francisco to Hawaii, a distance of nearly
2,400 miles (3,864 km) — a trip anticipated to take 26 hours to complete. The
first plane to start was forced to land 300 miles outside of San Francisco due
to a failure of oil pressure, with the crew rescued by the destroyer USS William
Jones and the aircraft towed back to port.

The second PN-9 to depart, captained by U.S. Navy Commander John Rodgers, flew
1,841 miles before running out of fuel when anticipated tailwinds that would
have slowed gasoline consumption did not materialize. The plane was unable to
make contact with the naval airplane tender 'USS Aroostook, a ship stationed
along the PN-9's flight path and was forced to land at sea when both engines
stopped functioning. With power lost, the plane was unable to send or receive
radio signals. Although this was at the time a new distance record for
seaplanes, the plane remained hundreds of miles short of the nearest landfall
and the situation of the crew, with limited quantities of food and water,
appeared dire.

Since seas were moderate, the decision was made to attempt to sail the plane to
Hawaii. The crew then rigged crude sails made from fabric torn from the
aircraft's wings and sailed the aircraft a further 450 miles, finally being
spotted on the ninth day about 15 miles off the southeast coast of the Hawaiian
island of Kauai. In the aftermath of the headline-grabbing rescue, Commander
Rogers was promoted to the position of Assistant Chief of the Navy's Bureau of
Aeronautics. PN-9 No. 1, the same plane sailed to Hawaii, did not fare as
fortunately, later ditching in the Caribbean Sea during an attempted long
distance flight to South America and subsequently sunk as a navigation hazard.

Specifications (PN-12

General characteristics
Crew: Five
Length: 49 ft 2 in (14.99 m)
Wingspan: 72 ft 10 in (22.21 m)
Height: 16 ft 9 in (5.11 m)
Wing area: 1,217 ft² (113.1 m²)
Airfoil: USA 27
Empty weight: 7,699 lb (3,500 kg)
Loaded weight: 14,122 lb (6,419 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Wright R-1750 D Cyclone 9-cylinder single row radial engine, 525
hp (392 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 99 knots (114 mph, 184 km/h) at sea level
Range: 1,139 nm (1,310 mi, 2,109 km)
Service ceiling: 10,900 ft (3,300 m)
Wing loading: 11.6 lb/ft² (56.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.074 hp/lb (0.12 kW/kg)
Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 16 min

Armament

Single .30 in (7.62 mm) calibre machine guns in bow and amidships cockpits
Four 230 lb (105 kg) bombs underwing

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450 miles adrift in a seaplane

http://www.avialogs.com/index.php/av...-seaplane.html

An over water flight of more than 2000 miles was the ambition of the U.S Navy
when commander John Rodgers with a crew of four left San Francisco for Hawaii,
August 31 1925.

No seaplane had previously attempted more than 1200 mile flight. The expedition
was to include three planes. Rodgers commanded the flying boat PN-9 No. 1. The
PN-9 No. 3 was commanded by Lt. Allen P. Snody. The third plane was to have been
a new design, which was not completed in time to join the expedition. Due to the
risks, the Navy positioned 10 guard ships spaced 200 miles apart between
California and Hawaii to refuel or recover the aircraft if necessary. The two
PN-9s departed San Pablo Bay, California (near San Francisco) on August 31. Lt.
Snody’s plane had an engine failure about five hours into its flight, was forced
to land in the ocean, and was safely recovered.

Flying against fierce head winds, Commander Rodgers and his crew in the Navy
seaplane PN-9 No1 had covered about 1900 miles when their fuel supply gave
out...A last radio message was sent saying the seaplane was running out of gas
and would probably have to descend. Rodgers plans were to land near the
Aroostook, the next to the last vessels stationed along the route, refuel and
continue to Hawaii. However, he lost his bearings..Failing to find its fuel ship
the PN-9 was forced to land under the worst possible conditions - no power, a
light wind and a high sea.

They could not signal for help as their radio sending set was dead without the
seaplane being airborne. Ripping part of the fabric from the lower wing of their
aircraft, they improvised a sail which carried them westward toward Hawaii.

For eight days the five men were stranded on the seaplane on mid ocean. All the
while hearing over their receiving set radio messages about themselves broadcast
but unable to reply. After almost perishing for lack of food and water and after
sailing 450 miles, they were rescued near the island of Jaui by the submarine
R-4 which had spotted their smoke signal made by burning wing fabric in a pail.
The five members of the crew, burned by the tropical sun, bearded and worn came
ashore at Nawiliwili on September 11th 1925. Despite not reaching Hawaii by Air,
Commander John Rodgers and his crew established a new non-stop air distance
record for seaplanes of 1992 miles (3206km).




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